by John Scott of Amwell (1731 - 1783)
The drum
Language: English
I hate that drum's discordant sound, Parading round, and round, and round: To thoughtless youth it pleasure yields, And lures from cities and from fields, To sell their liberty for charms Of tawdry lace, and glittering arms; And when Ambition's voice commands, To march, and fight, and fall, in foreign lands. I hate that drum's discordant sound, Parading round, and round, and round; To me it talks of ravag'd plains, And burning towns, and ruin'd swains, And mangled limbs, and dying groans, And widows' tears, and orphans' moans; And all that Misery's hand bestows, To fill the catalogue of human woes.
Authorship:
- by John Scott of Amwell (1731 - 1783), "The drum" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022), "The drum", 2002 [ medium voice, violin, cello, and piano ], from Aftermath, no. 1, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2013-09-11
Line count: 16
Word count: 101