by Henry Newbolt, Sir (1862 - 1938)
Admirals all See original
Language: English
Effingham, Grenville, Raleigh, Drake, Here's to the bold and free! Benbow, Collingwood, Byron, Blake, Hail to the Kings of the Sea! Admirals all, for England's sake, Honour be yours and fame! And honour, as long as waves shall break, To Nelson's peerless name! ... Essex was fretting in Cadiz Bay With the galleons fair in sight; Howard at last must give him his way, And the word was passed to fight. Never was schoolboy gayer than he, Since holidays first began: He tossed his bonnet to wind and sea, And under the guns he ran. Drake nor devil nor Spaniard feared, Their cities he put to the sack; He singed his Catholic Majesty's beard, And harried his ships to wrack. He was playing at Plymouth a rubber of bowls When the great Armada came; But he said, "They must wait their turn, good souls," And he stooped and finished the game. Admirals all, for England's sake, Honour be yours and fame! And honour, as long as waves shall break, To Nelson's peerless name! ...
Composition:
- Set to music by Elisabeth Charlotta Henrietta Ernestina Sonntag (1866 - 1950), "Admirals all", 1899-1914, stanzas 1,3,4,2 [ voice and piano ], as Else Headlam-Morley
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Newbolt, Sir (1862 - 1938), "Admirals all", appears in Admirals All and Other Verses, first published 1897
See other settings of this text.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-06
Line count: 56
Word count: 359