by James Weldon Johnson (1871 - 1938)
The Young Warrior
Language: English
Mother, shed no mournful tears, But gird me on my sword; And give no utterance to thy fears, But bless me with thy word. The lines are drawn! The fight is on! A cause is to be won! Mother, look not so white and wan; Give Godspeed to thy son. Now let thine eyes my way pursue Where’er my footsteps fare; And when they lead beyond thy view, Send after me a prayer. But pray not to defend from harm, Nor danger to dispel; Pray, rather, that with steadfast arm I fight the battle well. Pray, mother of mine, that I always keep My heart and purpose strong, My sword unsullied and ready to leap Unsheathed against the wrong.
Text Authorship:
- by James Weldon Johnson (1871 - 1938) [author's text not yet checked 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 Harry Thacker Burleigh (1866 - 1949), "The Young Warrior", 1915 [ voice and piano ], also set in Italian (Italiano) [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Harry Thacker Burleigh.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2025-03-04
Line count: 20
Word count: 119