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by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)

At last! In sight of home again
Language: English 
At last! In sight of home again,
Of home again;
No more to range and roam again
As at that bygone time?
No more to go away from us
And stay from us? -
Dawn, hold not long the day from us,
But quicken it to prime!

Now all the town shall ring to them,
Shall ring to them,
And we who love them cling to them
And clasp them joyfully;
And cry, "O much we'll do for you
Anew for you,
Dear Loves! -- aye, draw and hew for you,
Come back from oversea."

Some told us we should meet no more,
Should meet no more;
Should wait, and wish, but greet no more
Your faces round our fires;
That, in a while, uncharily
And drearily
Men gave their lives -- even wearily,
Like those whom living tires.

And now you are nearing home again,
Dears, home again;
No more, may be, to roam again
As at that bygone time,
Which took you far away from us
To stay from us;
Dawn, hold not long the day from us,
But quicken it to prime!

About the headline (FAQ)

First published in Morning Post November 1900

Text Authorship:

  • by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "Song of the soldiers' wives" [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 Alfred Matthew Hale (1875 - 1960), "Song of the soldiers' wives and sweethearts", op. 39 no. ? [female voice and orchestra], from Five War Poems [
     text not verified 
    ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-01-19
Line count: 32
Word count: 182

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