by Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)
But when our Country's cause provokes to...
Language: English
But when our Country's cause provokes to Arms,
How martial music ev'ry bosom warms!
So when the first bold vessel dar'd the seas,
High on the stern the Thracian rais'd his strain,
While Argo saw her kindred trees
Descend from Pelion to the main.
Transported demi-gods stood round,
And men grew heroes at the sound,
Enflam'd with glory's charms:
Each chief his sev'nfold shield display'd,
And half unsheath'd the shining blade:
And seas, and rocks, and skies rebound,
To arms, to arms, to arms!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744), no title, appears in Ode on St. Cecilia's Day, no. 3, first published 1708 [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 Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "But when our country's cause provokes to arms", 1889 [ chorus and orchestra ], from Ode to St. Cecelia's Day, no. 4 [ sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Luca Antonio Pagnini) , no title, appears in Ode di Alessandro Pope in onore di Santa Cecilia, no. 3
Researcher for this page: John Fowler
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-04
Line count: 13
Word count: 84