by William Billings (1746 - 1800)
Chester
Language: English
Let tyrants shake their iron rod, And Slav'ry clank her galling chains, We fear them not, we trust in God, New England's God forever reigns. Howe and Burgoyne and Clinton too, With Prescot and Cornwallis join'd, Together plot our Overthrow, In one Infernal league combin'd. When God inspir'd us for the fight, Their ranks were broke, their lines were forc'd, Their ships were Shatter'd in our sight, Or swiftly driven from our Coast. The Foe comes on with haughty Stride; Our troops advance with martial noise, Their Vet'rans flee before our Youth, And Gen'rals yield to beardless Boys. What grateful Off'ring shall we bring? What shall we render to the Lord? Loud Halleluiahs let us Sing, And praise his name on ev'ry Chord.
Text Authorship:
- by William Billings (1746 - 1800), "Chester" [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 William Billings (1746 - 1800), "Chester", published 1778 [voice and piano], from the collection The Singing Masters Assistant [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-11-01
Line count: 20
Word count: 123