From mercilesse Invaders, from wicked men's deuice,
O God! Arise and helpe us to quele owre enemies.
  Kyrye eleison.    Christe eleison.

Sinke deepe their potent Navies, their strengthe and corage breake,
O God! arise and saue us, for Iesus Christ his sake.
 
Though cruel Spain and Parma, with heathene legions come,
O God! Arise and arm us, we'll dye for owre home.
 
We will not change owre Credo, for Pope, nor boke, nor bell ;
And yf the Devil come him self, we'll hounde him back to hell.

About the headline (FAQ)

Somewhat modernized version used by Bacon:

From merciless invaders,
From wicked men's device,
O God! Arise and arm us
To quele oure enemies.
 
Sinke deepe their potent navies,
Their strength and corage breake,
O God! Arise and arm us,
For Jesus Christ, our sake.
 
Though cruel Spain and Parma,
With heathene legions come.
O God! Arise and arm us,
We'll dye for our home!
 
We will not change our Credo,
For Pope nor boke nor bell
And if the Devil come himself
We'll hounde him back to Hell!

Authorship:

• by John Still (1543 - 1607), "A hymne to be sung by all Englande : Women, youthes, clarkes, and souldiers", written c1588 [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 Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "The Spanish Armada", c1950. [voice and piano] [
   text verified 1 time
  ]

Researcher for this text: Barbara Miller

This text was added to the website: 2013-04-12
Line count: 9
Word count: 88