Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE CANADIAN BOAT SONG, by JOHN WILSON (1785-1854)


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE CANADIAN BOAT SONG, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Listen to me, as when ye heard our father
Last Line: But we are exiles from our fathers' land.
Alternate Author Name(s): North, Christopher
Subject(s): Exiles; Patriotism


Listen to me, as when ye heard our father
Sing long ago the song of other shores --
Listen to me, and then in chorus gather
All your deep voices as ye pull your oars:

Chorus:
Fair these broad meads -- these hoary woods are grand
But we are exiles from our fathers' land.
From the lone shieling of the misty island
Mountains divide us, and the waste of seas,
Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland,
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.
We ne'er shall tread the fancy-haunted valley,
Where 'tween the dark hills creeps the small clear stream
In arms around the patriarch banner rally,
Nor see the moon on royal tombstones gleam.
When the bold kindred in the time long vanished,
Conquered the soil and fortified the keep --
No seer foretold the children would be banished,
That a degenerate lord might boast his sheep.
Come foreign rage -- let Discord burst in slaughter!
O then for clansmen true, and stern claymore,
The hearts that would have given their blood like water,
Beat heavily beyond the Atlantic roar.
Fair these broad meads -- these hoary woods are grand:
But we are exiles from our fathers' land.





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