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| FAREWELL to the land that my fathers defended; | |
| Farewell to the field which their ashes inurn; | |
| The holiest flame on their altars descended, | |
| Which, fed by their sons, shall eternally burn: | |
| Ah! soft be the bed where the hero reposes; | 5 |
| And light be the green turf that over him closes— | |
| Gay Flora shall deck, with her earliest roses, | |
| The graves of my sires, and the land of my birth. | |
| Adieu to the scenes which my heart’s young emotions | |
| Have drest in attire so alluringly gay; | 10 |
| Ah! never, no never, can billowing oceans, | |
| Nor time, drive the fond recollections away! | |
| From days that are past, present comfort I borrow; | |
| The scenes of to-day shall be brighter to-morrow; | |
| In age I ’ll recall, as a balm for my sorrow, | 15 |
| The graves of my sires, and the land of my birth. | |
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| I go to the West, where the forest, receding, | |
| Invites the adventurous axe-man along; | |
| I go to the groves where the wild deer are feeding, | |
| And mountain-birds carol their loveliest song: | 20 |
| Adieu to the land that my fathers defended, | |
| Adieu to the soil on which freemen contended, | |
| Adieu to the sons who from heroes descended, | |
| The graves of my sires and the land of my birth. | |
| When far from my home and surrounded by strangers, | 25 |
| My thoughts shall recall the gay pleasures of youth: | |
| Though life’s stormy ocean shall threaten with dangers, | |
| My soul shall repose in the sunshine of truth: | |
| While streams to their own native ocean are tending, | |
| And forest oaks, swept by the tempest, are bending, | 30 |
| My soul shall exult, as she ’s proudly defending | |
| The graves of my sires, and the land of my birth. | |
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