Battle of Waterloo (Neilson)/The Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo.
Come, all you valiant heroes bold,
- I pray you lend an ear,
There was not ſuch a battle fought,
no, not this many a year.
All on the plains of Waterloo,
on the 18th day of June,
Againſt the proud ſons of France,
we pull’d their Emperor down.
Chor. As on the plains of Waterloo,
it was a bloody fray,
And ages yet unborn,
ſhall read the glories of that day.
’Twas on the 16th day of June
the battle it began,
With courage bold each hero fought,
with valour every man,
And at the hour of 12 o’clock
began the bloody fight,
And the battle was not ended,
till it dropt the veil of night.
’Twas on the 17th day of June,
about the hour of nine,
The Britiſh and the Pruſſians
their armies did combine,
The Duke of Wellington came up
all with a warlike band,
Come, come, my boys, we’ll beat them down,
while we have power to ſtand,
When the Pruſſian cavalry came up,
they fought like lions bold,
Led on by General Blucher
of 83 years old ;
Like lions bold, undaunted then,
we forced them to fly,
Come, come, cries General Blucher,
we’ll conquer them or die.
And when the dreadful moan came in,
the 18th day of June,
And near the hour of twelve o’clock,
ten thouſand were cut down.
Then cried the Duke of Wellington,
Come on, my warlike men,
This is the day they’ll conquer us,
or we will conquer them.
They clos’d full ſaſt on every ſide,
no ſlackneſs could be found,
And many a thouſand heroes bold
lay dead upon the ground,
Reſolved was Duke Wellington,
to lay the Frenchmen’s pride,
The fields were ſtain’d with crimſon blood,
death teem’d on every ſide.
Great guns did roar like thunder,
the battle rag’d amain,
And in this gallant action,
many thouſands there were ſlain,
One hundred and twenty cannon,
from them we took away,
Six eagles fine we took from them,
all on that glorious day.
We hope this glorious action
will bring peace for evermore,
All nations ſhall united be,
through every diſtant ſhore,
Succeſs unto Duke Wellington,
who gain’d this glorious day,
Likewiſe to General Blucher,
that always fought his way.