Constab Ballads/Comrades Four

by Claude McKay

Comrades Four

Dear comrades, my comrades,
My heart is always true;
An’ ever an’ ever
I shall remember you.

We all joined together,
Together joined we four;
An’ I have been first to
Pass t’rough the open door.^[1]

We four drilled together,
Together drilled we all;
An’ I’ve been the first to
Flee from the life o’ gall.

We parted, dear comrades,
We parted all in tears,
An’ each went his own way
To shoulder life’s sad cares.

O comrades, my comrades,
What is de lasting gain,
But all t’rough de tempest
A heart of unmixed pain?

My comrades, loved comrades,
I hear your bitter cry;
But life’s pain will end, boys,
Will end yet—by an’ by.

 

1. In allusion to the writer’s discharge.