by Laurence Binyon (1869 - 1943)
The Fourth of August
Language: English
Now in thy splendour go before us, Spirit of England, ardent-eyed, Enkindle this dear earth that bore us, In the hour of peril purified. The cares we hugged drop out of vision, Our hearts with deeper thoughts dilate. We step from days of sour division Into the grandeur of our fate. For us the glorious dead have striven, They battled that we might be free. We to their living cause are given; We arm for men that are to be. Among the nations nobliest chartered, England recalls her heritage. In her is that which is not bartered, Which force can neither quell nor cage. For her immortal stars are burning, With her the hope that’s never done, The seed that’s in the Spring’s returning, The very flower that seeks the sun. She fights the fraud that feeds desire on Lies, in a lust to enslave or kill, The barren creed of blood and iron, Vampire of Europe’s wasted will… Endure, O Earth! and thou, awaken, Purged by this dreadful winnowing-fan, O wronged, untameable, unshaken Soul of divinely suffering man.
Authorship:
- by Laurence Binyon (1869 - 1943), "The Fourth of August", appears in The Winnowing-Fan, no. 1, first published 1914 [author's text not yet checked 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 Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "The Fourth of August", published 1917 [ soprano or tenor, chorus, and orchestra ], from The Spirit of England, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Mike Pearson
This text was added to the website: 2016-07-10
Line count: 28
Word count: 179