THE UMPAME MUSKETEERS.
The musketeers went marching by,
Went marching, marching, marching by;
On, on with sword and bandoleer,
I saw men come and disappear;
And no one knew the reason why
The musketeers went marching by,
Went marching, marching by.
But forward swept the caravan,
And step by step and man to man,
In gold and martial hue and sway,
I saw the column march away,
And breast to breast, and none knew why
The musketeers went marching by,
Went marching, marching by.
Would that my pen could write in time
To glorify this simple rhyme!
But why the dead that ever bleed?
And why was Standish in the lead?
But onward! on! with fife and drum,
With clank and rattle, still they come.
Who knoweth but the winds in flight,
A battle never won a fight?
And still the musketeers go by,
Go marching, marching by.
O Son of Heaven, answer, why
Do musketeers go marching by
With trumpet-blare, in fringe and gold,
And flags that flutter, fold on fold;
And rush and rattle, surge and swing,
And left to right, all glittering
In lordly plumes, that flash and glow,
And guns and stretchers, row on row!
There’s no one knows the reason why
The musketeers go marching by,
Go marching, marching, marching by.