Pike County Ballads and Other Poems

WHEN THE BOYS COME HOME.

  There's a happy time coming,
    When the boys come home.
  There's a glorious day coming,
    When the boys come home.
  We will end the dreadful story
  Of this treason dark and gory
  In a sunburst of glory,
    When the boys come home.

  The day will seem brighter
    When the boys come home,
  For our hearts will be lighter
    When the boys come home.
  Wives and sweethearts will press them
  In their arms and caress them,
  And pray God to bless them,
    When the boys come home.

  The thinned ranks will be proudest
    When the boys come home,
  And their cheer will ring the loudest
    When the boys come home.
  The full ranks will be shattered,
  And the bright arms will be battered,
  And the battle-standards tattered,
    When the boys come home.

  Their bayonets may be rusty,
    When the boys come home,
  And their uniforms dusty,
    When the boys come home.
  But all shall see the traces
  Of battle's royal graces,
  In the brown and bearded faces,
    When the boys come home.

  Our love shall go to meet them,
    When the boys come home,
  To bless them and to greet them,
    When the boys come home;
  And the fame of their endeavour
  Time and change shall not dissever
  From the nation's heart for ever,
    When the boys come home.