Elizabeth Barrett Browning - A Curse for a Nation: The Curse lyrics
[Elizabeth Barrett Browning - A Curse for a Nation: The Curse lyrics]
Because ye have broken your own chain
With the strain
Of brave men climbing a Nation’s height
Yet thence bear down with brand and thong
On souls of others, for this wrong
This is the curse write
Because yourselves are standing straight
In the state
Of Freedom’s foremost acolyte
Yet keep calm footing all the time
On writhing bond-slaves, for this crime
This is the curse write
Because ye prosper in God’s name
With a claim
To honour in the old world’s sight
Yet do the fiend’s work perfectly
In strangling martyrs, for this lie
This is the curse write
Ye shall watch while kings conspire
Round the people’s smouldering fire
And, warm for your part
Shall never dare O shame!
To utter the thought into flame
Which burns at your heart
This is the curse write
Ye shall watch while nations strive
With the bloodhounds, die or survive
Drop faint from their jaws
Or throttle them backward to death
And only under your breath
Shall favour the cause
This is the curse write
Ye shall watch while strong men draw
The nets of feudal law
To strangle the weak
And, counting the sin for a sin
Your soul shall be sadder within
Than the word ye shall speak
This is the curse write
When good men are praying erect
That Christ may avenge his elect
And deliver the earth
The prayer in your ears, said low
Shall sound like the tramp of a foe
That’s driving you forth
This is the curse write
When wise men give you their praise
They shall pause in the heat of the phrase
As if carried too far
When ye boast your own charters kept true
Ye shall blush for the thing which ye do
Derides what ye are
This is the curse write
When fools cast taunts at your gate
Your scorn ye shall somewhat abate
As ye look o’er the wall
For your conscience, tradition, and name
Explode with a deadlier blame
Than the worst of them all
This is the curse write
Go, wherever ill deeds shall be done
Go, plant your flag in the sun
Beside the ill doers!
And recoil from clenching the curse
Of God’s witnessing Universe
With a curse of yours
This is the curse write
With the strain
Of brave men climbing a Nation’s height
Yet thence bear down with brand and thong
On souls of others, for this wrong
This is the curse write
Because yourselves are standing straight
In the state
Of Freedom’s foremost acolyte
Yet keep calm footing all the time
On writhing bond-slaves, for this crime
This is the curse write
Because ye prosper in God’s name
With a claim
To honour in the old world’s sight
Yet do the fiend’s work perfectly
In strangling martyrs, for this lie
This is the curse write
Ye shall watch while kings conspire
Round the people’s smouldering fire
And, warm for your part
Shall never dare O shame!
To utter the thought into flame
Which burns at your heart
This is the curse write
Ye shall watch while nations strive
With the bloodhounds, die or survive
Drop faint from their jaws
Or throttle them backward to death
And only under your breath
Shall favour the cause
This is the curse write
Ye shall watch while strong men draw
The nets of feudal law
To strangle the weak
And, counting the sin for a sin
Your soul shall be sadder within
Than the word ye shall speak
This is the curse write
When good men are praying erect
That Christ may avenge his elect
And deliver the earth
The prayer in your ears, said low
Shall sound like the tramp of a foe
That’s driving you forth
This is the curse write
When wise men give you their praise
They shall pause in the heat of the phrase
As if carried too far
When ye boast your own charters kept true
Ye shall blush for the thing which ye do
Derides what ye are
This is the curse write
When fools cast taunts at your gate
Your scorn ye shall somewhat abate
As ye look o’er the wall
For your conscience, tradition, and name
Explode with a deadlier blame
Than the worst of them all
This is the curse write
Go, wherever ill deeds shall be done
Go, plant your flag in the sun
Beside the ill doers!
And recoil from clenching the curse
Of God’s witnessing Universe
With a curse of yours
This is the curse write