Poem

At the Beating of a Drum

by Henry Lawson · 1910

Fear ye not the stormy future, for the Battle Hymn is strong,
And the armies of Australia shall not march without a song;
The glorious words and music of Australia’s song shall come
When her true hearts rush together at the beating of a drum.
We may not be there to hear it—’twill be written in the night,
And Australia’s foes shall fear it in the hour before the fight.
The glorious words and music from a lonely heart shall come
When our sons shall rush to danger at the beating of a drum.
He shall be unknown who writes it; he shall soon forgotten be,
But the song shall ring through ages as a song of liberty.
And I say the words and music of our battle hymn shall come,
When Australia wakes in anger at the beating of a drum.
Sources, publication & text notesReference details
Canonical recordPOEM-000020
Copy-textHenry Lawson — The Skyline Riders and Other Verses; selected digital copy-text retained exactly; complete University of Sydney institutional edition independently corroborates substantive wording and meaningful selected-copy layout under D-180/D-208
Source recordSRC-000001
Rights determinationRGT-001002
Text statusCANONICAL TEXT READY
TranscriptionDIPLOMATIC_D180_D208

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