A Song of the Rank and File
By Arthur W. Spaulding
Though I be not the Captain,
Yet will I bare my sword,
And I will be by my Captain's side,
Wherever he stand, or wherever he ride,
In the battles of the Lord. For though there were captains many,
What would the captains do
If there were none of men beside
To thrust and parry, to march and ride,
And to follow the captains through? I will not buy with money
The right to idle lie;
I should scorn to give, in the mask of gold,
The proof of a courage I did not hold,
Because I feared to die. But I will give my body,
And I will give my hand,
And the joy of a heart that is true to the cause,
For the King and his grace, the King and his laws,
And be one of the King's own band. And though I should count my silver
Into the Captain's chest,
It is but to free my good sword-arm,
That, naught encumbered when sounds the alarm,
I may fight, and fight my best. And though I be not captain,
Yet will I keep my stride,
And the burdens bear of pack and sword,
To march and to battle for the Lord,
Close by my Captain's side.