Page:Ballads of a Bohemian.djvu/202

200 Of fightin’ if whoever wins it’s us that’s got to pay?…”

“Oh, it will be the end, mother, when lads like him and me, That sweat to feed the ones above, decide that we’ll be free.…”

“And when will that day come, Michael, and when will fightin’ cease, And simple folks may till their soil and live and love in peace?…”

“It’s coming soon and soon, mother, it’s nearer every day, When only men who work and sweat will have a word to say; When all who earn their honest bread in every land and soil Will claim the Brotherhood of Man, the Comradeship of Toil; When we, the Workers, all demand: ‘What are we fighting for?’… Then, then we’ll end that stupid crime, that devil’s madness–War.”

“Tell Annie I’ll be home in time To help her with her Christmas-tree.”