Page:Recruit's farewell to his wife and three children.pdf/3

 But give the sergeant back the coin,

and here at home remain,

For my mind does rell me if you

go where cannons do roar,

Your loving wife and children

will never see you more.

A soldier’s fate my dear depends

upon the fortune of war,

And I in battle may escape

without a wound or fear ;

If I should wear a wooden leg,

a pensioner I’ll be,

And if I gain a golden chain,

I'll bring it home to thee.

Dear Jack it grieves my heart to hear

you talk of leg or chain,

I wou’d not wish you’d lose one joint

for pension or for gain ;

But stay at home and do not roam

to foreign countries,

Unless your life you’d forfeit

amidst your enemies.

My dear I cannot stay at home,

nor yet endure to see

So many looms stand idle,

that once went merrily ;

There is no demand for merchandize,

this war has made it so,

And trading is so very bad

that many a man must go.