I usually sing "Homesick" around Nov. 11th. It was written on the battlefield during the Great War by Walter MacFarlane of Upper Margaree, Cape Breton. It expresses how a soldier is caught between his dreams of returning home with his devotion to duty. I think that the last verse is especially powerful. The tune is a variant of "Where the River Shannon Flows" which is in the DT, but I can't get the midi to play. (help Joe!)
Slainte,
Sandy


HOMESICK
(Walter MacFarlane)

1. There's a sunny vale of splendor
Where in youth I loved to wander,
And no place can I love fonder,
No, no matter where I be.
'Tis a spot I'll love forever,
Where the elm branches quiver
By the silv'ry Margaree River,
Flowing gently to the sea.

2. There's a home beside the river
Where the roses bloom forever;
Tho' by oceans from it severed,
Still its magic charm I feel.
There's a nook that's fair and flowery,
And a thrill I long for hourly:
When the grey trout, hooked securely,
Sends a message to the reel.

3. There in boyhood's happy morning
How I loved to go a-roaming
While the night owl, early homing,
Cast a bleary eye at me.
And a song that used to cheer me
Still in fancy lingers near me;
'Twas a robin, ever cheery,
Singing gaily from a tree.

4. While in foreign climes I wander,
Absence makes my heart grow fonder,
And the memories of its grandeur
Seem to linger here with me.
And when sleep has dulled my senses,
From beyond the blue expanses
Comes a vision that entrances
Of my childhood home, Margaree.

5. Though the Rhineland claims my vision
While I serve with my division,
Still I long to end my mission
And return across the sea
To the fields I left behind me
While the flowing tears did blind me.
But the laws of war still bind me
And a soldier I must be.