THE SONG OF SONGS
(Will Ogilvie)

Let others chant of battle and such wreaths as glory gave
I would rather sing the praises of the dew that dips the daisies
Of the wind that stirs the wattle and the foam that flecks the wave

When others sing the nation and the flag that sweeps the seas
Let them leave me to deliver the old message of the river
And the true interpretation of the wind's voice in the trees

For when the drums are calling men to honour and renown
Turning in their dreamy slumbers they are swayed by softer numbers
Music of a dewdrop falling or a dead leaf drifting down

And when the battle rages and the grey smoke dims the skies
There's a voice that makes them listen till the gathering teardrops glisten
And the love that lit the ages brings the roselight in their eyes

Let others chant of battle and such wreaths as glory gave
I would rather sing the praises of the dew that dips the daisies
Of the wind that stirs the wattle and the foam that flecks the wave

Graham Jenkin put a tune to this Ogilvie poem: page 61 of his 'Songs of the Great Australian Balladists'.

--Stewie.