Spanish Patriot’s Song
How rings each sparkling Spanish brand,There’s music in its rattle;And gay, as for a saraband,We gird us for the battle.Follow, follow!To the glorious revelry,When the sabres bristle,And the death-shots whistle.
Of rights for which our swords outspring,Shall Angoulême bereave us?We’ve plucked a bird of nobler wing—The eagle could not brave us.Follow, follow!Shake the Spanish blade, and sing—France shall ne’er enslave us:Tyrants shall not brave us.
Shall yonder rag, the Bourbon’s flag,White emblem of his liver,For Spain the proud be Freedom’s shroud?Oh, never, never, never.Follow, follow!Follow to the fight, and sing—Liberty for ever:Ever, ever, ever.
Thrice welcome hero of the hilt,We laugh to see his standard;Here let his miscreant blood be spiltWhere braver men’s was squandered.Follow, follow!If the laureled tricolorDurst not over-flaunt us,Shall yon lily daunt us?
No! ere they quell our valour’s veins,They’ll upward to their fountainsTurn back the rivers on our plains,And trample flat our mountains.Follow, follow!Shake the Spanish blade, and sing—France shall ne’er enslave us:Tyrants shall not brave us.
Words in this poem
- saraband n.
- A slow Spanish dance of Saracenic origin, to an air in triple time; also, the air itself. [F. sarabande, Sp. zarabanda, fr. Per. serbend a song.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- shots n.
- The refuse of cattle taken from a drove.
- outspring v. i.
- To spring out; to issue.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- miscreant n.
- One who holds a false religious faith; a misbeliever. [OF. mescreant, F. mécréant; pref. mes- (L. minus less) + p. pr. fr. L. credere to believe. See Creed.]
- laureled a.
- Crowned with laurel, or with a laurel wreath; laureate.
- tricolor n.
- The national French banner, of three colors, blue, white, and red, adopted at the first revolution. [F. tricolore, drapeau tricolore a tricolored flag, fr. tricolore three-colored; tri (see Tri-) + L. color color.]
- daunt v. t.
- To overcome; to conquer. [OF. danter, F. dompter to tame, subdue, fr. L. domitare, v. intens. of domare to tame. See Tame.]
- quell v. t.
- To take the life of; to kill. [OE. quellen to kill, AS. cwellan, causative of cwelan to die; akin to OHG. quellen to torment, Icel. kvelja. See Quail to cower.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Spanish Patriot’s Song is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Campbell, Project Gutenberg ebook #59788; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Campbell, Spanish Patriot’s Song, in The Pleasures of Hope, and Other Poems (1824), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59788, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/campbell-poems/spanish-patriot-s-song.html, id L24439.
Form and metre
Spanish Patriot’s Song is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
See other poems in trochaic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABAB--CC brandA · rattleB · sarabandA · battleB · follow · revelry · bristleC · whistleC
- 2 ABAB-ABB outspringA · usB · wingA · usB · follow · singA · usB · usB
- 3 ---A--AA flag · liver · shroud · neverA · follow · sing · everA · everA
- 4 A-A---BB hiltA · standard · spiltA · squandered · follow · tricolor · usB · usB
- 5 ABAB--CC veinsA · fountainsB · plainsA · mountainsB · follow · sing · usC · usC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| How rings each sparkling Spanish brand, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| There’s music in its rattle; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And gay, as for a saraband, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| We gird us for the battle. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Follow, follow! | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| To the glorious revelry, | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘˘ |
| When the sabres bristle, | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| And the death-shots whistle. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Of rights for which our swords outspring, | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| Shall Angoulême bereave us? | 7 | ····˘/· |
| We’ve plucked a bird of nobler wing— | 9 | ··˘···/˘· |
| The eagle could not brave us. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Follow, follow! | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Shake the Spanish blade, and sing— | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| France shall ne’er enslave us: | 6 | ···˘/· |
| Tyrants shall not brave us. | 6 | /˘···· |
| Shall yonder rag, the Bourbon’s flag, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| White emblem of his liver, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| For Spain the proud be Freedom’s shroud? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Oh, never, never, never. | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| Follow, follow! | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Follow to the fight, and sing— | 7 | /˘····· |
| Liberty for ever: | 6 | /˘˘·/˘ |
| Ever, ever, ever. | 6 | /˘/˘/˘ |
| Thrice welcome hero of the hilt, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| We laugh to see his standard; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Here let his miscreant blood be spilt | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| Where braver men’s was squandered. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Follow, follow! | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| If the laureled tricolor | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Durst not over-flaunt us, | 6 | ······ |
| Shall yon lily daunt us? | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| No! ere they quell our valour’s veins, | 9 | ····/˘/˘· |
| They’ll upward to their fountains | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Turn back the rivers on our plains, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| And trample flat our mountains. | 8 | ·/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Follow, follow! | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Shake the Spanish blade, and sing— | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| France shall ne’er enslave us: | 6 | ···˘/· |
| Tyrants shall not brave us. | 6 | /˘···· |
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