Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

from So Sound You Sleep (More Tears of Morning) by David A. Harley

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about

This 1917 poem refers to the British Expeditionary Force, which German propagandists referred to as ‘mercenaries’ because at the outbreak of war, Britain’s army consisted of professional soldiers rather than conscripts or the later volunteers of ‘Kitchener’s Army‘. The BEF was practically wiped out by 1916. I find it hard to empathise with either Housman's or Kipling's imperialist tendencies, but the poem does have power. I hope my arrangement does it justice.

lyrics

These, in the day when heaven was falling,
The hour when earth’s foundations fled,
Followed their mercenary calling,
And took their wages, and are dead.

Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
They stood, and earth’s foundations stay;
What God abandoned, these defended,
And saved the sum of things for pay.

credits

from So Sound You Sleep (More Tears of Morning), released February 8, 2023
Guitars, synth, vocal and melody by David A. Harley. Words by A.E. Housman, from 'Last Poems'.

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about

David A. Harley England, UK

David Harley is a former professional musician, administrator, IT security editor, author and researcher, and former much else that is even less impressive. He now lives in Cornwall. More info at whealalice.com