Hail to you, comrades, who have won, br Where the torn lines of battle run br By tattered town and ruined mead, br The honour that men give with pride br To those who, daffing death aside, br Have done the valorous deed. br br And has the war, then, brought to birth, br As flowers that spring from western earth br At summons of the pelting rain, br The courage that can force its way, br And hold the shadowing wings at bay, br And smile at lingering pain? br br And is it true that only now br Life lifts from her heroic brow br The smothering shroud of deadly peace, br And laughs to sniff the morning air, br And bids a thousand bonfires flare br The news of her release? br br Hell’s throat may swallow down its lie, br For men knew how to live and die br And take the gifts of motley fate, br Before the fiends of fear and greed, br Clasping, engendered from their seed br The hissing brood of hate.