The Fourth of August
Edward Elgar * Track #1 On The Spirit of England, Op. 80
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Album The Spirit of England, Op. 80
The Fourth of August by Edward Elgar
Release Date
Performed by
Edward ElgarAbout
Composed last among the three parts of the work, this selection gets its title from the date in 1914 when Britain declared war on Germany. The text is of a Laurence Binyon poem that was written shortly after that date and is rife with the optimism that ran in England at the time. Elgar’s musical set...
The Fourth of August Lyrics
Now in thy splendour go before us
Spirit of England, ardent-eyed!
Enkindle this dear earth that bore us
In the hour of peril purified
The cares we hugged drop out of vision
Our hearts with deeper thoughts dilate
We step from days of sour division
Into the grandeur of our fate
For us the glorious dead have striven;
They battled that we might be free
We to that living cause are given
We arm for men that are to be
Among the nations nobliest chartered
England recalls her heritage
With her is that which is not bartered
Which force can neither quell nor cage
For her immortal stars are burning
With her, the hope that's never done
The seed that's in the Spring's returning
The very flower that seeks the sun
We fight the fraud that feeds desire on
Lies, in a lust to enslave or kill
The barren creed of blood and iron
Vampire of Europe's wasted will
Endure, O Earth! and thou, awaken
Purged by this dreadful winnowing-fan
O wronged, untameable, unshaken
Soul of divinely suffering man!
The Fourth of August Q&A
Who wrote The Fourth of August's ?
The Fourth of August was written by Edward Elgar & Laurence Binyon.
When did Edward Elgar release The Fourth of August?
Edward Elgar released The Fourth of August on Thu Oct 04 1917.