An American’s Welcome.

AN AMERICAN’S WELCOME.

OH! come from the banks of the clear-flowing Shannon,
The Liffey, the Boyne, and the fair river Lee,
One heart shall at least extend you a welcome,
And offer a home in the land of the free.

Oh! long, far too long! have ye met with derision,
By those who would claim to be Christian and true;
‘T is time we received you as brothers and sisters,
And gave you as strangers the welcome your due.

For us ye have delved, ye have wrought, and have suffered
The heat and the cold, for many a long year,
Oh! what now without ye, so strong and so hearty,
Oh! what should we do, if ye no longer were here?

Let every kind heart come up to the rescue,
And show unto others the rights they may claim,
My word for ‘t, you’ll find a warm-hearted cheering:
The praise of the poor is far better than fame.