[Editor: This song by W. T. Goodge (using his pseudonym of “The Colonel”) was published in his “Nutshells” column in the Orange Leader, 18 October 1899.]
[Sons of New Britannia]
After a vain effort to stave off an attack of the prevailing epidemic of war fever the Colonel succumbed on Saturday, and in his delirium gave utterance to the following jingo jingle:—
May Australasia rise with flag unfurled,
A New Britannia in another world!
—Wentworth.
The sons of New Britannia, like their fathers, will be free!
They’re on the side of liberty wherever they may be!
They glory in the nation that is ruler of the sea.
Proud to be the sons of New Britannia!
Northward!
Southward!
All around the world;
There you find the same old flag!
Eastward!
Westward!
Everywhere unfurl’d;
Floating o’er the sons of New Britannia!
Chorus:
Sons of New Britannia!
Citizens of Australia!
Lieges of the empire where the sun shall never set!
Bow the knee to no man!
Ready to face the foeman!
Sons of New Britannia love the old land yet!
The story of the future shall be writ in words of gold,
The sons of New Britannia they will rally round the old.
The haughty foreign foeman in his anger will be told:—
“Don’t forget the sons of New Britannia!”
Sturdy!
Steadfast!
Worthy of the race;
Greater as the time goes on!
Forward!
Onward!
For the foremost place,
Watchword of the sons of New Britannia!
Chorus:
Sons of New Britannia!
Citizens of Australia! etc.,
Source:
Orange Leader and Millthorpe Messenger (Millthorpe, NSW), 18 October 1899, p. 1
Also published in:
The Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW), 10 November 1899, p. 2
The Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW), 28 January 1900, p. 2 (incomplete version)
The Manning River Times and Advocate for the Northern Coast Districts of New South Wales (Taree, NSW), 3 February 1900, p. 10
Editor’s notes:
This song was set to music by Nicholas J. Gehde (using the exact same words as published in the “Nutshells” column).
See: 1) “Town Hall Shilling “Pops.””, The Sydney Morning Herald, (Sydney, NSW), 28 October 1899, p. 2 (advertisement for concert)
2) “Just published, new Australian patriotic song, Sons of New Britannia”, The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW), 4 November 1899, p. 2 (advertisement for sheet music)
3) Sons of New Britannia: Australian Patriotic Song [sheet music], Sydney: Nicholson & Co., ca. 1899 (“Words by W.T. Goodge. Music by Nicholas J. Gehde.”)
Australasia = Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, and neighboring islands; may also refer to just Australia and New Zealand
jingo = someone or something infused with jingoism: a bullish patriotism, especially regarding a belligerent foreign policy or giving very strong support to a policy of war (the word also appears in the phrase “by jingo”, an exclamation of surprise)
liege = relating to the relationship between a feudal subject and a superior; a feudal lord or monarch entitled to allegiance and service (as used in the phrase “my liege lord”); a loyal subject
o’er = over (pronounced the same as “oar”, “or”, and “ore”)
unfurl’d = (vernacular) unfurled
writ = (archaic) written; writing; write; can also refer to a court order which directs someone to carry out an act, or to refrain from carrying out an act; may also refer to something written, or to a document considered to be the most authoritative in its field, e.g. Holy Writ (the Bible, or a passage from the Bible)
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