From the recording Marching Through Georgia (2022)

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Produced and performed by Billy Webster
Lead guitar by Carl Basler
Recorded at The Jersey Dream, 2022

Lyrics

The minstrel boy to war has gone
In the ranks of death you will find him
His father’s sword he hath girded on
And his wild harp slung behind him
Land of song said the warrior bard
Though all the world betrays thee
One sword at least thy rights shall guard
One faithful harp shall praise thee

The minstrel fell but the foeman’s chain
Could not bring that proud soul under
The harp he loved never spoke again
For he tore its chords asunder
And said no chains shall sully thee
Thou soul of love and bravery
Thy songs were made for the pure and free
Never shall they sound in slavery

The minstrel boy will return we pray
When we hear the news we will cheer it
The minstrel boy will return one day
Torn perhaps in body not in spirit
Then may he play on his harp in peace
In a world such as heaven intended
For all the bitterness of man must cease
And every battle must be ended

*"The Minstrel Boy" is an Irish song written by Thomas Moore (1779–1852) and published as part of his Irish Melodies. Moore himself came to be nicknamed "The Minstrel Boy", and indeed it is the title of Leonard Strong's 1937 biography of Moore.

*During the American Civil War a third verse was written by an unknown author, and is sometimes included in renditions of the song.