You'll tell her, won't you? Say to her I died
As a brave soldier should - true to the last;
She'll bear it better if a though of price
Comes in to stay her, the first shock o'erpast!
You'll tell her, won't you? Show her how I lay
Pressing the pictured lips I loved so well;
And how my last thoughts floated far away,
To home and her, with love I could not tell.
You'll tell her, won't you? - not how hard it was
To give up life - for her sake so dear;
Nay, nay, not so. Say 'twas a noble cause,
And I did die for it without a tear.
You'll tell her, won't you? She'll be glad to know
Her soldier stood undaunted, true as steel,
His heart with her, his bosom to the foe,
When the blow struck no human power could break.
You'll tell her, won't you? Say, too, we shall meet
In God's Hereafter, where our love shall grow
More holy for this parting, and more sweet,
And cleansed from every stain it knew below.