Oh, loyal Orange breth-er-en.
I pray you act as Christian men,
And, should your spleen arise, count ten
Before you speak.
Nay, bear me, brothers, I beseech.
Refrain from all un-Christian speech
Remember! He, whose Word we preach,
Was ever week.
The lazy, low Italian,
The cheating, shifty Mexican -
All Papist creatures to a man;
Avid brutes at that -
The scum that Rome's base agents skim
With mummery from ages dim.
Dear brothers, let us sing a n'ymn,
And pass the bat.
Oh, Orangemen, I cannot find
Words to express my state of mind -
Fit epithets to name the kind
Of brutish man
Who takes the word of Popery
Concerning dim eternity.
But, brothers, let us ever be
Ker-is-ti-an.
Then, look upon the Irish too -
A miserable murd'rous crew!
They'll feed you up on Irish stew,
Then cut your throat.
And - it is truth that I allege -
They'll shoot you from behind a hedge -
Dear brothers, recollect your pledge,
And peace promote.
Oh, loyal, loving, Orangemen,
Be tolerant and kindly when
You preach about your fellow men.
E'en as I be.
Be ever mild and circumspect.
(A curse on all the Popish sect!)
And brothers, brothers, recollect
Sweet Charity.
First published in The Bulletin, 20 August 1908
Author reference sites: C.J. Dennis, Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian Poetry Library
See also.
