Do Your Duty, Do it Well

Bendigo Advertiser 5 Apr 1890  p. 6.

A SONG FOR RAILWAY MEN.

Comrades, brethren, railway men,
Duty calls me to the pen
With no other end in view
But to bless, ennoble you,

CHORUS—
Would you be a noble band,
Honored, loved on every hand,
Then, on this injunction, dwell—
"Do your duty, do it well."

Pay due homage, one and all,
To stern duty's righteous call
At her shrine each morning bow,
And allegiance to her vow.

Would you be, etc,

May her mandates be your choice,
Love the music of her voice
As she whispers day and night
In your conscience, "Do the right."

Would you be, etc.

Labor for the common weal
With a noble, manly zeal
In the cause of right be strong,
Spurn the thought of doing wrong.

Would you be, etc.

If you fill a menial place,
Don't put oil a blushing face,
You may be a man of worth
In the humblest place on earth.

Would you be, etc.

Worth consists in being true
To the trust reposed in you,
Toiling with your strength and skill,
All your duty to fulfil.

Would you be, etc.

Sturdy watchmen, perched on high,
Keep a single, clear eye,
Steady nerves, unclouded brains
As you signal passing trains.

Would you be, etc.

Study well each move you mate,
Never suffer a mistake
To deceive or misdirect,
Death may lie beneath neglect.

Would you be, etc.

Drivers, guards, and firemen,
In your flights o'er moor and glen
With living freights, let duty guide
Your thoughts and think of nought beside.

Would you be, etc.

Watchful be—life is at stake,
Perils hem the way you take
A careless act you can't recall;
One error might bring death to all.

Would you be, etc.

Porters, ye whose daily lives
Are spent to serve the busy hives.
Of passing crowds, be ever true
To all that duty asks of you,

Would you be, etc.

Be courteous, affable to all—
Kind in word to every call;
Faithful to your country's cause;
Worthy of its just applause.

Would you be, etc.

Comrades, listen to my lay,
Let's be noble in our day,
Doing all the good we can,
True to God and true to man.

Would you be, etc.

William Pascoe, " Railway Poet." The above poem wag read at a social meeting held in connection with the annual conference of railway men. 28th March, 1890.