Portugal and the Portuguese

Portugal and the Portuguese

Portugal and the Portuguese
Discovered the world and voyaged near and far
Sailed the seven seas with much courage and ease
Conquered many lands; were at sea without par

In their veins ran the blood from Phoenicia and Greece
- From Ulysses city, from Lisbon, they sailed
They ventured beyond Madeira and Canaries
In the middle of the Atlantic, the Azores they reached

- From there they ventured to the very brim of the earth
To find more land - worlds beyond their world
And always they came back to tell the others their worth
And always sailed on for Christ's world and his word

Portugal and the Portuguese
They went west and east, they went south and north
To Africa, India, Brazil, the Far East
Before anybody else they were first to go forth

Camões, their bard, of their valor did sing
Don Sebastian so enthralled became their ill-fated king

Endowed with the power to dare the impossible
They dared to discover the very roundness of Earth
After their deeds the Ocean would become a Portuguese canticle
Forever sung by its poets, fado singers, troubadours

Of the lands of Europe on its most westerly edge
This land would forever be tied with the History of the Seas
Maritime Crusaders, they scouted and lived their pledge
Based on their faith, Prince Henry's decrees

And they were the first with authority to affirm
That the world was round; that the world was a globe
It took that leap of faith and their heroism
To make all the difference, to go beyond their shore

Camões, their bard, of their valor did sing
Don Sebastian so enthralled became their ill-fated king.

Silvério Gabriel de Melo
Terceira, Açores