Africanus: a Ballad On the Conquests of Scipio Africanus

From ship we see the foreign shore The lookout’s first to sight The Carthaginians have no clue Of coming Roman might The expedition’s full of men Our forces proud and grand We come to conquer Africa This hot and humid land We hit the coast, a stranger comes An old and shriveled man His voice is raspy like a blade His skin is dark and tan He squint’s round at my armored troops His eyes take in the ships He queries as to my own past And other Roman trips I answer “I am Scipio The Roman general I conquered all Iberia These men are at my call” “Arriving from Hispania We conquered all the tribes The Carthaginian rebels too Our feats I shan’t describe” “More recently we gained allies That may help us again They are the best riders around Numidian horsemen” “But soon we must prepare to march To meet the Carthage foe Through sand, and fields, and mountains too Whichever wind may blow” “The expedition’s ready now Our forces proud and grand We’ve come to conquer Africa This hot and humid land” As we set off, the tension mounts Our blades are sharp and keen The banners fly, the troops are set Our enemies will scream We crest the hill and see the man The famous Hannibal Crying orders, gath’ring troops We’ll crush this animal. Zamá’s the place, as morning dawns The elephants attack The battle’s fought, the men are caught In arrows, screams, and rain The expedition’s weary now Our eyes are full of sand We’ve come, we’ve conquered Africa This ancient, bloody land