1. Read the annals of those who lived in times gone by
You’ll find there tribulations to make you forget your own

2. You’ll find their great ones were made to drink bitter drafts
Of calamities by which your livers would melt

3. Exile and plunder; floggings with whips and chains
Then murder and dispersal for those who were born

4. And if, praise God, you are spared their evil
Then praise God, for grace comes to those who give praise