Lay your burden down boys,
Lay your burden down
Of your kind they will say
How you set your will ablaze
But for now lay your burden down boys
Lay your burden down

We came from the port of New Orleans
From the maiden who ne’er shall wake
In her bed we take rest
From the woes we possess
By the shores of her Ponchartrain Lake, boys

We crossed the Great Mississippi
The roar of our nation’s birth
On her mighty waves
For the triumph of the trade
They belied the measure of our worth, boys

We passed by the graves of our mothers
Through the land where they toiled and they tilled
Are we ever to know
How their seeds were made to grow
It’s a silence that haunts us still, boys

When we reached Angelina County,
A Hidden Village we did find
A fraternity
Nay, the “Order of the Qui!”
Deep in those Texas Pines, boys

We took comfort in your union
The rage in your will of fire
You reached out a hand
Yes we joined the royal band
With our will may we ever inspire, boys

So, lay your burden down boys,
Lay your burden down
Of your kind they will say
How you set your will ablaze
But for now lay your burden down boys
Lay your burden down