 | [Honest Abe of the West, in] The Republican campaign songster, for 1860 |  |
51
HONEST ABE OF THE WEST.
BY EDMUND C. STEDMAN.
O hark! from the pine-crested hills of old Maine,
Where the splendor first falls from the wings of the morning,
And away in the West, over river and plain,
Rings out the grand anthem of Liberty's warning!
From green-rolling prairie it swells to the sea,
For the people have risen, victorious and free;
They have chosen their leaders, and bravest and best
Of them all is Old Abe, Honest Abe of the West!
Where the splendor first falls from the wings of the morning,
And away in the West, over river and plain,
Rings out the grand anthem of Liberty's warning!
From green-rolling prairie it swells to the sea,
For the people have risen, victorious and free;
They have chosen their leaders, and bravest and best
Of them all is Old Abe, Honest Abe of the West!
The spirit that fought for the patriots of old
Has swept through the land and aroused us forever:
In the pure air of heaven a standard unfold
Fit to marshal us on to the sacred endeavor!
Proudly the banner of Freemen we bear,
Noble the hopes that encircle it there!
And where battle is thickest we follow the crest
Of gallant Old Abe, Honest Abe of the West!
Has swept through the land and aroused us forever:
In the pure air of heaven a standard unfold
Fit to marshal us on to the sacred endeavor!
Proudly the banner of Freemen we bear,
Noble the hopes that encircle it there!
And where battle is thickest we follow the crest
Of gallant Old Abe, Honest Abe of the West!
52
There's a triumph in urging a glorious cause,
Though the hosts of the foe for a while may be stronger
Pushing on for just rulers and holier laws,
Till their lessening columns oppose us no longer
But ours the loud pæan of men who have past
Through the struggles of years, and are victors at last:
So forward the flag! leave to Heaven the rest
And trust in Old Abe, Honest Abe of the West!
Though the hosts of the foe for a while may be stronger
Pushing on for just rulers and holier laws,
Till their lessening columns oppose us no longer
But ours the loud pæan of men who have past
Through the struggles of years, and are victors at last:
So forward the flag! leave to Heaven the rest
And trust in Old Abe, Honest Abe of the West!
Lo! see the bright scroll of the Future unfold!
Broad farms and fair cities shall crown our devotion
Free Labor turn even the sands into gold,
And the links of her railways chain ocean to ocean
Barges shall float on the dark river waves
With a wealth never wrung from the sinews of slaves
And the chief, in whose rule all the land shall be blest
Is our noble Old Abe, Honest Abe of the West!
Broad farms and fair cities shall crown our devotion
Free Labor turn even the sands into gold,
And the links of her railways chain ocean to ocean
Barges shall float on the dark river waves
With a wealth never wrung from the sinews of slaves
And the chief, in whose rule all the land shall be blest
Is our noble Old Abe, Honest Abe of the West!
Then on to the holy Republican strife!
And again, for a future as fair as the morning.
For the sake of that freedom more precious than life
Ring out the glad anthem of Liberty's warning
Lift the banner on high, while from mountain to plain
The cheers of the people are sounded again
Hurrah! for our cause—of all causes the best
Hurrah! for Old Abe, Honest Abe of the West!
And again, for a future as fair as the morning.
For the sake of that freedom more precious than life
Ring out the glad anthem of Liberty's warning
Lift the banner on high, while from mountain to plain
The cheers of the people are sounded again
Hurrah! for our cause—of all causes the best
Hurrah! for Old Abe, Honest Abe of the West!
| [Honest Abe of the West, in] The Republican campaign songster, for 1860 | |