 | The book of the East |  |
WHEN THIS OLD FLAG WAS NEW.
When this old flag was new,
The manners and the men
That are so petty now,
Methinks, were better then.
The straits that we were in,
The work there was to do,
All hearts and hands made strong,
When this old flag was new.
The manners and the men
That are so petty now,
Methinks, were better then.
The straits that we were in,
The work there was to do,
All hearts and hands made strong,
When this old flag was new.
49
Five long, long years we fought
Against the British Crown;
For George the Third would put
His rebel subjects down.
Many were our defeats,
Our victories were few,
And yet we lost not hope,
When this old flag was new.
Against the British Crown;
For George the Third would put
His rebel subjects down.
Many were our defeats,
Our victories were few,
And yet we lost not hope,
When this old flag was new.
Its hour of triumph came.
'T was ninety years ago,
When out of Yorktown marched,
With solemn step and slow,
The beaten English host,
That cursed, yet dreaded, too,
The sight they saw that day,
When this old flag was new.
'T was ninety years ago,
When out of Yorktown marched,
With solemn step and slow,
The beaten English host,
That cursed, yet dreaded, too,
The sight they saw that day,
When this old flag was new.
Along the dusty road,
Drawn up in bright array,
They saw the gallant French,
Whose bands began to play;
They saw the Yankee troops,
A ragged, motley crew,
Vho looked the men they were
When this old flag was new.
Drawn up in bright array,
They saw the gallant French,
Whose bands began to play;
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A ragged, motley crew,
Vho looked the men they were
When this old flag was new.
Through these, with shouldered arms
And colors cased, they went;
Low beat their drums the while,
But loud their discontent;
Sullenly on the ground
Their captured guns they threw,
Thinking of England's flag,
When this old flag was new.
And colors cased, they went;
Low beat their drums the while,
But loud their discontent;
Sullenly on the ground
Their captured guns they threw,
Thinking of England's flag,
When this old flag was new.
The long war left us poor,
But left us strong and free,
What we determined best
Thenceforth to do and be;
To mould the State at will,
Make laws, and break them too,
No master but ourselves,
When this old flag was new.
But left us strong and free,
What we determined best
Thenceforth to do and be;
To mould the State at will,
Make laws, and break them too,
No master but ourselves,
When this old flag was new.
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A brave old race they were
Who peopled then the land,
No man of them ashamed
To show his horny hand;
Hands that had grasped the sword
Now drew the furrow true;
For honored was the plough
When this old flag was new.
Who peopled then the land,
No man of them ashamed
To show his horny hand;
Hands that had grasped the sword
Now drew the furrow true;
For honored was the plough
When this old flag was new.
The farmer tilled the ground
His father tilled before;
If it supplied his wants,
He asked for nothing more.
Thankful for what he had,
On Sunday, in his pew,
He sang a hymn of praise,
When this old flag was new.
His father tilled before;
If it supplied his wants,
He asked for nothing more.
Thankful for what he had,
On Sunday, in his pew,
He sang a hymn of praise,
When this old flag was new.
He wore a homespun suit
His wife and daughters made;
'T was dyed with butternuts,
And, likely, old and frayed;
They dressed in calicoes,
And looked right pretty, too;
Women, not clothes, were loved
When this old flag was new.
His wife and daughters made;
'T was dyed with butternuts,
And, likely, old and frayed;
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And looked right pretty, too;
Women, not clothes, were loved
When this old flag was new.
Men married women then,
Who kept their healthful bloom
By working at the churn
And at the wheel and loom;
Who could their stockings knit,
And darn, and bake, and brew;
A housewife in each house,
When this old flag was new.
Who kept their healthful bloom
By working at the churn
And at the wheel and loom;
Who could their stockings knit,
And darn, and bake, and brew;
A housewife in each house,
When this old flag was new.
And women married men
Who did not shrink from toil,
But wrung with sweat their bread
From out the stubborn soil;
Whose axes felled the wood,
And where so late it grew
Did straightway build their homes,
When this old flag was new.
Who did not shrink from toil,
But wrung with sweat their bread
From out the stubborn soil;
Whose axes felled the wood,
And where so late it grew
Did straightway build their homes,
When this old flag was new.
53
The school-house and the church
Were raised the selfsame day;
For who would learn to read
Should learn, they thought, to pray.
They read the Bible then,
And all believed it true;
For they were simple folk,
When this old flag was new.
Were raised the selfsame day;
For who would learn to read
Should learn, they thought, to pray.
They read the Bible then,
And all believed it true;
For they were simple folk,
When this old flag was new.
They lived their homely lives
The plain, old-fashioned way;
Thanksgiving once a year,
And general Muster-day;
Town meeting in the spring,—
Their holidays were few
And very gravely kept,
When this old flag was new.
The plain, old-fashioned way;
Thanksgiving once a year,
And general Muster-day;
Town meeting in the spring,—
Their holidays were few
And very gravely kept,
When this old flag was new.
A hardy, patient race,
Their growth was sure, if slow;
Happy in this, they had
A world wherein to grow,
Where kings and priests were not,
Nor peoples to subdue;
A Continent their own,
When this old flag was new.
Their growth was sure, if slow;
Happy in this, they had
A world wherein to grow,
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Nor peoples to subdue;
A Continent their own,
When this old flag was new.
From where their hearth-fires burned,
And where their dead were laid,
Through woods till then untrod,
That slept in endless shade,
Up mighty streams and lakes,
By many a still bayou,
North, south, they drove their way,
When this old flag was new.
And where their dead were laid,
Through woods till then untrod,
That slept in endless shade,
Up mighty streams and lakes,
By many a still bayou,
North, south, they drove their way,
When this old flag was new.
The forests of the North,
Dense, dark with pines, knew well
Beneath whose sturdy blows
Their grand old monarchs fell;
Before whose deadly shots
The wild deer, crashing, flew,
And the great, frightened moose,
When this old flag was new.
Dense, dark with pines, knew well
Beneath whose sturdy blows
Their grand old monarchs fell;
Before whose deadly shots
The wild deer, crashing, flew,
And the great, frightened moose,
When this old flag was new.
55
The swollen floods of March
Brought down, with thundering spray,
Great logs, that choked the streams,
From clearings far away;
Day after day long rafts,
Each with its stalwart crew,
Like islands came and went,
When this old flag was new.
Brought down, with thundering spray,
Great logs, that choked the streams,
From clearings far away;
Day after day long rafts,
Each with its stalwart crew,
Like islands came and went,
When this old flag was new.
And all along their way
Huge saw-mills drew them in,
With grating iron teeth
That made a ceaseless din;
And keels were laid, which soon
To goodly vessels grew;
The Forest sought the Sea
When this old flag was new.
Huge saw-mills drew them in,
With grating iron teeth
That made a ceaseless din;
And keels were laid, which soon
To goodly vessels grew;
The Forest sought the Sea
When this old flag was new.
Southward, with steady sails,
Along our rugged shore,
Around the dangerous capes
Where stormy billows roar;
Beyond the coral reefs,
To waters calm and blue,
Where shone no flag so proud,
When this old flag was new.
Along our rugged shore,
Around the dangerous capes
Where stormy billows roar;
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To waters calm and blue,
Where shone no flag so proud,
When this old flag was new.
Among the summer isles
That stud the Spanish Main,
Where bloom the orange-groves,
And grows the sugar-cane,
Where Santa Cruz is made,
And other spirits, too,—
The rum our fathers drank,
When this old flag was new.
That stud the Spanish Main,
Where bloom the orange-groves,
And grows the sugar-cane,
Where Santa Cruz is made,
And other spirits, too,—
The rum our fathers drank,
When this old flag was new.
And northward to the Banks,
Where through the mists they drift,
And thin the schools of cod;
And where the icebergs lift
Their glittering, dreadful peaks,
The polar whale pursue:
No sailors were so bold
When this old flag was new.
Where through the mists they drift,
And thin the schools of cod;
And where the icebergs lift
Their glittering, dreadful peaks,
The polar whale pursue:
No sailors were so bold
When this old flag was new.
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And westward evermore,
As if they fled the sea,
Whose waves their brothers ploughed,
Whose islands held in fee
The farmers of the North,
Whose harvests scantier grew,
Went pushing through the woods,
When this old flag was new.
As if they fled the sea,
Whose waves their brothers ploughed,
Whose islands held in fee
The farmers of the North,
Whose harvests scantier grew,
Went pushing through the woods,
When this old flag was new.
Beside the slow ox-carts,
Which held their household stuff,
Whereon the children sat
When the long roads were rough,
With muskets in their hands,
And pluck to use them, too,
They plodded on and on,
When this old flag was new.
Which held their household stuff,
Whereon the children sat
When the long roads were rough,
With muskets in their hands,
And pluck to use them, too,
They plodded on and on,
When this old flag was new.
Some broad, bright river's bank
Became their dwelling-place;
They built a house of logs,
And cleared the woods apace;
Planted a patch with corn,
Which soon the sun and dew
Matured in plenteous crops,
When this old flag was new.
Became their dwelling-place;
They built a house of logs,
And cleared the woods apace;
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Which soon the sun and dew
Matured in plenteous crops,
When this old flag was new.
And westward, westward still,
They pushed the forests back;
And where they went the flag
Did follow on their track;
For only where it waved,
When near the Indian drew,
Was man or woman safe,
When this old flag was new.
They pushed the forests back;
And where they went the flag
Did follow on their track;
For only where it waved,
When near the Indian drew,
Was man or woman safe,
When this old flag was new.
Its stripes of rising day,
Its clustering stars of night,—
They saw them burn afar,
And blessed their growing light;
For lo! as years went by,
Within its sky of blue
Star after star arose,
When this old flag was new!
Its clustering stars of night,—
They saw them burn afar,
And blessed their growing light;
For lo! as years went by,
Within its sky of blue
Star after star arose,
When this old flag was new!
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Hail to the brave old flag!
Wherever it has flown
The State has gone before
And made its greatness known;
It found us torn with war,
It found us weak and few,—
We even had a king
When this old flag was new!
Wherever it has flown
The State has gone before
And made its greatness known;
It found us torn with war,
It found us weak and few,—
We even had a king
When this old flag was new!
God bless the dear old flag!
The nation's hope and pride,
For which our fathers fought,
For which our children died;
And, long as there shall beat
A heart to freedom true,
Preserve the rights we won
When this old flag was new!
The nation's hope and pride,
For which our fathers fought,
For which our children died;
And, long as there shall beat
A heart to freedom true,
Preserve the rights we won
When this old flag was new!
| The book of the East | |