Chorus:

Oh, say, does the Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

On that shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses ?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream;
'Tis the Star-Spangled banner; oh, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!

And where is the band who so vauntingly swore,

Mid the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, A home and a country they'd leave us no more? Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From terror of flight or the gloom of the grave;

And the Star-Spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved home, and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land Praise the Power that made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto, "In God is our trust!” And the Star-Spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave. Francis Scott Key (1780-1843)

"America" was written in 1832 by Samuel Francis Smith, a Baptist minister and a classmate at Harvard of Oliver Wendell Holmes. Until after he had written the

lyric, Smith did not know that he had composed it to the air of the English anthem, "God Save the King." The tune, however, is not certainly of English origin. The words of "God Save the King," and often the air as well, have been attributed to Henry Carey, who is supposed to have written the song about 1740.

AMERICA

My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet Land of Liberty,
Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountain-side
Let Freedom ring.

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,-
Thy name I love;

I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills,
My heart with rapture thrills
Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees,
Sweet Freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,-

The sound prolong.

Our fathers' God, to Thee,
Author of Liberty,

To Thee I sing;

Long may our land be bright
With Freedom's holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,

Great God, our King.

Samuel Francis Smith (1808-1895)

GOD SAVE THE KING

God save our gracious King!
Long live our noble King!
God save the King!
Send him victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us!
God save the King!

O Lord our God, arise!
Scatter his enemies,

And make them fall;
Confound their politics,

Frustrate their knavish tricks:
On Thee our hopes we fix-
God save us all!

Thy choicest gifts in store
On him be pleased to pour;
Long may he reign!
May he defend our laws,
And ever give us cause

To sing with heart and voice

God save the King!

Henry Carey? (d. 1743)

The best American national songs date from about

the time of the Civil War, the one great crisis which has

stirred the nation to its depths. The words of most of the songs which the soldiers preferred have little merit beyond sincerity of feeling. "Dixie," the Confederate favorite, was written for a negro minstrel show, on one Sunday in 1859 by an Ohioan, Dan Emmett. The words, like those of "Yankee Doodle," are trivial; but the more poetic version of General Pike, "Southrons, Hear Your Country Call You," never became popular with the soldiers. A Harvard professor of music has referred to "Dixie" as the best and most truly American of all our national airs. "Dixie" is as popular in the North as in the South; we respond to it as we do to no other patriotic air.

The Northern soldier's favorite, "John Brown's Body," is sung to an old negro camp-meeting tune. Since the authorship is still in dispute, it seems best to class "John Brown's Body" as a folk-song; the merits of the words are the merits of folk poetry-simplicity, naturalness, and directness.

JOHN BROWN'S BODY

John Brown's body lies a-mould'ring in the grave,
John Brown's body lies a-mould'ring in the grave,
John Brown's body lies a-mould'ring in the grave,
His soul is marching on!

Chorus:

Glory! Glory Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory Hallelujah!
His soul is marching on.

He's gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord!
His soul is marching on.

John Brown's knapsack is strapped upon his back.

His soul is marching on.

His pet lambs will meet him on the way,
And they'll go marching on.

They'll hang Jeff Davis to a sour apple tree,

As they go marching on.

Now for the Union let's give three rousing cheers,
As we go marching on.

Hip, hip, hip, hip, Hurrah!

Mrs. Julia Ward Howe's poem, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," resulted from an attempt to fit more elevated words to the tune of "John Brown's Body," which is undoubtedly one of the best of our military airs. She wrote the poem one night in December, 1861, after a visit to McClellan's army. The leading idea in the poem, according to Mrs. Howe, is "the sacredness of human liberty.” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic" differs from the great majority of the war poems, "My Maryland,” for instance, in the almost complete absence of sectional bitterness. It has the permanent quality which makes it appropriate to every struggle for human liberty. "The music made the words of 'John Brown's Body' famous," says Colonel Nicholas Smith, "but Mrs. Howe's matchless battle song has made the melody immortal.” In her poem the song, originally a hymn, has become a hymn again, a great religious processional.