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The Flag of the Free

'Tis the streamer of England - it floats o'er the brave-
'Tis the fairest unfurled o'er the land or the wave;
But though brightest in story and matchless in fight,
'Tis the heralds of Mercy as well as of Might.
In the cause of the wronged may it ever be first-
When tyrants are humbled and fetters are burst:
Be 'Justice' the war-shout, and dastard is he
Who would scruple to die 'neath the Flag of the Free!

It may trail o'er the halyards-a bullet-torn rag,
Or flutter in shreds from the battlement-crag;
Let the shot whistle through it as fast as it may,
Till it sweep the last glorious tatter away.
What matter! we'd hoist the blue jacket on high
Or the soldier's red sash from the spearhead should fly:
Though it were but a riband, the foeman should see
The proud signal and own it-the Flag of the Free!

Have we ever looked out from a far foreign shore,
To mark the gay pennon each passing ship bore;
And watch'd every speck that arose from the foam,
In hope of glad tidings from country and home?-
Has our straining eye caught the loved colours at last.
And seen the dear bark bounding on to us fast?
Then, then have our hearts learnt how precious can be
The fair streamer of England-the Flag of the Free!

poem by Eliza Cook
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Kittie’s Toys

A CHILD'S SONG
[WRITTEN FOR KATHLEEN]
I wish I had a soldier, a soldier, a soldier,
I wish I had a soldier to fight for love of me
Marie has a soldier, a soldier, a soldier,
Marie has a soldier, a gallant man is he.
I wish I had a bright flag, a gay flag, a dear flag,
I would love a fair flag to fly in liberty,
Gretchen has a big flag, a brave flag, a strong flag,
Gretchen has a fine flag that floats all high and free.
I wish I had a small ship, a strong ship, a good ship,
I would love a trim ship to sail upon the sea.

Johnny has a big ship, a grey ship, a grand ship,
Johnny took my small ship with all his big navie.
I wish I had a penny, a penny, a penny,
I wish I had a penny that all belonged to me,
I would build a fair house, a great house, a strong house,
I would make one grand house for all the world to see.
But Johnny stole my penny, my penny, my penny,
And Johnny took my bright flag that floated fair and free,
Then Johnny had my small ship, my trim ship, my good ship,
And Johnny broke my soldier that fought for liberty.
Now John would be my soldier, my soldier, my soldier,
But John he is a greedy boy, a selfish boy is he;

And Johnny beats the wee ones, the small ones, the weak ones,
He takes their playthings from them in the name of liberty.
When Johnny gets a whacking, a whacking, a whacking,
When Johnny gets a whacking, I think he'll let me be,
And I shall have my penny, my penny, my penny,
And I shall buy a bright flag to wave in victory.

poem by Dora Sigerson Shorter
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The Flag

See the glorious stars and stripes,
Floating over there;
See how gracefully they wave
In the summer air.
We love to see that starry flag,
Wave in peace with ease,
And its colors, red, white and blue,
Unfurled to the breeze.

God grant that flag may ever wave
O'er our native land,
Where sons of freemen are united
In a happy band,
To celebrate the glorious Fourth,
The day we should adore;
Hail each anniversary day,
Now and evermore.

Our fathers fought beneath that flag
In the days of yore,
To gain their freedom from British laws,
Which they could not endure.
The cry was then for liberty,
On land and on sea;
They gained the glorious victory --
Our country now is free.

The land of Columbia's sons,
To-day is filled with joy;
Every heart should beat as one,
In the blessings we enjoy.
We should love our native land,
Where our fathers died,
We should keep the country free --
The early pilgrim's pride.

See the glorious stars and stripes,
Waving over there,
See the starry emblem, friends,
Floating in the air.
Proud it waves o'er our land,
Where it has waved for years,
May every freeman greet that flag
With three rousing cheers.

poem by Julia A Moore
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The Australian Flag

PURE blue Flag of heaven
With your silver stars,
Not beside those Crosses'
Blood-stained torture-bars:
Not beside the token
The foul sea-harlot gave,
Pure blue Flag of heaven,
Must you ever wave!
No, but young exultant,
Free from care and crime,
The soulless selfish England
Of this later time:
No, but, faithful, noble
Rising from her grave,
Flag of light and liberty,
For ever must you wave!

poem by Francis William Lauderdale Adams
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Song of the Sailor Boy

Cheer up, cheer up, my mother dear!
Ah! Why do you sit and weep?
Do you think that he who guards me here,
Forsakes me on the deep?
Let hope and faith light up your glance,
When you see our ship set sail;
Look, look at her now, and see her dance;
Oh! Why do you turn so pale?
There's an English flag, and an English crew;
So, mother, be proud of your boy in blue.

Ah! Wonder not that, next to thee,
I love the galloping wave;
'Tis the first of coursers, bold and free -
And fit to carry the brave.
It may bear me on to a dark lee-shore,
To sink with a gallant band;
But early or late - here's a heart for my fate,
Let it come on the sea or the land.
The storm and the battle shall find me true,
So, mother, be proud of your boy in blue.

And if the breakers kill our ship,
And your boy goes down in the foam,
Be sure the last breath on his lip
Was a prayer for those at home.
But come, cheer up! methinks I heard
A voice in the anchor chain,
That whispered, like a fairy bird,
'The Ship will come again.'
God bless thee, mother, adieu, adieu!
But never weep for your boy in blue.

poem by Eliza Cook
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The Song Of An Emigrant

Far away! O far away,
Over the wide sea's bounding spray,
Many a league o'er the pelting foam.
We seek a country, we seek a home!
Farewell, England! our native land,
Lingering still on thy verdant strand,
We look our last on thy once-loved shore,
And vow in our hearts to return no more.

Far away! O far away!
Nothing invites us here to stay.
England, our mother, is hard as stone,
And shuts her ear to her children's moan,
And running on to destruction sure,
Pampers the rich, and grinds the poor!
Farewell, England! A last farewell!
We fly thy shores, but we wish thee well.

Far away! O far away!
We seek a world o'er the ocean spray.
Welcome, O land across the sea,
Where bread is plenty, and man is free;
Welcome, the woods and deserts drear,
And boundless fields of another sphere.
Our sails are set, and the breezes swell,
England, Our country--Farewell! Farewell!

poem by Charles Mackay
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Our Own Flag

They mustered us up with a royal din,
In wearisome weeks of drought.
Ere ever half of the crops were in,
Or the half of the sheds cut out.

'Twas down with the saddle and spurs and whip
The swagman dropped his swag.
And we hurried us off to the outbound ship
To fight for the English flag.

The English flag, it is ours in sooth
We stand by it wrong or right.
But deep in our hearts is the honest truth
We fought for the sake of a fight.

And the English flag may flutter and wave
Where the World-wide Oceans toss,
But the flag the Australian dies to save
Is the flag of the Southern Cross.

If ever they want us to stand the brunt
Of a hard-faught, grim campaign,
We will carry our own flag up to the front
When we go to the wars again.

poem by Andrew Barton Paterson
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National Anniversay Ode

Ho! for the day in the whole year the brightest!
Long may it live in the heart of the nation!
Long may it be ere the names are forgotten
That boldly were signed to the grand declaration!
Shout, sons of liberty! shout for the one land free
Under the sun!
On this thrice blessèd day its bonds were struck away,
Its thongs undone!

Ho! for our banner, the emblem of freedom!
What can arouse a true hero's devotion-
What like the Stars and Stripes, floating above us?
Queen of all lands, and the peer of the ocean.
Oh! it is fair to see, oh! it is dear to me,
Flag of the brave!
Time's wheel shall cease to move, true hearts shall cease to love,
Ere it cease to wave.

But there's a blemish now staining our banner!
The bright stars are dimmed, and the fair stripes are spotted,
With the tears of the drunkard's wife, mother, and children,
With hot tears of shame is our flag blurred and blotted.
Victims of tyranny, strike till our land is free
From King Alcohol;
Strike down his whelps of sin, rum, brandy, beer, and gin
Strangle them all.

Up to the contest, and wipe out this blemish!
Columbia's son, and Columbia's daughter,
God speed the day when the one 'Land of Freedom'
Shall add to its title the 'Land of Cold Water'!
Three cheers for Columbia, and this, her natal day!
God bless the right,
And guard from a traitor's hand, this our beloved land,
And the Red, Blue, and White!

July 4th, 1871.

poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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I Am American

'I am American', I shout
When the flag marches on by,
I am American, and I am proud
As her glory comes to my eyes.
For the flag that which I live for
Is by the same that I will die
For I am proud and free; I am American,
And forever, I pray she flies.
On the streets of America
Upon the streets of the World
I walk in such pride and vigor
Whenever the flag is unfurled.
I am an American that is me
I'll proclaim that through out my life
I will live the way by which she flies
Unto the day, that I die.
And when I have no more breath to breathe
Or when the Worlds fighting is through
I will have lived and died an American
And my flag, she would have proudly flew.

Randy L. McClave

poem by Randy McClave
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Ameria's Welcome Home

Oh, gallantly they fared forth in khaki and in blue,
America's crusading host of warriors bold and true;
They battled for the rights of man beside our brave Allies,
And now they're coming home to us with glory in their eyes.

Oh, it's home again, and home again, America for me!
Our hearts are turning home again and there we long to be,
In our beautiful big country beyond the ocean bars,
Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars.

Our boys have seen the Old World as none have seen before.
They know the grisly horror of the German gods of war:
The noble faith of Britain and the hero-heart of France,
The soul of Belgium's fortitude and Italy's romance.

They bore our country's great word across the rolling sea,
'America swears brotherhood with all the just and free.'
They wrote that word victorious on fields of mortal strife,
And many a valiant lad was proud to seal it with his life.

Oh, welcome home in Heaven's peace, dear spirits of the dead!
And welcome home ye living sons America hath bred!
The lords of war are beaten down, your glorious task is done;
You fought to make the whole world free, and the victory is won.

Now it's home again, and home again, our hearts are turning west,
Of all the lands beneath the sun America is best.
We're going home to our own folks, beyond the ocean bars,
Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars.

poem by Henry Van Dyke
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My Pledge of Allegiance

We Pledge allegiance to a Flag, symbolizing liberty and justice for all~Proclaiming one nation under God, yet we help other countries fall.

With power and weapons for justice we sing~while death, pain, and sorry is all that we bring. To the republic for which it stands~this Flag should fly high in many lands.

A mask created using Gods name, I look at our country and sometime feel shame. Liberty and justice for all we do say, while war is our solution we kill everyday.

We send our children to war seeking global democracy~In Gods name, we do say this should not be. Nationwide cries, screams for Mercy, who has the power? The land of the FREE!

Is this justice I ask, that we are fighting for, or legalized slavery forever more.

We pledge our allegiance to a flag, symbolizing liberty and justice for all~One Nation for which it stands should include all countries big and small.

As you wave your flag with a gun in your hand~the pledge I shall make is to the creator of this land. I pledge my allegiance to God up above; and pray that someday your Pledge will mean love.

*I know at times war is necessary; however It still hurts my heart to see so much sadness, pain, destruction, and violence! It is time for change...Many blessing and prayers for all of our soldiers, and their families.

poem by Taunya Benns
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29 - America

The home of the brave
The land of the free
The green copper smile
Of our lady liberty

Historic independence on 7.4.1776
An ode for all from F. Scott Key
A star spangled banner
A fine patriotic melody

The face of our four fathers
Upon a South Dakota crag
Look upon a nation of hope
That proudly raises its flag

Proclaim liberty for all it reads
Upon the cracked bell of liberty
For this is our home of the brave
And our land of the almighty free

poem by by unknown author
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American Flag

I am an American, I shout
When the flag marches on by,
I am American, and I am proud
As Her glory comes to my eyes.
The flag that which I live for
Is by which the same I would die
I am proud and free, I’m an American.
And forever I pray she flies.
And on the streets of America
Upon the streets of our World
I always walk in such pride and vigor,
Whenever our flag is unfurled.

I am an American, that is me
I’ll proclaim that throughout my life,
And I’ll live the way by which she flies
Until the day, that which I die.
Inside the books of history,
And upon the winds of time,
There lives the American story,
And the flag, that could never die.
And when I have no more breath to breathe
When the Worlds fighting all is through
I will have lived and died an American
And my flag, She would have proudly flew.

I am an American and that is how I live
And that is the way I write and what I believe
Though Many will not agree with what I do or say
But liberty has gave me the right to be me.
I have gave my thoughts and soul for this land
Though proudly I known freedom through sight,
And I would shed my blood, if needed be,
And if needed, I would gladly give my life.
When I have no more breath to breathe
And when the worlds fighting is through
I will have lived and died an American
And my flag, She would have proudly flew.

Randy L. McClave

poem by Randy McClave
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Stanzas

Up go the beautiful and world-watch'd stars,
Lifting the glory of America,
'Mong the red flags which gleam through masts
and spars
Crowded in gay magnificence, to-day,
Where three score years ago, none found their way,
Of all the ships which left old England's shore:
Up goes the starry flag, on waves which lay
In undiscover'd solitude, when o'er
America those stars first glanc'd from fields of gore!

In friendly beauty floats that free-fix'd flag
'Gainst England's glowing ensign! I could dream
Of times, when the wild bush, each uncouth crag,
And precipice, beside this haven-stream,
Shall yield to one vast city; and the gleam
Of new-born banners shall illumine it;
And these alike be foreign in the beam
Of Australasia's morning. Heaven admit
One patriot spirit here, and Freedom's fires are lit!

Not ever shall the exile's toil be all
To bring the harvest of this infant land;
The children of the buried exile shall
Behold a mother's beauty, in the bland
Aspect of Nature, on their native strand:
And Freedom then shall choose a dwelling here.
Oh! Happy epoch, when the 'great and grand,'
The memory of whose deeds mankind revere,
Number a Washington, from the world's Austral sphere.

poem by Sir Henry Parkes
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Independence Day

On July the Fourth we celebrate
with fireworks so high.
We shoot them off and watch them
as they burst into the sky
reminding us that rockets were a part
of our history.
As a nation, we were formed with hopes
that we'd all be free,

Free from intolerance, injustice
and religious bigotry.
We started out with all of these
but slowly we did see
that ideals in this country
slowly did they change
and now as fireworks go off
I find it rather strange

that different points of view
that make us who we are,
just like the flag we raise
with each and every star
have eroded the respect we had
from all around the world.
We've made so many enemies
that when our flag's unfurled
it's hard to stop the tears we have
streaming from our eyes.
Let's pray our Independence Day
once again will rise
and become the day it was meant to be
when it first was found
so our children's freedom
will stand on solid ground.

poem by Edwina Reizer
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Fling Out The Flag

(For the Australian Labour Federation)

FLING out the Flag! Let her flap and rise in the rush of the eager air,
With the ring of the wild swan's wings as she soars from the swamp and
her reedy lair.
Fling out the Flag! And let friend and foe behold, for gain or loss,
The sign of our faith and the fight we fight, the Stars of the Southern
Cross!
Oh! Blue's for the sky that is fair for all, whoever, wherever he be,
And Silver's the light that shines on all for hope and for liberty,
And that's the desire that burns in our hearts, for ever quenchless and
bright,
And that's the sign of our flawless faith and the glorious fight we fight!
What is the wealthiest land on earth, if the millions suffer and cry,
And all but the happy selfish Few would fain curse God and die?
What are the glorious Arts, as they sit and sing on their jewelled thrones,
If their hands are wet with blood and their feet befouled with festering
bones?
What are the splendid Sciences, driving Nature with a bit of steel,
If only the Rich can mount the car and the Poor are dragged at the
wheel?
Wealth is a curse, and Art a mock, and Science worse than a lie,
When they're but the gift of the greedy Thieves, the leeches that suck
men dry!
Nay, brothers, nay! it is not for this — for a land of wealth and woe —
That we hoped and trusted all these years, that we toiled and struggled
so!
It is not for a race of taskmasters and pitiful cringing slaves,
That our strength and skill raised up happy homes and dreamed of
fearless graves.
It is not for a Cause that is less than for all, that is not for Truth but a lie,
That we raise our faces and grip our hands, and lift our voices high,
As we fling out the Flag that friend and foe may see, for gain or loss,
The sign of our faith and the fight we fight, the Stars of the Southern
Cross!
As the sky above is fair for all, whoever, wherever he be,
As the blessèd stars on all shed their light of hope and of liberty:
So let the earth, this fertile earth, this well-loved Southern land,
Be fair to all, be free to all, from strand to shining strand!
Let boy and girl and woman and man in it at least be sure,
That all can earn their daily bread with hearts as proud as pure;
Let man and woman and girl and boy in it for ever be
Heirs to the best this world can give, happy, fearless, free!
Fling out the Flag! Let her flap and rise in the rush of the eager air,
With the ring of the wild swan's wings as she soars from the swamp and
her reedy lair!
Fling out the Flag! and let friend and foe behold, for gain or loss,
The sign of our faith and the fight we fight, the Stars of the Southern
Cross!
Oh! Blue's the sky that is fair for all, whoever, wherever he be,
And Silver's the light that shines on all, for hope and for liberty;
And that's the desire that burns in our hearts, for ever quenchless and
bright,
And that's the sign of our flawless faith, and the glorious fight we fight.

poem by Francis William Lauderdale Adams
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Proud American Soldier

Proud American Soldier
(God bless and keep safe our fighting men and women in harm’s way)

I fought beside my brothers, as they died on foreign shores,
I’m proud to say, we fought and slay, our enemies by the scores.

One by one, we fought and won, wars down through the ages,
The history books are written with our blood stains on the pages.

Our skin is many colors, we are women and we’re men,
We stand up to injustices no matter where or when.

I’m a Proud American Soldier, my job’s to keep us free,
I ply my timeless trade so far away, across the sea.

When others cringe and cower, you’ll find us standing tall,
We’ll remain steadfast until the last, of the evil tip and fall.

Come what may, get in our way, we’ll never cut and run,
We’ll stay our course, with no remorse and it ain’t always fun.

We’re the sailors that go out to sea, we’re the pilots in the sky,
We’re the grunts out in the fox holes, and we all know that men die.

I’m a Proud American Soldier, my job’s to keeps free,
I ply my timeless trade so far away, across the sea.

They spoke kindly of my enemies, the same day that I died,
Then burned my flag in protest, as my widow watched and cried.

But don’t you worry much my friends, nor shed a tear for me,
There’s more where I come from, to fight and keep you free.

Freedom isn’t free dear friends, we foot the bill in blood.
We die in the desert sand and in the jungle’s mud.

I’m a Proud American Soldier, my jobs to keep us free,
I ply my timeless trade so far away across the sea.
I may be just a soldier, but that’s just fine by me.

poem by Michael Barker
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Defence of Fort McHenry (Stars and Stripes Forever)

O! say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there -
O! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through 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, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream -
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havock of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul foot-steps' pollution,
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the 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.

O! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov'd home, and the war's desolation,
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd 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.

poem by Francis Scott Key
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The Star-Spangled Banner

O! say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there -
O! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through 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, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream -
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havock of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul foot-steps' pollution,
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the 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.

O! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov'd home, and the war's desolation,
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd 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.

poem by Francis Scott Key
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Proud Old Glory

I am the blood, I am the soul
I am the essence of liberty, so bold
I am the heart, I am the life
I am the dream and the vision, all that's right
I am the hope, I am the truth
I am the faith and the spirit of the aged and the youth
I am the warmth, I am the breath
I am the peace and the honor, life and death
I am justice, I am love
I stand for freedom, and salute our brave
I serve my country with pride
Old Glory is my name, God made this land my home
I am the proud flag of America
I am the proud flag of America.

poem by Trade Martin
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Fling Out The Anti Slavery Flag

Fling out the Anti-slavery flag
On every swelling breeze;
And let its folds wave o'er the land,
And o'er the raging seas,
Till all beneath the standard sheet,
With new allegiance bow;
And pledge themselves to onward bear
The emblem of their vow.

Fling out the Anti-Slavery flag,
And let it onward wave
Till it shall float o'er every clime,
And liberate the slave;
Till, like a meteor flashing far,
It bursts with glorious light,
And with its Heaven-born rays dispels
The gloom of sorrow's night.

Fling out the Anti-Slavery flag,
And let it not be furled,
Till like a planet of the skies,
It sweeps around the world.
And when each poor degraded slave,
Is gathered near and far;
O, fix it on the azure arch,
As hope's eternal star.

Fling out the Anti-Slavery flag,
Forever let it be
The emblem to a holy cause,
The banner of the free.
And never from its guardian height,
Let it by man be driven,
But let it float forever there,
Beneath the smiles of heaven.

poem by Anonymous Americas
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