The American Star.The home of the brave and the land of the free To thee we would offer our humble oblation And sing of thy glory on land and on sea. How oft we behold thee in wild adoration, And tell of thy story in peace and in war: Our fathers bequeathed us this glorious nation, And gave to our trust the American Star. The heart of the patriot swells with emotion When we read of the deeds of our patriot sires 0ur banner is waving from ocean to ocean, Our valleys are lighted with liberty's fires. Oh may we remember our glorious station, The right to defend and the wrong to abhor__ "Between our loved homes and the war's desolation," And ever defend the American Star. Come, all my brave comrades who nobly did battle To loosen the shackles of those that were slaves; We have stood by each other through musketry's rattle, Many brave comrades were laid in their graves. We have foes yet to conquer with gold for to lead them, Of bankers and shylocks arrayed for the war, With the national ballot we'll strike for our freedom, And vanquish them by the American Star. American toilers, arouse from your slumber! And shake off the fetters of partisan slaves; Let sectional hatred no longer encumber Your duty as freemen as patriots, as braves. The Goddess of Liberty yet hovers o'er you; The wiles of the demogogue learn to abhor; The pathway of duty is open before you; Then strike to defend the American Star! Then down with usurpers who seek to enslave you By fastening a permanent debt on our land, And join with the patriots who're laboring to save you From the cunning of shylock and cormorant's hand. To the National party the mission is granted To spread the glad tidings of liberty far; Let tyrants oppress us we'll meet then undaunted, And vanquish them by the American Star. __Benjamin F. Morland. |
Poets and Poetry of Kansas
Edited by Thomas W. Herringshaw
(Chicago: American Publishers' Association. 1894)
Page 161
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