The Flag Goes By

The Flag Goes By

by Henry Holcomb Bennett

Hats off!

Along the street there comes

A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,

A flash of color beneath the sky:

Hats off!

The flag is passing by!

Blue and crimson and white it shines,

Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines.

Hats off!

The colors before us fly;

But more than the flag is passing by:

Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great,

Fought to make and to save the State;

Weary marches and sinking ships;

Cheers of victory on dying lips;

Days of plenty and years of peace;

March of a strong land's swift increase;

Equal justice, right and law,

Stately honor and revered awe;

Sign of a nation great and strong;

To ward her people from foreign wrong;

Pride and glory and honor--all

Live in the colors to stand or fall.

Hats off!

Along the street there comes 

A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums;

And loyal hearts are beating high:

Hats off!

The flag is passing by!

Happy Independence Day!

From the Gang @

The Wright Place