America’s First Patriotic Song
The Liberty Song is an American Revolutionary War song composed by patriot John Dickinson, the author of famous political tract, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania. The song is set to the tune of "Heart of Oak," the anthem of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, and was first published in the Boston Gazette in July 1768. Dickinson's fourth verse is the first appearance of the phrase, "united we stand, divided we fall." This was sung at public gatherings from its time of publication into the early 19th century.
Lyrics:
Come, join hand in hand, brave Americans all,
And rouse your bold hearts at fair Liberty's call;
No tyrannous acts shall suppress your just claim,
Or stain with dishonor America's name.
Chorus:
In Freedom we're born
and in Freedom we'll live.
Our purses are ready. Steady, friends, steady;
Not as slaves, but as Freemen our money we'll give.
Our worthy forefathers, let's give them a cheer,
To climates unknown did courageously steer;
Thro' oceans to deserts for Freedom they came,
And dying, bequeath'd us their freedom and fame.
(Chorus)
The tree their own hands had to Liberty rear'd,
They lived to behold growing strong and revered;
With transport they cried, Now our wishes we gain,
For our children shall gather the fruits of our pain.
(Chorus)
Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all,
By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall;
In so righteous a cause let us hope to succeed
For heaven approves of each generous deed.
Definitions
Word use changes over time.
Liberty: The right(s) of citizens in a republic.
Tyrannous: An act of the sovereign outside the bounds of law, both statutory and natural.
Freedom: The Enlightenment view of “natural rights”, those rights in the very laws of nature, discernable by the application of reason and science.
Purse: Personal funds “Give”: to “pay” a tax properly made law. It is considered a voluntary, patriotic act in a republic.
Slave: A person who pays a tax imposed by a legislative body they could not vote for a representative in.”
Freemen: Not an indentured servant, and also able to vote for a representative in the body that taxes you.
Transport: A criminal sentence in British law. Sent to the colonies (how many British colonist first got here). When we revolted, they started sentencing them to Australia.
heaven: (uncapitalized) See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deism
Fort Moultrie Flag
The Declaration of Independence
Video. Read by some folks you may recognize: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYyttEu_NLU
National Public Radio's reading on Morning Edition. An July 4th tradition: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106168024
Full text:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
And, last but certainly not least...To be sung with mug of Pusser's Rum Grog, and a glass of Maderia
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