From Glory Unto Glory

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AMERICAN FLAG SONG
1776
O dark the night and dim the day
  When first our flag arose;
It fluttered bravely in the fray
  To meet o'erwhelming foes.
Our fathers saw the splendor shine,
  They dared and suffered all;
They won our freedom by the sign—
The holy sign, the radiant sign—
  Of the stars that never fall.

Chorus
  All hail to thee, Young Glory!
  Among the flags of earth
  We'll ne'er forget the story
  Of thy heroic birth.

1861
O wild the later storm that shook
  The pillars of the State,
When brother against brother took
  The final arms of fate.
But union lived and peace divine
  Enfolded brothers all;
The flag floats o'er them with the sign—
The loyal sign, the equal sign—
  Of the stars that never fall.

Chorus
  All hail to thee, Old Glory!
  Of thee our heart's desire
  Foretells a golden story,
  For thou hast come through fire.

1917
O fiercer than all wars before
  That raged on land or sea,
The Giant Robber's world-wide war
  For the things that shall not be!
Thy sister banners hold the line;
  To thee, dear flag, they call;
And thou hast joined them with the sign—
The heavenly sign, the victor sign—
  Of the stars that never fall.

Chorus
  All hail to thee, New Glory!
  We follow thee unfurled
  To write the larger story
  Of Freedom for the World.

© Henry Van Dyke