The First Gun Is Fired: Difference between revisions
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MissWikiGirl (talk | contribs) →Lyrics: I found numerous errors in the lyrics of this song and fixed them based on sheet music I found in the book Grand Army War Songs - |
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==Lyrics== |
==Lyrics== |
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1. |
1.<br> |
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The first gun is fired!<br> |
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May God protect the right!<br> |
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Let the freeborn sons of the North arise<br> |
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In pow’r’s avenging night;<br> |
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Shall the glorious Union our father’s made,<br> |
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By ruthless hands be sunder’d,<br> |
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And we of freedom sacred rights<br> |
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By trait’rous foes be plunder’d?<br><br> |
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:''by trait'rous foes be plundered.''<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F05E6D7103DE433A2575BC0A96E9C94649ED7CF DR. GEORGE F. ROOT DEAD] ''[[New York Times]]'' August 8, 1895</ref><br><br> |
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'''''Chorus—'''''Arise! arise! arise!<br> |
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CHORUS |
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And gird ye for the fight,<br> |
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''Arise; Arise; Arise!'' |
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And let our watchword ever be,<br> |
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| ⚫ | |||
''And let our watchword ever be,'' |
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| ⚫ | |||
2. |
2.<br> |
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The first gun is fired!<br> |
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Its echoes thrill the land,<br> |
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And the bounding hearts of the patriot throng,<br> |
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Now firmly take their stand;<br> |
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We will bow no more to the tyrant few,<br> |
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Who scorn our long forbearing,<br> |
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But with Columbia’s stars and stripes<br> |
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We’ll quench their trait’rous daring.<br><br> |
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'''''Chorus—'''''Arise! arise! arise!<br> |
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CHORUS |
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And gird ye for the fight,<br> |
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''Arise; Arise; Arise!'' |
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And let our watchword ever be,<br> |
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| ⚫ | |||
''And let our watchword ever be,'' |
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| ⚫ | |||
3. |
3.<br> |
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The first gun is fired!<br> |
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Oh, heed the signal well,<br> |
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And the thunder tone as it rolls along<br> |
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Shall sound oppression’s knell;<br> |
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For the arm of freedom is mighty still,<br> |
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But strength shall fail us never,<br> |
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Its strength shall fail us never,<br> |
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That strength we’ll give to our righteous cause,<br> |
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And our glorious land forever.<br><br> |
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'''''Chorus—'''''Arise! arise! arise!<br> |
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CHORUS |
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And gird ye for the fight,<br> |
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''Arise; Arise; Arise!'' |
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And let our watchword ever be,<br> |
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“May God protect the right!” |
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''And let our watchword ever be,'' |
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<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=acTmAAAAMAAJ&dq=the%20first%20gun%20is%20fired%20george%20f%20root&pg=PA56#v=onepage&q&f=false] Retrieved 2011-10-2.</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 04:42, 3 October 2011
"The First Gun is Fired: May God Protect the Right" was the first song written specifically for the American Civil War. It was first published and distributed three days after the Battle of Fort Sumter. George F. Root, who wrote it the day before it first appeared in print, is said to have produced the most songs of anyone about the war, over thirty in total.[1][2]
The First Gun is Fired was first performed in public at a patriotic rally in Metropolitan Hall in Chicago, Illinois, by two well-known singers of the day, the Lombard Brothers. Root distributed copies of the sheet music to the audience. The song caught on with the public and became one of the most popular tunes of the Civil War.[3]
Lyrics
1.
The first gun is fired!
May God protect the right!
Let the freeborn sons of the North arise
In pow’r’s avenging night;
Shall the glorious Union our father’s made,
By ruthless hands be sunder’d,
And we of freedom sacred rights
By trait’rous foes be plunder’d?
Chorus—Arise! arise! arise!
And gird ye for the fight,
And let our watchword ever be,
“May God protect the right!”
2.
The first gun is fired!
Its echoes thrill the land,
And the bounding hearts of the patriot throng,
Now firmly take their stand;
We will bow no more to the tyrant few,
Who scorn our long forbearing,
But with Columbia’s stars and stripes
We’ll quench their trait’rous daring.
Chorus—Arise! arise! arise!
And gird ye for the fight,
And let our watchword ever be,
“May God protect the right!”
3.
The first gun is fired!
Oh, heed the signal well,
And the thunder tone as it rolls along
Shall sound oppression’s knell;
For the arm of freedom is mighty still,
But strength shall fail us never,
Its strength shall fail us never,
That strength we’ll give to our righteous cause,
And our glorious land forever.
Chorus—Arise! arise! arise!
And gird ye for the fight,
And let our watchword ever be,
“May God protect the right!”
[4]
References
- ^ Silber, Irwin, Songs of the Civil War (Courier Dover Publications, 1995) p. 4.
- ^ Kelley, Bruce, Bugle Resounding: An Overview of Music of the Civil War Era. (University of Missouri Press, 2004). p. 30.
- ^ The Lester S. Levy Collection of American Sheet Music, Sheridan Libraries, The Johns Hopkins University Retrieved 2008-10-14.
- ^ [1] Retrieved 2011-10-2.