From Rayelan: Publisher RMNews
(Since I'm the publisher of this page, I can stray from the RMNews Agent's Creed once in a while!)
I am a sixth generation Californian who grew up in the fifties, shortly after World War II. My family taked about the war as if it had happened yesterday! And of course the Second World War had just ended!
But the war my family talked about was the CIVIL WAR!
My father's grandfather had been killed at the Battle of Shiloh. He was fighting to defend his Southern Heritage.
My father learned the words of the Bonnie Blue Flag from his father who was born in 1865 and raised in the reconstructionist South. This was the grandfather who was raised with Secretary of State Cordell Hull. The two boys were cousins, and they were raised as brothers.
My father had been a singer in his youth. His voice was full and rich. When he sang the "Bonnie Blue Flag" his eyes always filled with tears, as mine do when I sing the "Star Spangled Banner".
I have searched for the original Lyrics for Years, but I have always found other versions. The following is the version my father sang.
http://www.melodylane.net/bonnieblue.html [NOW A MEMBERS-ONLY SITE. HERE'S A LINK TO A YOUTUBE VERSION.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5xdgYLuFCk
I am inserting the words here. If you want to hear the music, click the URL above.
THE BONNIE BLUE FLAG
Original Southern Version
Written and Composed by Harry Macarthy
Publication: Augusta, GA: Blackmar & Bro.,
199 Broad St., 1861.
We are a band of brothers
And native to the soil,
Fighting for the property
We gained by honest toil;
And when our rights were threatened,
The cry rose near and far --
"Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star!"
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Southern rights hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.
As long as the Union
Was faithful to her trust,
Like friends and like brothers
Both kind were we and just;
But now, when Northern treachery
Attempts our rights to mar,
We hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Southern rights hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.
First gallant South Carolina
Nobly made the stand,
Then came Alabama,
Who took her by the hand.
Next quickly Mississippi,
Georgia and Florida
All raised on high the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Southern rights hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.
Ye men of valor, gather round
The banner of the right;
Texas and fair Louisiana
Join us in the fight.
Davis, our loved president,
And Stephens statesman are;
Now rally round the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Southern rights hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.
And here's to old Virginia--
The Old Dominion State--
Who with the young Confederacy
At length has linked her fate;
Impelled by her example,
Now other states prepare
To hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Southern rights hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.
Then cheer, boys, cheer;
Raise the joyous shout,
For Arkansas and North Carolina
Now have both gone out;
And let another rousing cheer
For Tennessee be given,
The single star of the Bonnie Blue Flag
Has grown to be eleven.
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Southern rights hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.
Then here's to our Confederacy,
Strong are we and brave;
Like patriots of old we'll fight
Our heritage to save.
And rather than submit to shame,
To die we would prefer;
So cheer for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Southern rights hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star.
