Patriotic And Flag Related Midi Files
- Amazing Grace - "Amazing Grace" is a well-known Christian hymn by Englishman John Newton and which first appeared in print in Newton's Olney Hymns (1779).
- Battle Hymn Of The
Republic - "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" is an American patriotic anthem written by Julia Ward Howe in November 1861 and first published in The Atlantic Monthly in February 1862 that was made popular during the American Civil War. The tune was written around 1855 by William Steffe. The lyrics at that time were alternately called "Canaan's Happy Shore" or "Brothers, Will You Meet Me?" and the song was sung as a campfire spiritual. The tune spread across the United States, taking on many sets of new lyrics.
Thomas Bishop, from Vermont, joined the Massachusetts Infantry before the outbreak of war and wrote a popular set of lyrics, circa 1860, titled "John Brown's Body" which became one of his unit's walking songs. According to writer Irwin Silber (who has written a book about Civil War folksongs), the original lyrics were not about John Brown, the famed abolitionist, but a Scotsman of the same name who was a member of the 12th Massachusetts Regiment. An article by writer Mark Steyn maintains that the men of John Brown's unit had made up a song poking fun at him, and sang it widely
Staying at the Willard Hotel in Washington on the night of November 18, 1861, Howe awoke with the words of the song in her mind and in near darkness wrote the verses to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" .
Howe's "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" was first published on the front page of The Atlantic Monthly of February 1862. The sixth verse written by Howe, which is less commonly sung, was not published at that time. The song was also published as a broadside in 1863 by the Supervisory Committee for Recruiting Colored Regiments in Philadelphia. In Howe's lyrics, the words of the verse are packed into a longer line, contrasted with the chorus's short refrain.
Julia Ward Howe was the wife of Samuel Gridley Howe, the famed scholar in education of the blind. Samuel and Julia were also active leaders in anti-slavery politics and strong supporters of the Union.
- God Bless America - "God Bless America" is an American patriotic song originally written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938, as sung by Kate Smith (becoming her signature song). It is sometimes considered an unofficial national anthem of the United States. The song served as the inspiration for another anthem, Woodie Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land", which was written in response to it.
"God Bless America" is similar in format and lyrics to many other contemporary national anthems. It is popular as a "modern" national anthem because of its memorable words and tune, as opposed to the rather complex music and abstract lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner. "God Bless America" takes the form of a prayer (intro lyrics "as we raise our voices, in a solemn prayer") for God's blessing and peace for the nation ("...stand beside her and guide her through the night...").
- Grand Old Flag - "You're a Grand Old Flag" is a patriotic song of the United States. The song, a spirited march written by George M. Cohan, is a tribute to the U.S. flag. In addition to obvious references to the flag, it incorporates snippets of other popular songs, including one of his own. Cohan wrote it in 1906 for George Washington, Jr., his stage musical.
The song was first publicly performed on February 6, the play's opening night, at Herald Square Theater in New York City. "You're a Grand Old Flag" quickly became the first song from a musical to sell over a million copies of sheet music.
- Star Spangled Somewhere - "There's A Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere" is a patriotic anthem written in 1942 by Paul Roberts and Shelby Darnell (a pseudonym for producer Bob Miller). The song was written during World War II and was enjoyed its greatest popularity during the war years. The somewhere in the title of the song refers to an idealistic version of heaven reserved for the brave U.S. soldiers fighting the Axis Powers, somewhat akin to the concept of Valhalla. The verses are a narrative of a young man who is crippled, but still yearns to fight and earn his place in this patriotic afterlife.
- Stars And Stripes - "Stars and Stripes Forever" is a patriotic American march widely considered to be the magnum opus of composer John Philip Sousa. By act of Congress, it is the National March of the United States of America.