33 HAIL, COLUMBIA!

Hail, Columbia! happy land;

Hail, ye heroes, heaven-born band.

Who fought and bled in Freedom’s cause,

And when the storm of war was gone,

Enjoyed the peace your valor won.

Let independence be our boast,

Ever mindful what it cost!

Ever grateful for the prize,

Let its altar reach the skies.

Firm, united, let us be,

Rallying round our Liberty!

As a band of brothers joined,

Peace and safety we shall find.

Immortal patriots, rise once more!

Defend your rights, defend your shore!

Let no rude foe, with impious hand,

Invade the shrine where sacred lies,

Of toil and blood, the well-earned prize.

While offering peace, sincere and just,

In Heaven we place a manly trust

That truth and justice shall prevail,

And every scheme of bondage fail.

Sound, sound the trump of fame!

Let Washington’s great name

Ring through the world with loud applause;

Let every clime to Freedom dear

Listen with a joyful ear.

With equal skill and Godlike power

He governed in the fearful hour

Of horrid war; or guides with ease

The happier times of honest peace.

Behold the chief who now commands,

Once more to serve his country stands —

The rock on which the storm will beat;

But armed in virtue firm and true,

His hopes are fixed on Heaven and you.

When hope was sinking in dismay.

And glooms obscured Columbia’s day,

His steady mind from changes free

Resolved on death or liberty.

( Joseph Hopkinson )

Biography

Joseph Hopkinson (1770-1842), a noted lawyer, lived and died in Philadelphia. His father, Francis H. Hopkinson, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Joseph Hopkinson wrote the song,“Hail, Columbia!” in 1798, when there was danger of a war with France. An army had been raised, and Washington, though in his sixty-seventh year, was appointed to command it. Many people in the United States were eager for war, but both President Adams and Washington advised against it.

Word list

shrine : a small church

prevail : to be victorious in the end

trump : a loud sound

You Practice

Answer the following questions.

1) Who were the heroes addressed in this poem?

2) When had they fought “for freedom’s cause”?

3) What “rude foe” is talked about?

4) Who was Columbia offering peace to at this time?

5) Who is praised in the third stanza?