The Fourth of July holds special meaning for me. In the past, with children in the home, we made a “flag cake” decorated painfully slowly with white icing, blueberries, strawberries, and tiny marshmallows Now it’s the grandchildren’s task.
This year’s a bit different. Our kids and grandkids and our daughter-in-law’s visiting sister’s family mean that Ev and I and Nancy will celebrate somewhat differently. Yes, we’ll do the hamburgers, etc. here in the dining room at Glenbrooke, and we’ll do a sing along and happy hour later in the day. We’ll watch the New York and Boston fireworks displays on TV and probably do an activity or play an “American” board game.
Yesterday I took part in a televised singalong of American songs. A woman and her husband have recorded them, and like the old Mitch Miller show, displayed the words to everything from Dixie to Shenandoah, to.Battle Hymn of the Republic, to Red River Valley. The activities staff here prepared booklets of all the words as well. About thirty of our resident friends sang (no we’re not ready to take our choir on the road yet) with our quivering voices. We were a bit behind the beat on “This Land is Your Land” and a few others which sped along like a freight train trying to meet a deadline. But, we enjoyed the experience and remembered grade school days when we learned all these songs as part of our love-America curriculum. I suspect that’s gone by the wayside. Too bad.
I did not remember, if I ever knew, the verse of “Over There.” You know the chorus, I suspect: “And we won’t be back ltil it’s over over there!” The verse is a recruitment thing for World War I.I couldn’t help thinking, after the controversial week we’ve had politically, that we’d never show this commitment to war today.
We’re living in a very different world today. Our country seems to be divided. But the elders, those of my generation, stand to sing “God Bless America” and the audiences at the Space Coast Symphony’s patriotic concerts lustily sang the Star Spangled Banner. Patriotism is still to be celebrated by us. May it be so for this generation and those who follow, should our nation continue to be the land of the free and the home of the brave.
George Cohen write it: www.encyclopedia.com
Johnnie get your gun, get your gun, get your gun, Take it on the run, on the run, on the run; Hear them calling you and me; Every son of liberty. Hurry right away, no delay, go today, Make your daddy glad, to have had such a lad,
Tell your sweetheart not to pine, To be proud her boy's in line.
Chorus:
Over there, over there, Send the word, send the word over there, That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming, The drums rum-tumming everywhere. So prepare, say a prayer, Send the word, send the word to beware, We'll be over, we're coming over, And we won't come back till it's over over there. Johnnie get your gun, get your gun, get your gun, Johnnie show the Hun, you're a son-of-a-gun, Hoist the flag and let her fly, Like true heroes do or die. Pack your little kit, show your grit, do your bit, Soldiers to the ranks from the towns and the tanks, Make your mother proud of you, And to liberty be true.
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