The Bonnie Blue Flag
First release by Mr. J. W. Myers (1898)
- Music written by
- [Traditional]
- Lyrics written by
- Harry McCarthy
- Publication date
- 1861
- Language
- English
- Comments
-
"The Bonnie Blue Flag", also known as "We Are a Band of Brothers", is an 1861 marching song associated with the Confederate States of America. The words were written by the entertainer Harry McCarthy, with the melody the same as the one used in the Irish song "The Irish Jaunting Car". The song's title refers to the unofficial first flag of the Confederacy, the Bonnie Blue Flag. The left flag on the sheet-music is the Bonnie Blue Flag.
The song was premiered by lyricist Harry McCarthy during a concert in Jackson, Mississippi, in the spring of 1861 and performed again in September of that same year at the New Orleans Academy of Music for the First Texas Volunteer Infantry regiment mustering in celebration
We are a band of brothers natives to the soil,
Fighting for our property we gained by honest toil;
But when our rights were threatened the cry rose near and far,
Hurrah for the bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star.
Chorus.
Hurrah, hurrah, for Southern rights, hurrah,
Hurrah for the bonnie Blue Flag that bears the single star
There is a variant called "The Bonnie White Flag" that has the exact tune and general theme, but instead of a Band of Brothers, it's a Band of (Southern) Prisoners wanting the war to end so they can go home. - Licensing
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