It is n't just colors and bunting —
The red and the blue and the white.
It's something heaps better and finer,—
It's the soul of my country in sight!
There's a lot of ceremony‘ bout the Flag,
Though many half-baked patriots believe
Salutin’ it and hangin’ it correct
“Is only loyalty upon the sleeve.”
But we who work beneath the Flag to-day,
Who'll honor it — and die for it, perhaps —
Get a slightly different view of the old red, white and blue
Than is visioned by th’ criticisin’ chaps.
It is n't just for decoratin’ things,
It is n't just an emblem, clean and bright,
No matter what its “hoist” or what its “fly,”
To us it means our country — wrong or right!
The sobby stuff that some good people spout
Wo n't help a man to understand this view,
But: Wherever that Flag goes, the man who follows, knows
That a better, cleaner citizen goes too!
It's not just a banner to look at,—
For which we're expected to fight;
It's something that represents freedom;
It's the soul of my country — in sight!