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Historical SummaryHopkinson, son of Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence (see Contemporaries, II, No. 96), was a rising young lawyer in Philadelphia when he wrote this song. Later he became a prominent jurist. Of the many songs written at that time this is almost the only one that is still sung. — For Hopkinson, see Hunt’s Merchants’ Magazine, VII, 397–415. — For the circumstances of the composition and first rendering of the piece, see McMaster, History of the United States, II, 377–380; Historical Magazine, V, 280–282.
"Hail Columbia" (1798)
BY JOSEPH HOPKINSON
HAIL COLUMBIA! happy land, Hail ye HEROES, heav’n born band, Who fought and bled in Freedom’s cause, Who fought and bled in Freedom’s cause, And when the Storm of War was gone, Enjoy’d the Peace your Valour 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 join’d, Peace and Safety we shall find.
Immortal Patriots! rise once more, Defend your Rights — defend your shore; Let no rude foe with impious hand, Let no rude foe with impious hand, Invade the shrine where sacred lies, Of toil and blood the well-earn’d prize. While offering Peace, sincere and just, In Heav’n we place a manly trust, That truth and justice will prevail, And every scheme of bondage fail — Firm — United let us be, Rallying round our liberty, As a band of Brothers join’d, Peace and safety we shall find.
Sound, sound, the trump of fame, Let Washington’s great name, Ring through the world with loud applause, Ring through the world with loud applause, Let every clime to Freedom dear, Listen with a joyful ear — With equal skill with godlike pow’r, He governs in the fearful hour Of horrid war, or guides with ease, The happier times of honest peace, Firm — United let us be, Rallying round our Liberty, As a Band of Brothers join’d, Peace and Safety we shall find.
Behold the Chief who now commands, Once more, to serve his country, stands The Rock on which the Storm will beat, The Rock on which the Storm will beat, But arm’d in virtue, firm and true, His hopes are fix’d on Heav’n and you — When Hope was sinking in dismay, When glooms obscur’d Columbia’s day; His steady mind from changes free, Resolv’d on Death or Liberty — Firm — United let us be, Rallying round our Liberty, As a Baud of Brothers join’d, Peace and Safety we shall find.
[Charles] Dibdin, (Philadelphia, 1799), 313–314.
Chicago: Joseph Hopkinson, A Collection of Songs, ed. [Charles] Dibdin in American History Told by Contemporaries, ed. Albert Bushnell Hart (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1902), 328. Original Sources, accessed April 11, 2025, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=ZI6968QPJZQLGS9.
MLA: Hopkinson, Joseph. A Collection of Songs, edited by [Charles] Dibdin, in American History Told by Contemporaries, edited by Albert Bushnell Hart, Vol. 3, New York, The Macmillan Company, 1902, page 328. Original Sources. 11 Apr. 2025. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=ZI6968QPJZQLGS9.
Harvard: Hopkinson, J, A Collection of Songs, ed. . cited in 1902, American History Told by Contemporaries, ed. , The Macmillan Company, New York, pp.328. Original Sources, retrieved 11 April 2025, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=ZI6968QPJZQLGS9.
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