| Bonnie Blue Flag |
| This song was second only to �Dixie� in popularity thought the south. This is one of my favorites. |
| We are a band of brothers And native to the soil, Fighting for the our liberty with treasure, blood and toil; And 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 a single star. As long as the Union Was faithful to her trust, Like friends and like brothers Both kind were we and just; But now, when Northern treachery Attempts our rights to mar, We hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star.--CHORUS First gallant South Carolina Nobly made the stand, Then came Alabama, Who took her by the hand. Next quickly Mississippi, Georgia and Florida All raised on high the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star.--CHORUS Ye men of valor, gather round The banner of the right; Texas and fair Louisiana Join us in the fight. Davis, our loved president, And Stephens statesman are; Now rally round the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star.--CHORUS And here's to old Virginia-- The Old Dominion State-- Who with the young Confederacy At length has linked her fate; Impelled by her example, Now other states prepare To hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star.--CHORUS Then cheer, boys, cheer; Raise the joyous shout, For Arkansas and North Carolina Now have both gone out; And let another rousing cheer For Tennessee be given, The single star of the Bonnie Blue Flag Has grown to be eleven.--CHORUS Then here's to our Confederacy, Strong are we and brave; Like patriots of old we'll fight Our heritage to save. And rather than submit to shame, To die we would prefer; so cheer for the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star.--CHORUS |
| Here we can see in the first verse of the song they tell us their cause. They were fighting for their Liberty. In order to be fair I must also point that there was another version of the song that shared about equal popularity that used the line �Fighting for the property we gained by honest toil� instead. However, I think that this means land property not people property. This is reinforced because in the line before it is �native to the soil.� It could also refer to homes and other possessions that would be threatened by northern invasion. |
| Another look at why they are fighting. Here they say as long as the north upheld their part of the agreement, Constitution, we upheld our end. But now that they have broken the terms that we agreed to when we joined this nation, we are withdrawing from the contract. |
| Just for a historical note I will point out that the order of secession given in the song is slightly out of order. This was done to make the song go together better. |
| Here is another thing that is very common in Confederate songs. Here they compare themselves to the patriots who went before them. Because they felt that they were fighting for the original ideals of the country. Some of this belief was shared by both sides but the Confederates put a premium on honoring the founders. The Confederates considered that because the north betrayed the Constitution that they were the true heirs of the nation and the north were the usurpers (real rebels.). The Confederates even put George Washington on The Great Seal of the Confederacy. |
| After reading such words how can anyone say that they were just fighting to maintain slavery? |