It is arguably the most famous march in the world and it’s certainly one of the best!  It is recognized by the U.S. government as the official march of the United States (U.S. Code, Title 36, Section 304).  It has original lyrics by Sousa and some other words you may have learned as a child that are definitely NOT by Sousa (“Be Kind To Your Web-Footed Friends”).  With crashing cymbals, bombastic brass and chirping piccolos, “The Stars and Stripes Forever!” gets millions of people on their feet, clapping and cheering every year.

Performed by the Dallas Wind Symphony on Strictly Sousa

THE ORIGINAL 1897 RECORDING

THE STORY BEHIND THE MUSIC

In late 1896, Sousa and his wife took a much-deserved vacation to Europe.  While there, Sousa received word that the manager of the Sousa Band, David Blakely, had died suddenly.  The band was scheduled to begin another cross-country tour soon, and Sousa knew he must return to America at once to take over the band’s business affairs.  Sousa tells the rest of the story in his autobiography, Marching Along: Recollections of Men, Women and Music:

Here came one of the most vivid incidents of my career.  As the vessel (the Teutonic) steamed out of the harbor I was pacing on the deck, absorbed in thoughts of my manager’s death and the many duties and decisions which awaited me in New York.  Suddenly, I began to sense a rhythmic beat of a band playing within my brain.  Throughout the whole tense voyage, that imaginary band continued to unfold the same themes, echoing and re-echoing the most distinct melody.  I did not transfer a note of that music to paper while I was on the steamer, but when we reached shore, I set down the measures that my brain-band had been playing for me, and not a note of it has ever changed.The march was an immediate success – Sousa’s Band played it at almost every concert until his death over 35 years later.  Sousa even set words to it:

THE STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER! (LYRICS BY JOHN PHILIP SOUSA)

Let martial note in triumph float
And liberty extend its mighty hand
A flag appears ‘mid thunderous cheers,
The banner of the Western land.
The emblem of the brave and true
Its folds protect no tyrant crew;
The red and white and starry blue
Is freedom’s shield and hope.

Other nations may deem their flags the best
And cheer them with fervid elation
But the flag of the North and South and West
Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom’s nation.

Hurrah for the flag of the free!
May it wave as our standard forever,
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.
Let despots remember the day
When our fathers with mighty endeavor
Proclaimed as they marched to the fray
That by their might and by their right
It waves forever.

Let eagle shriek from lofty peak
The never-ending watchword of our land;
Let summer breeze waft through the trees
The echo of the chorus grand.
Sing out for liberty and light,
Sing out for freedom and the right.
Sing out for Union and its might,
O patriotic sons.

Other nations may deem their flags the best
And cheer them with fervid elation,
But the flag of the North and South and West
Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom’s nation.

Hurrah for the flag of the free.
May it wave as our standard forever
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.
Let despots remember the day
When our fathers with might endeavor
Proclaimed as they marched to the fray,
That by their might and by their right
It waves forever.

BE KIND TO YOUR WEB-FOOTED FRIENDS (ATTRIBUTED TO FRED ALLEN)

Be kind to your web-footed friends.
For a duck may be somebody’s mother.
They live all alone in the swamp,
Where the weather is cold and damp.
Well, you may think that this is the end.
Yes, it is, but to prove that you are wrong,
We’re going to sing it once again,
Oh, yes we will, but it will be just a bit louder!

Be kind to your web-footed friends.
For a duck may be somebody’s mother.
They live at the bottom of the swamp,
Where the weather is cold and damp.
You may think that this is the end.
Well, it is ## you are right!
So, just remember:
Be kind to your web-footed friends!
Be ever kind, yes, oh, so kind to all the duckies!