an episode in France in 1918
a World War I song
words by Elizabeth A. Wilbur
music by Fay Foster
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
“What is the cheering, my little one?
Oh! that my blinded eyes could see
Hasten, my boy, to the window run
And see what the noise in the street may be
I hear the drums and the marching feet
Look and see what it’s all about
Who can it be that our people greet
With cheer and laughter and joyous shout?”
“There are men, my father, brown and strong
And they carry a banner of wondrous hue
With a mighty tread they swing along
Now I see white stars on a field of blue”
“You say that you see white stars on blue?
Look, are there stripes of red and white?
It must be yes, it must be true
Oh, dear God, if I had my sight
Hasten, son, fling the window wide
Let me kiss the staff our flag swings from
And salute the Stars and Stripes with pride
For, God be praised, “The Americans come”
Sung here by Fred Feild: