The Union forever, hurrah boys, hurrah

Down with the traitor and up with the star

Jul 27, 2024

Hi all,

Thank you for joining me for today’s song, “Rally Round the Flag”, sung by The Weavers. If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.

Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics which are written in italics. Comments and questions are welcome. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below. TOEFL (PBT) 450+, Eiken 2, CEFR B1.

You can read about the American Civil War and the union movement in the U.S. here: https://www.louisehaynes.com/history/history.html

(646 words)

The Civil War, 1861 to 1865, was a fight between the northern (Union) and southern (Confederate) states of the United States. It was basically about two things, economics and slavery. In the South, many people owned large farms where they grew cotton. Cotton was very valuable, and they could sell it all over the world. However, the people who owned these farms didn't pay the workers. Instead, they made slaves, mostly African Americans, do all the work for free. This made some farm owners very rich.

The southern states were losing power in the government. When Abraham Lincoln became president, many people in the South were afraid that the government might decide to end slavery. So, they decided to leave the United States and make their own country called the Confederacy. They even took over some government buildings. Lincoln sent soldiers to stop them, and the Civil War started in 1861. Both Black and white soldiers fought to save the Union (the U.S. as one country).

Men of Color Civil War Recruitment Broadside 1863. A printed broadside recruiting men of color to enlist in the U.S. military after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The broadside was written by Frederick Douglass, signed by Douglass along with 54 leaders in the Philadelphia African American community, and published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

The lyrics of the song are fairly simple. They encourage the Union soldiers to continue to fight to preserve the United States as one country.

To “rally” or “gather” means to come together.

We will rally round the flag, boys, rally once again
Shouting the battle cry of freedom

A “battle cry” is a phrase that soldiers shouted to boost morale and to scare the enemy at the start of an attack.
We will rally from the hillside, gather from the plain
In other words, volunteers came from the mountains to the flat areas of the North to join the army.

Chorus:

The Union forever, hurrah boys, hurrah
Down with the traitor and up with the star

“Down with…” is a phrase that people use to show strong disapproval of something. Here, they are calling for the end of traitors but the support of people with courage.
While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again
Shouting the battle cry of freedom

We are springing to the call of our brothers gone before
And we’ll fill the vacant ranks with a million free men more

This means that they will find more volunteers, Black and white, to fight.

We will welcome to our numbers, the loyal, true and brave
And although they may be poor, not a man shall be a slave

Coal miners (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

The beginning of unions in the U.S.

After the Civil War, the second industrial revolution started. Thousands of people began to work in factories or in agriculture with many new machines. Mine workers were invaluable in producing enough coal to move the country forward. Railroad tracks were laid and coal was the fuel for the new steam engines that ran across the country.

Working conditions for many people were often dangerous. Mines would collapse, workers had no protection when working with machines, and injuries such as the loss of fingers or an arm were common. Children also worked in the factories and mines because the family needed the income.

Faced with this situation, people formed unions. They knew that if enough workers could stand together, they might be able to force the owners of the factories and mines to make changes to the working conditions and their pay.

100 years after the start of the Civil War, in 1961, the Weavers released a version of this song. This time, it had a different meaning, one that supported unions in the 20^th century.

The Union forever, hurrah boys, hurrah: The worker’s union
Down with the traitor and up with the star: a traitor is one who supported to owner’s side, not the union members

We will welcome to our numbers, the loyal, true and brave: We will welcome members into the workers’ union
And although they may be poor, not a man shall be a slave: workers should have enough pay and security and not work for slave wages.

Question:

Is there an issue that you would like people to “rally round” or support?

The Union forever, hurrah boys, hurrah

Down with the traitor and up with the star

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