C. W. McCall - Old Glory Lyrics






She was old, and beautiful, and wise, and She taught the young boy everything he needed to know
All about the land, and the woods and the rivers, and what had happened there even before he was born
She taught him what was good and what was bad. And most of all, the difference between right and wrong

And so, every morning he stood beside his desk, with his hand over his heart, and promised to respect Her for the rest of his days

When times were hard, and the grain elevators stood empty against the black Midwestern sky
She gave him praise for a hard day's work, and hope for his father
And She promised there would be better days to come

And he sat by the radio and cried angry tears one gray December day, when he hear that She'd been betrayed
She was hurt; She needed help. He was only twelve, but he gave Her all he could:
Scraps of paper and tin cans and even the rubber tires from his wagon
He followed Her across the sea, on the maps and the newspaper, wishing he was older, old enough to fight back

Then after four long, dark years, he heard the church bells ring and the noon whistle blow long and high
And he was part of one brief moment when all the world paid respect to Her

And then he was grown up; and suddenly, the world had changed
And there were questions about Her. Some thought She was old-fashioned, useless
Some thought She was dead. But then after all, maybe they hadn't known Her as he had

And now everyone has grown older. The boy, his children, and She too
He saw Her again just the other day: it was one of those bright, summer mornings and the church bells were ringing again
The bands were playing, and even the noon whistle was blowing, early

He stood and watched proudly as She passed by
The sunlight catching the flash of crimson and white, stars blazing in the clear blue sky

And then She was gone

And he looked down through three generations into his grandson's eyes, and said, "There she goes, son. We used to call her Old Glory"





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C. W. McCall Old Glory Comments
  1. S.... H....

    My dad was a tuck driver, he had 4 cassette tapes of "trucker" songs, this was my favorite

  2. D.... W....

    The winner. I did some looking on the 8-track that I have. You have posted all of the songs on here but 'Nighthawk'. I have been looking all over the web and stores to see if I can find it, but, haven't had any luck at all. A lot of people think it's the song called 'Nightrider', but, it's not. The song I'm looking for starts out like this.....

    'We worked ourselves senseless. Been bustin' down fences. Drivin' dry cattle, no water in sight. As we sat 'round the fire and cursed the barbed wire, a stranger rode into our light.'

    I hope this helps.

  3. C.... H....

    I wish they would put all his albums on CD

  4. P.... ....

    C.W. McCall at his most magnificent. This is up there with Columbine as one my all-time favourites.

  5. l.... ....

    This song illustrates perfectly why people aren't wise to burn our flag to protest a politician or policy, even if it's been ruled legal to do so.  It hurts the deeply-held feelings of so many people who have served under it, and had hopes for our country as symbolized through it, and it just creates enemies for the protestors.

    l.... ....

    We still have all the hope and faith. The flag and our constitution are strong enough to withstand the tests of time. Remember that flag is the very symbol we all are counting on, even if we use her to protest.

    l.... ....

    They want to they are commies. They literally want to kill you and take your property and wealthy to redistribute for their pet projects.

  6. C.... G....

    This guy is amazing...

  7. D.... W....

    Oh my!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you SO much for posting this. I have been looking for this song for several years. I have it on 8-track and just haven't been able to get it converted to cd. If you have any other songs off of the album "Roses For Mama", please post them. The album is one of my all-time favorites. I love "Nighthawk" as well. The entire album is fantastic. Thanks again for posting.

    D.... W....

    @Don Wilcox Glad you found it on here.  I'll check around on here to figure out what might be missing from this great album.

    D.... W....

    I would surely appreciate it.

    D.... W....

    +the winner Have you had any luck at all in finding "Nighthawk"?