Even though she is just a few months younger than I am, Risa (the daughter of my husband’s brother) is my niece!  We were outside waiting for the 4th of July fireworks to commence when she asked me if I knew a song.  Risa started singing some lines to “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”  We sang the song together and then I told her that I knew the song because “You’re a Grand Old Flag” is also a Singable Picture Book.

In fact, checking the library, bookstores or online booksellers reveals a few illustrations of this wonderful song:

You’re a Grand Old Flag
Words and Music by George M. Cohan
Illustrated with Paintings by Norman Rockwell

You’re a Grand Old Flag
Words and Music by George M. Cohan
Illustrated by Warren Kimble

You’re a Grand Old Flag
Words and Music by George M. Cohan
Illustrated by Todd Ouren

Wee Sing America
Traditional Words and Tunes and Songs by Various Artists
Compiled and Arranged by Pamela Conn Beal and Susan Hagen Nipp
Illustrated by Nancy Spence Klein
(“You’re A Grand Old Flag” is included in this volume)

All American Car-I-Oke
Music and Lyrics by Various Artists
Written by David Schiller
Published by Workman Publishing Company
(This book features “You’re a Grand Old Flag” with printed music, a sing-along track, and historical information about this song)

**********************

YOU’RE A GRAND OLD FLAG
Words and Music by George M. Cohan

You’re a grand old flag,
You’re a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.

You’re the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.

Ev’ry heart beats true
‘neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there’s never a boast or brag.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

(REPEAT)

**********************

The children LOVE singing “You’re a Grand Old Flag” in “Sing Books” gatherings.  A few kids have told me that it is their favorite song.  The adults love it, too, a sing-along, clap-along favorite.   The song is joyous.  If ever I need something to perk up the crowd and get folks upbeat and happy, this song always does the trick.

It is extra fun to sing the song along with The West Point Marching Band:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QVPDRI/ref=dm_dp_trk21?ie=UTF8&qid=1277675434&sr=8-1

Hear James Cagney sings “You’re a Grand Old Flag”in this YouTube Video (which includes the song’s verse and has an informative caption):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrR6czE8sJ0
This video is from the 1942 movie “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” in which James Cagney portrays George M. Cohan.  Mr. Cagney is not exactly faithful to the melody, but sometimes a terrific performance can transcend such things!  The scene depicts the 1906 stage musical “:George Washington, Jr.” by George M Cohan (for which he wrote the song).

An informative wiki article about the song “You’re A Grand Old Flag,” here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You’re_a_Grand_Old_Flag

An informative wiki article on George M. Cohan, here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M._Cohan

George M. Cohan (circa 1908)

A picture of the sheet music that is housed in the Library of Congress.
More information, here:
http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.100010512/default.html

Click here to view the Library of Congress’s entire folio of sheet music for “You’re a Grand Old Flag,”
http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.100010512/pageturner.html?page=1&section=&size=640
You can also print a copy for yourself from the PDF file.

This sheet music also includes music for the introduction to the song, which I’d never hear before watching James Cagney sing it in the YouTube video.

Follow the bouncing flag and sing-along:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZuvUWJRRbc

**********************

1/26/2012
AULD LANG SYNE IN YOU’RE A GRAND OLD FLAG 

I have been singing “You’re a Grand Old Flag” with children for something like 3 years now, but never consciously noticed until today “You’re a Grand Old Flag” sports a line of music and lyric from ”Auld Lang Syne .”

Lyrics
YOU’RE A GRAND OLD FLAG
Words and Music by George M. Cohan

You’re a grand old flag,
You’re a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.

You’re the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.

Ev’ry heart beats true
‘neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there’s never a boast or brag.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

(REPEAT)

**********************

PS:  This post was originally written on July 11, 2010. Happy Birthday today to my son Mo!  He’s a grand young boy.

**********************
Related Posts

AULD LANG SYNE, A SINGABLE PICTURE BOOK
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/auld-lang-syne-favorite-new-years-eve-song-exhibit-at-morgan-library-in-nyc/

FOURTH OF JULY AND OTHER HOLIDAYS CELEBRATING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND HER CITIZENS AND HISTORY
A list of Singable Picture Books celebrating the Fourth of July
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/a-patriotic-list-of-singable-books-for-july-4th/

AULD LANG SYNE IN YOU’RE A GRAND OLD FLAG
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/auld-lang-syne-in-youre-a-grand-old-flag/