The Red Flag (R.U.S. Bonus)

Melody: Lauriger Horatius (O Tannenbaum)
Words by Jim Connell, 1852-1929
Information from http://webpages.dcu.ie/~sheehanh/rf-lyrics.htm

The chorus is "Then raise the scarlet standard high...." and that should follow every verse. I didn't know that, so I sang it only once, but I'm sure you'll be able to imagine the difference. You must have heard "O Christmas Tree" before after all...
The people's flag is deepest red,
It shrouded oft our martyred dead,
And ere their limbs grew stiff and cold,
Their hearts blood dyed its every fold.

Chorus:
Then raise the scarlet standard high.
Within its shade we'll live and die,
Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer,
We'll keep the red flag flying here.

Look round, the Frenchman loves its blaze,
The sturdy German chants its praise,
In Moscow's vaults its hymns are sung
Chicago swells the surging throng.

It waved above our infant might,
When all ahead seemed dark as night;
It witnessed many a deed and vow,
We must not change its colour now.

It well recalls the triumphs past,
It gives the hope of peace at last;
The banner bright, the symbol plain,
Of human right and human gain.

It suits today the weak and base,
Whose minds are fixed on pelf and place
To cringe before the rich man's frown,
And haul the sacred emblem down.

With heads uncovered swear we all
To bear it onward till we fall;
Come dungeons dark or gallows grim,
This song shall be our parting hymn

Although Jim Connell intended his words to be sung to the tune of The White Cockade, today this setting is more common, although both are still sung.
The White Cockade version: http://webpages.dcu.ie/~sheehanh/songs/rf-wc-dg.mp2

The story of the red flag: http://rwor.org/a/045/story-red-flag.html

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Chords
• lyrics
• easy guitar
• contrafactum
• socialism
• socialist
• labor
• labour
• song
• singalong
• folk
• music
• german
• left
• anthem
• communism

[bripat22]

Good to hear the Red Flag! After every verse though , it should go back to the chorus. "then raise the Scarlet Standard high..."

But this pedantic reservation aside, very good job :)

[matthewvaughan]

@bripat22 You're totally right, and I did realize that listening to it after it was too late. That happens with songs I record pretty frequently, actually. Anyway, thanks for watching.

[AcolyteAbyss]

As a socialist, your rendition of the Red Flag stirs pride within me.

[matthewvaughan]

@AcolyteAbyss It makes me really happy to hear that. I'm actually not sure whether I'm a socialist. Every time I feel like confirming it mentally I wonder whether I ought to know more about economics before I do. On the other hand, I certainly don't know enough about economics to be a capitalist. At very least, I do firmly believe that "no man has any right to buy or sell the earth for private gain". Politics are hard for me, as you can see.

[MrRedFredSaid]

Good job! Thanks for sharing that.

[matthewvaughan]

@MrRedFredSaid It's a pleasure. Thanks for the comment.

[Conbhui89]

Sorry but what are the chords to the song?

[MonkeyWhoWouldBeKing]

[clenched fist salute]

ah, love that tune. ^^ long live Clause 4

[00maharum00ma]

@matthewvaughan

Well, if you do believe that no man has any right to buy or sell the earth for private gain, and you also believe that one class has no right to own another class for their own gain, and you believe in an alternative to that system based on democratic principles of public ownership, then yes, you are a socialist. There's lots of different types of socialists, but that would certainly put you in the fray.

[COMMUNISTPHILOSOPHY]

it has many verses lol

[COMMUNISTPHILOSOPHY]

Nice one. I did a version ages ago