 Ladies and gentlemen the railroad hour and here comes our star-studded show trade Tonight the association of American railroads presents the tuneful Sigmund Romberg musical my Maryland Starring Gordon Macrae and his guest star from the Metropolitan Opera Dorothy Kirsten Our choir is under the direction of Norman Lube off and the music is prepared and conducted by Carmen dragon Yes tonight another famous play with music is brought to you by the American railroads The same railroads that bring you most of the food you eat the clothes you wear the fuel you burn and all the other things you use in your daily life And now here is our star Thank you Marvin Miller and good evening ladies and gentlemen Perhaps you think of Barbara Fritchie as a great-haired old lady But the one Clyde Fitz wrote about in his famous play which Sigmund Romberg made into his glowing musical was a young lovely girl And to play the part of Barbara. We have the young lovely Dorothy Kirsten as we bring you my Maryland Listen those are the drums of my regiment the Connecticut 74 marching along the streets of Frederick town Oh Servant mr. Fritchie That's hardly a statement of fact captain as long as your troops occupy our fair city of Frederick We must consider ourselves your servants distasteful though it is to us war is always distasteful sir To Victor as well as vanquished perhaps our roles will be reversed before the year of 1863 is over Meanwhile captain, I'll be grateful to you if you'll ask your men not to trample the flower beds Which we have planted at considerable trouble and expense around this house as you wish sir Man you have heard mr. Fritchie's request. I command you to respect his wishes. I thank you captain You may be my enemy, but you are a gentleman. Good day to you sir How many dismissed? Where are you going now captain well Perkins I'm about to disobey my own orders what I'm going straight through those flower beds To call on mr. Fritchie's daughter They'll tremble you shouldn't have come here why not in broad daylight one of my father sees you I think I'm making friends with your father He'd never forgive me for smiling at a northern officer. Oh Barbara I'll never be happy with smiles and kisses. You know that This is what I really want Ever get married will as long as this hateful war goes on It'll be over someday Barbara, and then your family and mine can learn to be friends How many years will I don't know but I don't intend to wait Barbara, I know a minister in Hager's town. You marry us tonight. Oh If you'll come with me tonight We love each other. That's the important thing. I don't know. Oh, well, I don't know Oh, it's my father. I'll meet you here at moonrise go hurry till moonrise my sweet. Goodbye Hello, father. I thought I heard you talking to someone out here. No father Oh, maybe you heard me calling to my girlfriend What are you calling them for why why they promised to help me make some strawberry jam Barbara Fitchie, what what do you know? You don't need any strawberry jam to get you a suitor. I hear you've got one Why I don't know what you're talking about soon. Nagely don't play so innocent Barbara, honey Why everybody in Frederick knows you're carrying on with that captain from Connecticut What if I am and it's none of your business? I think it's just terrible. It's worse than terrible It would be treason if it were true However, I assure you that my daughter is not interested in any officer in a blue uniform Gentlemen know he may be for I would not shelter a traitor under my roof The shadow of the summer house Oh will Barbara I'm sorry. I'm so late father's been stamping about the house all evening listening for gunfire and getting his rifle ready There's a rumor that Stonewall Jackson is on the march with 10,000 men to retake Frederick. It's true He's already in Hagerstown, and we can't be married tonight. I've got to leave with my regimen at once No, they'll be fighting in the streets at dawn. Oh, we'll be careful It's rather difficult for a man to be careful in wartime, but don't worry my darling. I'll come back to my wife But I'm not your wife not yet Give me your hand What's that? My mother's wedding ring It's yours now Barbara And every time you feel it on your finger you you'll know that we are married In the sight of the lord Well, I can't stand it to be a part I won't be far away from you ever And darling, there's one thing we always have to get No matter how many miles there are between us Listen my regimen is for me Goodbye Barbara Will Darling, don't follow me with your eyes Look up the man on the moon will watch over both of us Have a second act of my Maryland in just a moment Did you ever stop to think that you live at the very center of the united states? Oh me? No, I don't I live right here in california. Yes, but no matter where you live You are in effect at the hub of a wheel Who spokes reach into every corner of the country Providing you with the products of the rich resources of a whole continent The name of that wheel is transportation and its spokes are highways waterways airways pipelines and most important of all Railroads without adequate transportation our whole way of living would grind toward a standstill Well, I didn't realize what a big stake I have in good transportation. It's mighty important to you all right For example, you're interested in having adequate roads and streets And that means protecting the ones we have as well as improving them Because you use the roads and streets every day and your taxes help pay for them Well, but I don't pay any taxes to keep up railroad tracks. Do I no ma'am? Not a penny of your taxes goes to maintain or improve railroad roadways The one and a half billion dollars that railroads spend every year on that job come out of their own pockets I'd never thought about it that way before But then I don't ship any freight and I don't ride the trains every day either as I do my automobile No, but you're using the railroads every day just the same every time you go to the store to buy something You make use of railroad transportation for the railroads or the base of our whole structure of transportation Indeed no other form of transportation nor all other forms combined Could do the big job that only the railroads can do The job of providing the efficient low-cost mass transportation Upon which all our agriculture and industry are based Here is act two of the laurence and lee version of my maryland starring gordon mac gray as captain will trumble And dorothy kirsten as barbara fritchie I left barbara and ran to join my regiment It was a night of waiting listening Fearing but we knew that general stonewall jackson's army was advancing toward us And the fighting would come in a matter of hours or perhaps minutes or even seconds I went from campfire to campfire trying to cheer my men But I could see in each face the longing I felt in my own heart For my barbara I wish they'd attack and have done with it. Don't you captain? Oh, this is no kind of a war perkins Battle should be fought on battlefields not on front lawns and flower beds. I wonder captain Do you think I'll ever see my sweetheart again? Well, of course you will perkins A day will come when the gunfire of silence. There'll be nothing but laughter and sunshine in the air I will pack away our uniforms in an attic trunk put on our sunday best and go strolling again with our wives Or sweethearts Cheer up, man On the soft southern night When each bird is fast asleep upon its nest It is my fondle I need to go strolling with the one I love the best Beneath the blossoms of magnolia The rosy sun slowly set how sweetly I agreed And go strolling with the one I love the best Then how sweetly I agreed And go strolling with the one I love the best She is everything that's charming. She is such as wild as charming. She is prettier by far than all the rest Then how sweet would be our greeting when we have a tender meeting We'll go strolling with the one we love the best Every lady here has a cavalier who is gallant and polite and young To his arms she'll cling while they softly sing just the sweetest tune that can be sung With the sweet, charming and wild, she is everything that's charming. She is such as wild as charming. She is prettier by far than all the rest Then how sweetly I agreed And go strolling with the one I love the best Beneath the blossoms of magnolia In the soft southern night When each bird is fast asleep upon its nest It is my fondle with the one I love the best Isn't there any news, father? Do you hear the sound of the guns, Barbara? They're coming closer. Yes, and that means our brave boys are advancing. They'll drive the blue coats out of Frederick town By this time tomorrow, Stonewall Jackson will be riding victorious through the streets Father! I'm going to stand guard at the door. You stay here And I may never see my my husband again Barbara, Barbara, I'm so worried. They say the losses have been terrible I know Sue. All we can do is pray Pray that our loved ones will come home safely. Will they fight all night? Father says they will and tomorrow too Oh Barbara, it's also mixed up You're praying for a man in blue and I'm praying for a boy in gray Oh Sue, the same love and the same stars Are shining down on your soldier and and mine Blue coat or gray? Blue, sir. He's a Connecticut captain He'll not find shelter in this house Father! Sadly hurt, ma'am Dear Lord I forbid it Pay no attention to my father If you give him shelter And you are not my father if you turn away My husband Barbara! Yes, he needs me. I must go to him Little Jackson's troops We've lost. They've taken the town The stars and stripes flying from the window You're not dreaming Will They'll shoot it down They tried But General Jackson ordered them to let the flag fly I don't believe it Look at it, darling. See it toss in the green Why, my, then everything is a loss, Barbara The yaw grows strong again, Will And the country will be strong Sounded the tread of marching feet All day long that free flag tossed over the heads Ever its torn folds rose And fell on the loyal winds that loved it well And ever the stars above look down on thy stars below In Fredericktown Hey, Kirsten, we'll be back in just a moment And our thanks to Raymond Burr, Virginia Gregg, John Shea And all the members of our staff And the whole season's thanks to our great arranging staff Mr. Warren Barker, Mr. Will Bytel, Mr. Carl Brandt And John Capers My Merlin, based on a play by Clyde Fitch With book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly And music by Sigmund Romberg Was dramatized for the railroad hour by Lawrence and Lee The railroad hour is brought to you each week At the same time by the American Railroads Marvin, when you think of highways You're apt to think first of the roads and streets You use every day Yes, they're important to you Because you depend on them For much of your personal transportation But there is another kind of highway That plays a truly essential part in your life The steel highways of America's railroads They are the very backbone of transportation in this country And without them, you could not live as you do For the mass production and mass distribution Which makes your way of life possible Depends on the efficient low-cost mass transportation Only the railroads can provide Thank you, Marvin Now here again, ladies and gentlemen Is lovely Dorothy Kirsten Dorothy, there was never a more glamorous Barbara Fricci That was exciting, Gordon Look here, sir, I got three bullet holes in my script Oh, that's wonderful Well, I was certainly a thrill to have you with us, Dorothy To sing the opera that was really Sigmund Romberg's own favorite What happens next week, Gordon? The world premiere of a new musical play, Dorothy The Minstrel Boy Based on the life of the great Irish maker of songs, Tom Moore Then you'll be singing Believe Me If All Those Enduring Young Charms And a half a dozen more great Irish songs Dorothy Warnshaw will be here to look and sound As pretty as a Colleen from Kilkenny I hope you'll be doing a lot of these new musical plays I enjoyed them so much last summer Well, the summer show train will be loaded with them, Dorothy Our railroad, our playwrights, Lawrence and Lee Are creating a sparkling summer full of new stories To the music of Common Dragons Orchestra And Norman Lubeau's wonderful choir I'll be listening, Gordon Night Good night, Dorothy All aboard Dear friends, it looks as though we're ready to pull out And so until next week, and the minstrel boy This is Gordon MacRae saying goodbye Maryland has been presented by special arrangement With the Century Library Incorporated Gordon MacRae will soon be seen starring in Warner Brothers About Face Our choir is under the direction of Norman Lubeau And our music prepared and conducted by Common Dragon This is Marvin Miller saying goodbye until next week For the American Railroads Now keep tuned to your Monday Night of Music on NBC Tonight it's The Voice of Firestone on NBC