Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean

Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean

O Columbia!  the gem of the ocean,
The home of the brave and the free,
The shrine of each patriot’s devotion
A world offers homage to thee.
Thy mandates make heroes assemble,
When Liberty’s form stands in view;
Thy banners make tyranny tremble,
When borne by the red, white, and blue.

When war winged its wide desolation
And threatened the land to deform,
The ark, then, of freedom’s foundation,
Columbia, rode safe through the storm,
With her garlands of vict’ry around her,
When so proudly she bore her brave crew,
With her flag proudly floating before her,
The boast of the red, white, and blue.

The star-spangled banner bring hither,
O’er Columbia’s true sons let it wave;
May the wreathes they have won never wither,
Nor its stars cease to shine on the brave.
May the service united ne’er sever,
But they to their colors hold true!
The Army and Navy forever,
Three cheers for the red, white, and blue!

— David T. Shaw