You're a Grand Old Flag Duet

[rrayner]

Originally Posted by RRR

This piece is written for Soprano Recorder and Alto Recorder. Some of the pieces in this series are in keys that you might not see a lot in learning pieces. This was intentional to keep the Soprano part in the lower register. Play along with Notation Composer or print the piece for playing with your friend(s). Please feel free to change the instruments and/or keys to suit your personal needs. RRR

This arrangement is one in a series of patriotic songs. It more or less completes our set of patriotic songs at six, as my wife Cynthia likes to have her song types in multiples of two for her practice sessions.

Wikipedia says:

""You're a Grand Old Flag" is a patriotic song of the United States. The song, a spirited march written by George M. Cohan, is a tribute to the U.S. flag. In addition to obvious references to the flag, it incorporates snippets of other popular songs, including one of his own. Cohan wrote it in 1906 for George Washington, Jr., his stage musical.

The song was first publicly performed on February 6, the play's opening night, at Herald Square Theater in New York City. "You're a Grand Old Flag" quickly became the first song from a musical to sell over a million copies of sheet music. The title and first lyric comes from someone Cohan once met; the Library of Congress website notes:

The original lyric for this perennial George M. Cohan favorite came, as Cohan later explained, from an encounter he had with a Civil War veteran who fought at Gettysburg. The two men found themselves next to each other and Cohan noticed the vet held a carefully folded but ragged old flag. The man reportedly then turned to Cohan and said, "She's a grand old rag." Cohan thought it was a great line and originally named his tune "You're a Grand Old Rag." So many groups and individuals objected to calling the flag a "rag," however, that he "gave 'em what they wanted" and switched words, renaming the song "You're a Grand Old Flag." Library of Congress"

We hope you enjoy playing it.

Ralph Rayner