A young America would test its health
Give me liberty or give me death
Let me live free or not at all
A rally cry and a battle call
We slew a giant, America moved on
We buried our dead, so many headstones
Now time passes by and again we would fight
To protect our freedom and justice and right
Each time we would fight the cost would rise
For the battles grew larger in fierceness and size
Thousands of names added to the rolls
As history itself unfolded its scroll
And the cost of freedom has never been cheap
For the sacrifice of others has always run deep
And the price of freedom is written in red
So many young wounded and so many dead
When Old Glory passes by, salute, shed a tear
For others who fought, In freedom you're here
And then thank your maker, God bless us I say
And God bless our home, the old USA
Billy Arrington is the poet laureate for Sweetwater Baptist Church in North Augusta.
