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The Maryland State Song

Maryland! My Maryland!

words by James Ryder Randall

   I
    The despot's heel is on thy shore,
    Maryland!
    His torch is at thy temple door,
    Maryland!
    Avenge the patriotic gore
    That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
    And be the battle queen of yore,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   II
    Hark to an exiled son's appeal,
    Maryland!
    My mother State! to thee I kneel,
    Maryland!
    For life and death, for woe and weal,
    Thy peerless chivalry reveal,
    And gird thy beauteous limbs with steel,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   III
    Thou wilt not cower in the dust,
    Maryland!
    Thy beaming sword shall never rust,
    Maryland!
    Remember Carroll's sacred trust,
    Remember Howard's warlike thrust, - 
    And all thy slumberers with the just,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   IV
    Come! 'tis the red dawn of the day,
    Maryland!
    Come with thy panoplied array,
    Maryland!
    With Ringgold's spirit for the fray,
    With Watson's blood at Monterey,
    With fearless Lowe and dashing May,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   V
    Come! for thy shield is bright and strong,
    Maryland!
    Come! for thy dalliance does thee wrong,
    Maryland!
    Come to thine own heroic throng,
    Stalking with Liberty along,
    And chaunt thy dauntless slogan song,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   VI
    Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain,
    Maryland!
    Virginia should not call in vain,
    Maryland!
    She meets her sisters on the plain - 
    "Sic semper!" 'tis the proud refrain
    That baffles minions back again,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   VII
    I see the blush upon thy cheek,
    Maryland!
    For thou wast ever bravely meek,
    Maryland!
    But lo! there surges forth a shriek
    From hill to hill, from creek to creek - 
    Potomac calls to Chesapeake,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   VIII
    Thou wilt not yield the vandal toll,
    Maryland!
    Thou wilt not crook to his control,
    Maryland!
    Better the fire upon thee roll,
    Better the blade, the shot, the bowl,
    Than crucifixion of the soul,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   IX
    I hear the distant thunder-hum,
    Maryland!
    The Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum,
    Maryland!
    She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb - 
    Huzza! she spurns the Northern scum!
    She breathes! she burns! she'll come! she'll come!
    Maryland! My Maryland!

Adoption of State Song

The nine-stanza poem, "Maryland, My Maryland," written by James Ryder Randall in April, 1861, was adopted by the Maryland Legislature as the official state song of Maryland on April 29, 1939. The poem is sung to the traditional tune of "Lauriger Horatius" ("O, Tannenbaum"). Mr. Randall wrote the poem after he heard the news of Union troops being marched through Baltimore.

Maryland Code

The following information is excerpted from the Maryland Code, State Government, Title 13, Subtitle 3, Section 13-307. The words to "Maryland, My Maryland" are included within the statute.

STATE GOVERNMENT
TITLE 13. EMBLEMS; COMMEMORATIVE DAYS; MANUAL
SUBTITLE 3. ADDITIONAL EMBLEMS; DESIGNATIONS

§ 13-307. Song.(a) Adoption.- The poem "Maryland! My Maryland!", which James Ryder Randall composed in 1861, and the tune of "Lauriger Horatius" are the State song. (b) Words.- The words of the State song are:

   I
    The despot's heel is on thy shore,
    Maryland!
    His torch is at thy temple door,
    Maryland!
    Avenge the patriotic gore
    That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
    And be the battle queen of yore,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   II
    Hark to an exiled son's appeal,
    Maryland!
    My mother State! to thee I kneel,
    Maryland!
    For life and death, for woe and weal,
    Thy peerless chivalry reveal,
    And gird thy beauteous limbs with steel,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   III
    Thou wilt not cower in the dust,
    Maryland!
    Thy beaming sword shall never rust,
    Maryland!
    Remember Carroll's sacred trust,
    Remember Howard's warlike thrust, - 
    And all thy slumberers with the just,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   IV
    Come! 'tis the red dawn of the day,
    Maryland!
    Come with thy panoplied array,
    Maryland!
    With Ringgold's spirit for the fray,
    With Watson's blood at Monterey,
    With fearless Lowe and dashing May,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   V
    Come! for thy shield is bright and strong,
    Maryland!
    Come! for thy dalliance does thee wrong,
    Maryland!
    Come to thine own heroic throng,
    Stalking with Liberty along,
    And chaunt thy dauntless slogan song,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   VI
    Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain,
    Maryland!
    Virginia should not call in vain,
    Maryland!
    She meets her sisters on the plain - 
    "Sic semper!" 'tis the proud refrain
    That baffles minions back again,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   VII
    I see the blush upon thy cheek,
    Maryland!
    For thou wast ever bravely meek,
    Maryland!
    But lo! there surges forth a shriek
    From hill to hill, from creek to creek - 
    Potomac calls to Chesapeake,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   VIII
    Thou wilt not yield the vandal toll,
    Maryland!
    Thou wilt not crook to his control,
    Maryland!
    Better the fire upon thee roll,
    Better the blade, the shot, the bowl,
    Than crucifixion of the soul,
    Maryland! My Maryland!

   IX
    I hear the distant thunder-hum,
    Maryland!
    The Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum,
    Maryland!
    She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb - 
    Huzza! she spurns the Northern scum!
    She breathes! she burns! she'll come! she'll come!
    Maryland! My Maryland! 
 
    [An. Code 1957, art. 41, § 79; 1984, ch. 284, § 1.]

Source: Maryland State Web Site, (http://www.state.md.us), December 1, 2004
Source: Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., (http://198.187.128.12/maryland/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=fs-main.htm&2.0), December 1, 2004
Source: State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols by Benjamin F. Shearer and Barbara S. Shearer, Copyright 2002
Source: State Songs America, Edited by M.J. Bristow, Copyright 2000
Source: State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols by George Earlie Shankle, Ph.D., Copyright 1938

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