Our common Father and Deliverer, to whose prudence, wisdom and
valour we owe our Peace, Liberty and Safety, now read more

Our common Father and Deliverer, to whose prudence, wisdom and
valour we owe our Peace, Liberty and Safety, now leads and
directs in the great councils of the nation . . . and now we
celebrate an independent Government--an original Constitution!
an independent Legislature, at the head of which we this day
celebrate, The Father of his Country--We celebrate Washington!
We celebrate an independent Empire!

America has furnished to the world the character of Washington!
And if our American institutions had done nothing else, read more

America has furnished to the world the character of Washington!
And if our American institutions had done nothing else, that
alone would have entitled them to the respect of mankind.

Washington--a fixed star in the firmament of great names, shining
without twinkling or obscuration, with clear, beneficent light.

Washington--a fixed star in the firmament of great names, shining
without twinkling or obscuration, with clear, beneficent light.

There's a star in the West that shall never go down
Till the records of Valour decay,
read more

There's a star in the West that shall never go down
Till the records of Valour decay,
We must worship its light though it is not our own,
For liberty burst in its ray.
Shall the name of a Washington ever be heard
By a freeman, and thrill not his breast?
Is there one out of bondage that hails not the word,
As a Bethlehem Star of the West?

That name was a power to rally a nation in the hour of
thick-thronging public disasters and calamities; that read more

That name was a power to rally a nation in the hour of
thick-thronging public disasters and calamities; that name shone
amid the storm of war, a beacon light to cheer and guide the
country's friends; it flamed too like a meteor to repel her foes.

Since ancient Time began,
Ever on some great soul God laid an infinite burden--
The weight of read more

Since ancient Time began,
Ever on some great soul God laid an infinite burden--
The weight of all this world, the hopes of man,
Conflict and pain, and fame immortal are his guerdon.

Where may the wearied eye repose,
When gazing on the Great;
Where neither guilty glory glows,
read more

Where may the wearied eye repose,
When gazing on the Great;
Where neither guilty glory glows,
Nor despicable state?
Yes--one the first, the last, the best,
The Cincinnatus of the West
Whom envy dared not hate,
Bequeathed the name of Washington
To make man blush; there was but one.

Simple and brave, his faith awoke
Ploughmen to struggle with their fate;
Armies won battles when he read more

Simple and brave, his faith awoke
Ploughmen to struggle with their fate;
Armies won battles when he spoke,
And out of Chaos sprang the state.

While Washington's a watchword, such as ne'er
Shall sink while there's an echo left to air.

While Washington's a watchword, such as ne'er
Shall sink while there's an echo left to air.