(repealed effective July 1, 2021, by Chapters 148 & 149, Acts of 2021; formerly enacted by Chapter 451, Acts of 1939; Code General Provisions Article, sec. 7-318)
by James Ryder Randall
Maryland, My Maryland
- 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 anointed 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!
Arise in majesty 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!
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