John Greenleaf Whittier: Collected Lyrics
202 / 271
Public-domain lyrics

The Pine-Tree

John Greenleaf Whittier

“The Pine-Tree” as printed in The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier (1895).

John Greenleaf Whittier: Collected Lyrics Text 202 1895 · historical text
Public domainBalladAmerican song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

Lift again the stately emblem on the Bay State’s rusted shield,

Give to Northern winds the Pine-Tree on our banner’s tattered field.

Sons of men who sat in council with their Bibles round the board,

Answering England’s royal missive with a firm, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Rise again for home and freedom! set the battle in array!

What the fathers did of old time we their sons must do to-day.

Verse 2

Tell us not of banks and tariffs, cease your paltry pedler cries;

Shall the good State sink her honor that your gambling stocks may rise?

Would ye barter man for cotton? That your gains may sum up higher,

Must we kiss the feet of Moloch, pass our children through the fire?

Is the dollar only real? God and truth and right a dream?

Weighed against your lying ledgers must our manhood kick the beam?

O my God! for that free spirit, which of old in Boston town

Smote the Province House with terror, struck the crest of Andros down!

For another strong-voiced Adams in the city’s streets to cry,

“Up for God and Massachusetts! Set your feet on Mammon’s lie!

Perish banks and perish traffic, spin your cotton’s latest pound,

But in Heaven’s name keep your honor, keep the heart o’ the Bay State sound!”

Where ’s the man for Massachusetts? Where ’s the voice to speak her free?

Where ’s the hand to light up bonfires from her mountains to the sea?

Beats her Pilgrim pulse no longer? Sits she dumb in her despair?

Has she none to break the silence? Has she none to do and dare?

O my God! for one right worthy to lift up her rusted shield,

And to plant again the Pine-Tree in her banner’s tattered field!

Credits

Written by John Greenleaf Whittier

Words by John Greenleaf Whittier. Historical text published in The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier (1895); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier (1895), “The Pine-Tree”

Every text in this 1895 collected edition is by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), who died more than 133 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide; the edition carries a Wikisource PD-old determination.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-27. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
Keep tracing

More from John Greenleaf Whittier: Collected Lyrics.

01Lord and Father of MankindPublic-domain lyrics02The LaurelsPublic-domain lyrics03The Rock" in El GhorPublic-domain lyrics04A Christmas CarmenPublic-domain lyrics