The Flagmaker, 1775

Brown Jason Robert

With the guns flaring 
And drums pounding 
There's no hope of getting rest 
With the lights glaring 
And calls sounding 
And the clenching in your chest 
When the man's in battle 
And the baby's rattle 
Only makes you more depressed 
The wise woman does what she knows 
If it's fighting she fights 
If it's sewing she sews 
When the tension inside 
Overflows and goes to far 
One more star, one more stripe 
To escape your lonely bed 
One more star, one more stripe 
Join the blue, the white and red 
One more star, one more stripe 
As you pray your child's not dead 
With the roof leaking 
And walls wetter 
And the night as black as pitch 
With the wind shrieking 
And his last letter 
Says his fighting in a ditch 
Then the candle flickers 
And the river bickers 
What else can you do but stitch 
One more star, one more stripe 
Til you feel the rising sun 
One more star, one more stripe 
Til this foolishness is done 
One more star, one more stripe 
We'll be waiting when we've won 
Grab a needle, grab a thimble 
If it's all that keeps you sane 
Think of freedom as a symbol 
Think of justice as a game 
Think of life with independence 
Think of muskets and brigades 
Think of taking the oppressors 
Think of banners and parades 
When the gate creaks 
And the paint cracks 
And the cat cries 
And the night falls 
Raise a flag 
Raise a flag 
Raise a flag til you're free 
One more star, one more stripe 
Til this bloodshed's finally through 
One more star, one more stripe 
Til they come back home to you 
One more star, one more stripe 
When there's nothing you can do 
If they take all the things 
That define what you were,
And are 
One more star