Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Concord Hymn, sometimes simply referred to as Hymn, references the famed, “shot heard round the world” marking the beginning of the American Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775. Emerson wrote it to be sung at the completion of the Concord Monument, dedicated on April 19, 1836. The poem was featured in Poems of American Patriotism (1922), edited by Brander Matthews.

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, or leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.