The Czechoslovak Review/Volume 2/The Red and White Flag
The Red and White Flag.
(Copyright 1918 by Newspaper Enterprise Association. Reprinted by permission.)
The Czech and the Slovak have struck for their state
And their flag is afloat on the red line of war.
They have chosen their stand, they have fronted their fate.
And committed their cause to the thunders of Thor.
O, hasten the day when they come to their own
And the Hapsburg usurper is hurled from his throne,
And the joy of free peoples leaps out of their throats,
Where the red and white flag of Bohemia floats.
These men of the race of the Slovak and Czech;
Hats off in salute for the heroes they are!
Each stands to his gun with a noose on his neck.
More honored by that than by ribbon-and-star.
They have sworn by the prowess of Ziska the brave
That the land of a Huss shall not harbor a slave,
That the people shall rule by the people’s own votes
Where the red and white flag of Bohemia floats.
O, Land of Bohemia, you shall arise
From the night of distress you have suffered too long;
The flag of your freedom shall brighten the skies
And the laughter of children shall break into song.
For the Czech and the Slovak, though widely they roam,
Hear ever their melody, “Where Is My Home?”
Where? How the heart leaps as it answers the notes:
Where the red and white flag of Bohemia floats!
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1932, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 91 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse