Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882) was best known as an essayist, lecturer and philosopher, as well as friend to Hawthorne and the Alcotts, but he did also write some poetry. His Concord Hymn was written for the 1837 dedication of an obelisk monument at Concord, Massachusetts, commemorating the battles of Concord and Lexington which sparked the American Revolutionary War.
Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson
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 today 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, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.
Emerson had moved to the town of Concord a few years before and the battle site was a short walk from his home. His grandfather William Emerson had actually witnessed the battle. The writer and abolitionist was soon considered one of the town’s leading citizens and so was invited to write this poem by the Battle Monument Committee. For the ceremony it was set to the tune of ‘Old Hundred’ and is often sung, rather than recited.
In his poem Emerson raises the battle above being a simple event and turns Concord into the spiritual heart of the newly independent nation. He gives no detail of the fight or of gory deaths, but instead speaks of freedom and revolution and the importance of a nation remembering its heroes. By calling it a ‘hymn’, he adds a religious connotation to the poem.
The poem was printed in many newspapers of the day and, before long, the line “and fired the shot heard round the world” had become part of American legend. It is transcribed on statues and has even appeared on a postage stamp, definitely the most famous line Emerson ever wrote.
Listen to a choir singing the hymn here:
Or you might like to hear President Bill Clinton read it (he chose it as a favourite poem):
Have you enjoyed this poem? I’d love to know what you think, let me know by leaving a comment.
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Gwyn Burns
Yes I enjoyed the poem and have sent it to my sister in Bristol England. She loves poetry.
Coincidentally I have 3 E. M. Forster books next to me.
A Passage to India
Collected short Stories and
room with a View
They are all terribly old, but still excellent reading.
Kind regards
Gwyn Burns
Susannah Fullerton
Thanks for sharing the poem. If you wish to send me your sister’s email, I can sign her up for the newsletter, or she can do it herself on my website. Yes, one can always return happily to EM Forster.