C Instrument - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1420898 Composed by Joe Rizzo. Arranged by John Fries. 20th Century,Historic,Holiday,March,Standards. Lead Sheet / Fake Book. 2 pages. John Fries #1002320. Published by John Fries (A0.1420898). TYPE JOHN FRIES IN THE SEARCH BAR TO SEE ALL I HAVE TO OFFER. Thanks, John. You're a Grand Old Flag is an American patriotic march. In addition to obvious references to the flag, it incorporates snippets of other popular songs, including one of his own. Cohan wrote it in 1906 for his stage musical George Washington, Jr. You're a Grand Old Flag quickly became the first song from a musical to sell over a million copies of sheet music. The original lyric for this perennial George M. Cohan favorite came, as Cohan later explained, from an encounter he had with a Civil War veteran who fought at Gettysburg. The two men found themselves next to each other and Cohan noticed the vet held a carefully folded but ragged old flag. The man reportedly then turned to Cohan and said, She's a grand old rag. Cohan thought it was a great line and originally named his tune You're a Grand Old Rag. So many groups and individuals objected to calling the flag a rag, however, that he gave 'em what they wanted and switched words, renaming the song You're a Grand Old Flag.
