View source for Semper Paratus (march)

{{Short description|Official march of the United States Coast Guard}}
{{Infobox anthem
| title         = Semper Paratus
| transcription = 
| english_title = Always Ready
| alt_title     = 
| en_alt_title  = 
| alt_title_2   = 
| en_alt_title_2 = 
| image         = Semper paratus.jpg
| image_size    = 
| alt           = 
| caption       = Sheet music cover, 1928
| prefix        = Organizational
| country       = the {{Nowrap|{{Flag|United States Coast Guard}}}}
| author        = Homer Smith and Walton Butterfield
| lyrics_date   = 1943
| composer      = [[Francis Saltus Van Boskerck]]
| music_date    = 1927
| adopted       = {{start date and age|1928}}<ref name=LOC>{{cite web|title=Semper paratus|url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/ihas.100010541.0?st=gallery|website=Annotated Music|publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref>
| until         = 
| sound         = Semper Paratus by USCG Band.ogg
| sound_title   = [[U.S. Coast Guard Band]] performing the march
}}

"'''Semper Paratus'''" ([[Latin]] for "Always Ready") is the official song and march of the [[United States Coast Guard]]. It was composed by U.S. Coast Guard Captain [[Francis Saltus Van Boskerck]] in 1927. It made its debut in 1928.

==Etymology of title==
''Semper Paratus'' is the title of the song and is also the U.S. Coast Guard's official [[motto]]. The precise origin of the phrase is obscure, although the U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office notes the first use was by the ''[[New Orleans Bee]]'' newspaper in 1836, in reference to the actions of the [[U.S. Revenue Cutter Service]] during the [[Ingham incident|''Ingham'' incident]].<ref name=USCGHO/>

==History==
===Composition===
The original [[lyrics]] (seen below) were written by [[Captain (United States)|Captain]] Francis Saltus Van Boskerck in 1922, at the cabin of {{USCGC|Yamacraw|1909|6}} in [[Savannah, Georgia]]; he wrote the music in 1927, on a "beat-up old [[piano]]" in [[Unalaska, Alaska]].<ref name=USCGHO>{{cite web|title=History, Heritage & Traditions: Semper Paratus|url=http://www.history.uscg.mil/Frequently-Asked-Questions/|website=Frequently Asked Questions|publisher=U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office}}</ref><ref name=Loy>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uscg.mil/history/CCG/Loy/docs/Carabao011999.pdf|last=Loy|first=James M.|title=The Curse of Semper Paratus|location=Speech before the [[Military Order of the Carabao]] Luncheon|date=1999|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160917033805/https://www.uscg.mil/history/CCG/Loy/docs/Carabao011999.pdf|archive-date=2016-09-17}}</ref><ref name=Kroll>Kroll, p 144</ref>

=== First performance ===
During the run of [[A Girl in Every Port (1928 film)|''A Girl in Every Port'' (1928 film)]] at the Fox Theater in Washington D.C., a detachment of 50 [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] officers appeared at the theater for the debut of "Semper Paratus", the official song of the U.S. Coast Guard. The officers appeared at each performance during the playing of the song.<ref>{{Citation |title=A Girl in Every Port (1928 film) |date=2024-05-15 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A_Girl_in_Every_Port_(1928_film)&oldid=1223983180 |access-date=2024-07-15 |language=en}}</ref> Rear Admiral [[Frederick C. Billard|Frederick Billard]] was the Coast Guard commandant at the time.

===Lyrical modifications===
The current [[Verse (popular music)|verse]], as well as a second [[refrain|chorus]], were written by Homer Smith, [[3rd Naval District]] Coast Guard quartet; Chief Cole; and Lieutenant Walton Butterfield in 1943. In 1969, the first line of the chorus was changed from “So here's the Coast Guard marching song, We sing on land and sea.” to “We're always ready for the call, We place our trust in Thee.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jacksjoint.com/semperparatus.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000901225526/http://www.jacksjoint.com/semperparatus.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=September 1, 2000|title=SEMPER PARATUS|website=www.jacksjoint.com|access-date=Aug 16, 2020}}</ref>

==Lyrics==
[[File:Semper Paratus (1944), by the Boston Pops.ogg|thumb|upright|"Semper Paratus" being performed in 1944 by the [[Boston Pops]].]]
[[File:Semper Paratus, 1945.ogg|thumb|upright|"Semper Paratus" being performed in the 1940s, during [[World War II]].]]

[[File:"Semper Paratus", performed by the United States Navy Band.oga|thumb|upright|"Semper Paratus" being played by the U.S. Navy Band in the 1990s.]]
[[File:Semper Paratus, January 2009.oga|thumb|upright|"Semper Paratus" being played by the USCG Band at the [[First inauguration of Barack Obama|2009 U.S. presidential inauguration]] in Washington, D.C.]]
[[File:Semper Paratus, May 2010.ogg|thumb|upright|"Semper Paratus" being played by the USCG Band at a May 2010 parade in Torrance, California.]]
''Verse 1''
: From [[Pacific Coast campaign (Mexican–American War)|Aztec Shore]] to [[Greenland Patrol|Arctic Zone]],
: To [[Aegean Sea anti-piracy operations of the United States|Europe]] and [[Yangtze Patrol|Far East]],
: The Flag is carried by our ships
: In times of war and peace;
: And never have we struck it yet,
: In spite of foemen's might,
: Who cheered our crews and cheered again
: For showing how to fight.

''Chorus''
: We're always ready for the call,
: We place our trust in Thee.
: Through surf and storm and howling gale,
: High shall our purpose be,
: "Semper Paratus" is our guide,
: Our fame, our glory, too.
: To fight to save or fight and die!
: Aye! Coast Guard, we are for you.

''Verse 2''
: "[[USRC Surveyor|Surveyor]]" and "[[HMS Narcissus (1801)|Narcissus]],"
: The "[[Defense of the cutter Eagle|Eagle]]" and "[[HMS Despatch (1812)|Dispatch]],"
: The "[[USRC Hudson (1893)|Hudson]]" and the "[[USCGC Tampa (1912)|Tampa]],"
: These names are hard to match;
: From [[Point Barrow|Barrow's shores]] to [[Paraguay Expedition|Paraguay]],
: [[Great Lakes Patrol|Great Lakes]] or Ocean's wave,
: The Coast Guard fights through storms and winds
: To punish or to save.

''Verse 3''
: Aye! We've been "Always Ready"
: To do, to fight, or die!
: Write glory to the shield we wear
: In letters to the sky.
: To sink the foe or save the maimed
: Our mission and our pride.
: We'll carry on 'til Kingdom Come
: Ideals for which we've died.

==See also==
{{Portal|Music}}
*"[[Marines' Hymn]]"
*"[[The U.S. Air Force (song)|The U.S. Air Force]]"
*"[[Anchors Aweigh]]"
*"[[The Army Goes Rolling Along]]"
*"[[Semper Supra (march)|Semper Supra]]"
*"U.S. Public Health Service March"<ref>{{Citation |title=United States Public Health Service |date=2024-07-15 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_Public_Health_Service&oldid=1234722400 |access-date=2024-07-15 |language=en}}</ref>
*[[A Girl in Every Port (1928 film)|''A Girl in Every Port'' (1928 film)]]

==Notes==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web|title=History, Heritage & Traditions: Semper Paratus|url=http://www.history.uscg.mil/Frequently-Asked-Questions/|website=Frequently Asked Questions|publisher=U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office|access-date=19 February 2018}}
* {{cite web|title=Semper Paratus|url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/ihas.100010541.0?st=gallery|website=Annotated Music|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=19 February 2018}}
* {{cite book|last1=Kroll|first1=C. Douglas|title=A Coast Guardsman's History of the U.S. Coast Guard|date=2010|publisher=U. S. Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-59114-433-5}}
* {{Cite web|url=https://www.uscg.mil/history/CCG/Loy/docs/Carabao011999.pdf|last=Loy|first=James M.|title=The Curse of Semper Paratus|location=Speech before the [[Military Order of the Carabao]] Luncheon|date=January 19, 1999|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160917033805/https://www.uscg.mil/history/CCG/Loy/docs/Carabao011999.pdf|archive-date=September 17, 2016}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20141017041900/http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/songs/patriotic/semper_paratusmp3.htm Semper Paratus] (MIDI and all versions of the lyrics)
*[http://www.brownielocks.com/coastguardtheme.html Semper Paratus] (WAV)
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160916083316/http://www.jacksjoint.com/semper_paratus_music.htm Semper Paratus]}} (sheet music)

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[[Category:1927 songs]]
[[Category:American military marches]]
[[Category:American patriotic songs]]
[[Category:Anthems of organizations]]
[[Category:United States Coast Guard]]
[[Category:Concert band pieces]]