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Bold Glory (novelette)

Introduction
United States of America

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Introduction

Michael Bishop is an experienced writer, with a considerable science fiction output. His novelette Vinegar Peace, or, the Wrong-way Used-adult Orphanage is set in a near future when the United States are envolved in a "War on Worldwide Wickedness", and widow(er)s who lost all relatives and offspring to the war effort are held in special "orphanages".

This is a slightly unusual piece for the genre, with fuzzy setting, dense metaphors, several levels of allegory, and equal doses of dry humour and despair. It was published in Asimov's Science Fiction *32:7 (=390)* of July 2008: p.64-80.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 3 June 2008

United States of America

by António Martins-Tuválkin, 3 June 2008

In the novelette, the United States went through a major vexillological change (p.66-67): It mentions

a flag of the nation's newly adopted colors

and then

ranks of scarlet draped caskets

A military funeral detail sings

a half-footed variation of an old hymn's tune

which ends with:

We all revere Bold Gory [...] its Red, its Wine, its Blood!

The main character explains that

the Red, Wine, and Blood "Bold Gory" has recently replaced the Red, White, and Blue "Old Glory" [...] its stars and stripes are mutedly visible as different shades of red.

She then refuses the honour of holding this flag:

I'm partial to the old version, even at its foulest.

António Martins-Tuválkin, 3 June 2008

Having serched for "its red, its white, its blue", I can't find the original this is fictionally based on. Any ideas? (Yes, and I did check our site at flag in music and keyword:song first.)
António Martins-Tuválkin, 4 June 2008