When Johnny Comes Marching Home
When Johnny Comes Marching Home is an American Civil War song.
It expresses the longing for the return of a soldier drawn to war. The text comes from the Irish-American conductor Patrick Gilmore , who published it under the pseudonym Louis Lambert in 1863 in the middle of the American Civil War and in which it was sung by both sides. From then on it was sung by Americans in all wars and was also used in many films, such as Dr. Strange or: How I Learned to Love the Bomb , Gone with the Wind , The Great Dictator , Yankee Doodle Dandy , Stalag 17 , Antz , Der Glückspilz , Jonah Hex and Die Hard: Now all the more . But also from games like Strike Force heroes .
It is falsely claimed to be based on the song Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye , allegedly to denounce it as a battle song . However, Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye was not published by Joseph B. Geoghegan until 1867, four years later, and initially had a different melody.
text
When Johnny comes marching home again
Hurray! Hurray!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then
Hurray! Hurray!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
The old church bell will peal with joy
Hurray! Hurray!
To welcome home our darling boy,
Hurray! Hurray!
The village lads and lassies say
With roses they will strew the way,
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
Get ready for the Jubilee,
Hurray! Hurray!
We'll give the hero three times three,
Hurray! Hurray!
The laurel wreath is ready now
To place upon his loyal brow
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
Let love and friendship on that day,
Hurray, hurray!
Their choicest pleasures then display,
Hurray, hurray!
And let each one perform some part,
To fill with joy the warrior's heart,
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
literature
- Jonathan Lighter: The Best Antiwar Song Ever Written . Occasional Papers in Folklore No. 1. CAMSCO Music and Loomis House Press, 2012, ISBN 978-1-935243-89-2 .
Web links
- When Johnny Comes Marching Home sung by John Terrill, 1893 (MP3; 1.1 MB)
- Information on the history of the song (English)
- Sheet of music
- Text and melody