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When Johnny Comes Marching Home
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (Roud 6673), sometimes "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again", is a song from the American Civil War that expressed people's longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the war.
Irish-American bandleader Patrick Gilmore wrote the lyrics to "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" during the American Civil War. Its first publication was deposited in the Library of Congress on September 26, 1863, with words and music credited to "Louis Lambert"; copyright was retained by the publisher, Henry Tolman & Co., of Boston. Why Gilmore published under a pseudonym is unclear, but popular songwriters of the period often employed pseudonyms to add a touch of romantic mystery to their songs. Gilmore is said to have written the song for his sister Annie as she prayed for the safe return of her fiancé, Union Light Artillery Captain John O'Rourke, from the Civil War, although it is not clear if they were already engaged in 1863; the two were not married until 1875.
Gilmore later acknowledged that the music was not original but was, as he put it in an 1883 article in the Musical Herald, "a musical waif which I happened to hear somebody humming in the early days of the rebellion, and taking a fancy to it, wrote it down, dressed it up, gave it a name, and rhymed it into usefulness for a special purpose suited to the times."
The melody was previously published around July 1, 1863, as the music to the Civil War drinking song "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl". A color-illustrated, undated slip of Gilmore's lyrics, printed by his own Boston publisher, actually states that "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" should be sung to the tune of "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl". The original sheet music for "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl" states that the music was arranged (not composed) by J. Durnal. There is a melodic resemblance of the tune to that of "John Anderson, My Jo" (to which Robert Burns wrote lyrics to fit a pre-existing tune dating from about 1630 or earlier), and Jonathan Lighter has suggested a connection to the 17th-century ballad "The Three Ravens".
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is also sung to the same tune as "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" and is frequently thought to have been a rewriting of that song. "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" was not published until 1867, however, and it originally had a different melody.
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" was immensely popular and was sung by both sides of the American Civil War. It became a hit in England and Ireland as well and was eventually lyrically rewritten and became the related tune "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye".
Quite a few variations on the song, as well as songs set to the same tune but with different lyrics, have appeared since "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" was popularized. The alleged larcenous tendencies of some Union soldiers in New Orleans were parodied in the lyrics "For Bales", to the same tune. A British version appeared in 1914 with a similar title, "When Tommy Comes Marching Home". The 1880 U.S. presidential election campaign featured a campaign song called "If the Johnnies Get into Power," which supported the Republicans James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur against the "Johnnies" (Democrats Winfield S. Hancock and William H. English).
The children's songs, "Ants Go Marching", or "Ants Go Marching One By One", and "The Animals Went in Two by Two" ("Into the Ark") re-used the tune and the refrain.
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When Johnny Comes Marching Home
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (Roud 6673), sometimes "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again", is a song from the American Civil War that expressed people's longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the war.
Irish-American bandleader Patrick Gilmore wrote the lyrics to "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" during the American Civil War. Its first publication was deposited in the Library of Congress on September 26, 1863, with words and music credited to "Louis Lambert"; copyright was retained by the publisher, Henry Tolman & Co., of Boston. Why Gilmore published under a pseudonym is unclear, but popular songwriters of the period often employed pseudonyms to add a touch of romantic mystery to their songs. Gilmore is said to have written the song for his sister Annie as she prayed for the safe return of her fiancé, Union Light Artillery Captain John O'Rourke, from the Civil War, although it is not clear if they were already engaged in 1863; the two were not married until 1875.
Gilmore later acknowledged that the music was not original but was, as he put it in an 1883 article in the Musical Herald, "a musical waif which I happened to hear somebody humming in the early days of the rebellion, and taking a fancy to it, wrote it down, dressed it up, gave it a name, and rhymed it into usefulness for a special purpose suited to the times."
The melody was previously published around July 1, 1863, as the music to the Civil War drinking song "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl". A color-illustrated, undated slip of Gilmore's lyrics, printed by his own Boston publisher, actually states that "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" should be sung to the tune of "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl". The original sheet music for "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl" states that the music was arranged (not composed) by J. Durnal. There is a melodic resemblance of the tune to that of "John Anderson, My Jo" (to which Robert Burns wrote lyrics to fit a pre-existing tune dating from about 1630 or earlier), and Jonathan Lighter has suggested a connection to the 17th-century ballad "The Three Ravens".
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is also sung to the same tune as "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" and is frequently thought to have been a rewriting of that song. "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" was not published until 1867, however, and it originally had a different melody.
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" was immensely popular and was sung by both sides of the American Civil War. It became a hit in England and Ireland as well and was eventually lyrically rewritten and became the related tune "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye".
Quite a few variations on the song, as well as songs set to the same tune but with different lyrics, have appeared since "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" was popularized. The alleged larcenous tendencies of some Union soldiers in New Orleans were parodied in the lyrics "For Bales", to the same tune. A British version appeared in 1914 with a similar title, "When Tommy Comes Marching Home". The 1880 U.S. presidential election campaign featured a campaign song called "If the Johnnies Get into Power," which supported the Republicans James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur against the "Johnnies" (Democrats Winfield S. Hancock and William H. English).
The children's songs, "Ants Go Marching", or "Ants Go Marching One By One", and "The Animals Went in Two by Two" ("Into the Ark") re-used the tune and the refrain.