Hymns and Songs of the American Civil War

[Desert Fox]

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Just thought i'd open a dedicated thread to this collection of rare and valuable songs of a decisive moment in American as well as World History.


Dedicated to all of those brave men and boys of the Union and Confederacy who sacrificed their lives for the cause they believed was worth fighting and ultimately sacrificing their lives for, leaving behind their mothers, wives, and children, never to see their faces again.


I'll begin with one of my favorite Southern Songs of the Civil War, sung in remembrance of those brave young men who left their sweethearts to fight for the Southern cause, majority of whom never returned.

Origins of this song

Written in 1863 by a Captain G.W. Alexander to the tune of "The Boy With the Auburn Hair", this song has always been one of Miss Holly's favorites. It embodies the spirit of the Southern women who had absolute faith in the Southern Cause and the men who fought for it. "Nannie" is both wistful and defiant as she tells of her love and pride in her sweetheart, and her unshakeable belief in the fact that "Southrons never yield".

Our research on this tune led us to an actress named Sallie Partington, who was born in May 1834, in Islington, England. She was a popular actress of the era and worked with many famous actors, including John Wilkes Booth. During the Civil War, Sallie was considered the "toast of Richmond" and often ended her stage performance with a rousing salute to the Confederacy. She was well known for her role in the immensely popular Confederate play "The Virginia Cavalier", in which she performed the song "Southern Soldier Boy".

Southern Soldier Boy


Song: The Southern Soldier Boy
Sung by: Kathy Mattea

Lyrics

Bob Roebuck is my sweetheart's name,
He's off to the wars and gone.
He's fighting for his Nannie dear,
His sword is buckled on.

He's fighting for his own true love,
His foes he does defy.
He is the darling of my heart,
My Southern soldier boy.

Oh if in battle he was slain,
I'm sure that I should die.
but I'm sure he'll come again,
And cheer my weeping eye.

But should he fall,
In this our glorious cause,
He still would be my joy.
For many a sweetheart mourns the loss,
Of a Southern soldier boy.

I hope for the best,
And so do all,
Whose hopes are in the field.
I know that we shall win the day,
For Southerns never yield.

And when we think,
Of those who are away,
We'll look above for joy.
And I'm mighty glad,
That my Bobby is,
A Southern soldier boy.

[Desert Fox]

A famous Union Song of the American Civil War; "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again".

Two different Versions of the Song:


Instrumental:



Chorus Version:

Origins

The Irish anti-war song Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" share the same melodic material. Based on internal textual references, "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" apparently dates from the early 1820s, while When Johnny Comes Marching Home was first published in 1863. It was sung by both sides of the American Civil War.[1] It was used as a motivational song that told the soldiers what happens when the war is over.

As with much folk music of this period, many variants in text and music appear as the song is transmitted orally and subject to many external influences. Primacy of one version over another is difficult to prove conclusively because most versions were never written down or published. James Fuld in The Book of World Famous Music (p. 640) indicates that some believe the melody is not Irish in origin.

The lyrics to Johnny Comes Marching Home, written by Irish-American bandleader Patrick Gilmore and published under the pseudonym 'Louis Lambert',[1] effectively reverse those of Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye, in which Johnny returns home blind and crippled, to the woman and children he abandoned to be able to go to Sri Lanka to serve in the British Army for the East India Company.

Gilmore wrote 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.[2][3]
[edit] Other versions

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 the 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".[4]
* Morton Gould's classical arrangement "American Salute" of the song (1943).
* Harris, Roy (1934), When Johnny Comes Marching Home — An American Overture .

[edit] Popular culture (after 1950)

* The children's songs The Ants Go Marching One By One and The Animals Went in Two by Two ('Into the Ark') re-used the tune and the refrain.[5]
* British pop singer Adam Faith reached #5 in the UK charts with his version, called Johnny Comes Marching Home in 1960.
* A French version (without vocals) "Johnny Revient d'la Guerre" was recorded by Bérurier Noir, on the album Macadam Massacre (1983).
* United States soccer fans sing the chorus to this song during matches as a patriotic hymn to support their national team.[6]
* The song or its melody has also been used in many movie soundtracks, including Cavalcade,1933 Gone with the Wind, 1939 (a Confederate military band plays it in the background of a scene taking place in Atlanta); The Great Dictator, 1940; Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1942; Stalag 17, 1953 (it is sung by American prisoners of war); The Horse Soldiers, 1959; How The West Was Won, 1962; Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 1964; The Crazies, 1973; Born on the Fourth of July 1989; Die Hard with a Vengeance 1995; The Second Civil War, 1997; and Antz, 1998.
* The Clash used the melody and some of the lyrics for their song "English Civil War" on the Give 'Em Enough Rope album.

When Johnny Comes Marching Home - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Lyrics:

The original lyrics as written by Gilmore, are:

When Johnny comes marching home again

Hurrah! Hurrah!

We'll give him a hearty welcome then

Hurrah! Hurrah!

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

Hurrah! Hurrah!

To welcome home our darling boy,

Hurrah! Hurrah!

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,

Hurrah! Hurrah!

We'll give the hero three times three,

Hurrah! Hurrah!

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,

Hurrah, hurrah!

Their choicest pleasures then display,

Hurrah, hurrah!

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.

[Desert Fox]

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Confederate Song "March Of The Southern Men"



Couldn't find the origins or the lyrics of this song unfortunately :(