Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-05-25
Old WAR SONGS.

Old WAR SONGS.
The Popular Air. orthe Days of the Re.
bclliom The National II > mn Yet Ia
The war proved very fruitful theme
for the poetnster, says the Boston Travel.
yer, and many tledgling bard delivered
himself OF more or less of patriotic jim
gle which it would be quite unbecoming
TO rate under the name Of poetry. Many
war sUngs-Rnd some of them are very
good, tou-wcre written for special pur-
poses; to chronicle some particular event,
OF In praise OF some individual regiment,
and ON this account they never become
popular. But such songs rs the Battle
Cry Of Freodom," "Kingdom Coming. ="
Marching Through Georgia." John
Browns Body etc, achieved univer-
salty that made them known from one
end of the land to the other. The song
of the soldier never sounds 30 well as
when sung on the field Of battle. There
1t reaches to Il foight of subimity OBJ
talnahie nowhere else and perhaps no
finer volume Of sound could be heard
than CroinwolIs rOunl-heeds chanting
the "Old Hundred after the battle Of
Marston Moor, legion OF Frenchmen
Singing The Nlarscilaise. OF one of our
own army corps pouring forth in uniscu
john Browns Body"
1t is sair 70 say that notwithstanding
the great number Of songs which the
war OF the rebellion was tie means of
bringing ont, no. one first class lyric not
one single poem fit to be ranked with
Thomas Campbcll's immortal "Ye Mari
nj
haps Mrs. Howe's Battle HYMN of the
Republic" Is the most sublime of all the
songs that were written during the rebel
lion, bat this falls far short of Campbell's
song. BY the way, who is responsible
for the air, "Glory Hallelujah?" Has it
father, or did it grow, like Topsey The
air is original with the words John
Brown Is BODY lies moldering in the dust"
but where it sprang from, who can tell
IT followed hard upon another John
Brown ditty, which we heard crowd of
boys and half-grown men singing while
paradlng through the streets one night,
after the close of a meeting which was
held Ill Fun"uil hall to lament over the
execution Of John Brown. That ditty,
like the famous song of "The Black
Snake, consisted of hundred verses,
and this Was lis burden:
"Trll John Andrew,
I'll John Andrew,
Tel John Andrew
John Browns dead"
From this sprang the now famous song
which is perhaps the most popular of all
the army songs, md of the many versions
that have been made, the best is from the
pen Of DR.. W. Wetmore:
'See them come see them come. from the moun
tain and the pain,
noble band of palrlos the Union to maintain,
anu thry never vi return I'LL the country stands
again
GATED, Arm, and free
Cory Halle utah." etc.
Henry Clay Work, western bard,
wrote aud composed the music of several
OF the best songs, among which may be
named Marching Through Georgia."
and that very capital and fayorite song
with the soldiers "Kingdom Coming"
which has an additional charm from be-
ing In the negro dialect
Say, darkies. hab you seen de massa,
Nld Ge muIstash on his face,
20 long dc road come time dis mOrnin'
Like lie gOin' 10 leave the Ilace?
~. seen de smoke way up de rbber
. Nheie tht Lincum Run-boats lay;
lie took his hat aud 10 berry sudden,
Alld spOse he's ruined awayl
De innSsa run, ha. ha
DE darby stay, no. no!
l must be now de Kingdom comm.
An lie yar oh Jubllo.'
The mir which accompanies these words
is very inspiritiug one, and it makes
capital quickstep.
George f. Root. who was some time
music teacher in this city, is the author
and composer OF "Tramp, tramp, tramp"
''In the prison cell ~,
Thlnklna mother, dear, OF You
And the tears hey n my eyes
Spite Of all that can do,
Though Try To cheer iuy comrdde. and be pay
Tramp tramp, tramp the boys marching" etc
Root is also the author OF "The Battle
Cry of Freedom"
Eyes, wen rally round the nag, boys,
Well rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry Of freedom
Wew rails from the hillside,
Wen gather from the plain,
Shouting the battle cry OF frcedom!r
There is mn adapiability to the air Of
this song which makes it available to
many words The soldiers were fond of
setting the words of "Mary had q little
lamb" to it, with ludicrous effect. As for
instance:
"Nary hal lttle lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow,
Shouting the battle cry OF freedom
Aud every place that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to 20,
Shouting the battle cry Of freedom"
and so on. During the terrible fighting
in the Wilderness Oh the 9Th of May,
1854, brigade Of the Ninth corps, hay
ing broken the enemy's line by an as
sault, became exposed to flank attack
and wa driven back in disorder with
heavy loss. They retreated but few
hundred yards, however, reformed, and
again confronted the enemy. just then
some gallant fellows in the ranks of the
Forty-ffth Pennsylvania began to sing
"W. rally 'ronnd the nag, boys,
Rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry Of freedom"
The refrain was caught up instantly by
the entire regiment and by the Thirty.
sixth Massachusetts, next in line. There
the grim ranks stood at bay in the deadly
thicket. The air was filed with the
orackle and smoke of burning under
brush, the pitiful cries of the wounded.
the rattle Of musketry, and the shouts OF
command but above all, answering the