The Press., 1883-07-12
SONGS OF SOLDIERS.
THE MUSIC oF THE BOYS IN BLUE AND THE
 LADS IN GRAY.

SONGS OF SOLDIERS. THE MUSIC or THE BOYS IN BLUE AND THE
 LADS IN GRAY. The war proved 8 very faithful theme for the poetaster, and many aedglng 1 bard delivered himself of more or less pat | riotic jingle which it would be quite unbe- | coming to rate under the name of poetry. Many war songs-and some of them are v.ry good, too-were written for special purposes to chronicle some particular event, or in praise of some individual reg iment, and on this account they never be- come popular. But such songs as the "Battle Cry of Freedom, ""Kingdom Com ing, Marching Through Georgia, ""John Browns Body etc., achieved g univer- salty that made them known from one end of the land to the other. The song of the soldier never sounds so well as when sung on the field of battle. There 1t reaches to a height of subEmity obtainable nowhere else, and perhaps no finer volume of sound could be heard than Cromwell's Round heads chanting the sold Hundred" after the battle of Marston Moor, legion of Frenchmen singing ''The Marseillaise," or one of our own army corps pouring forth in unison "John Browns Body"
 It is safe to say that, notwithstanding the great number of songs which the war of the rebellion was the means of bringing out, not one frst-class lyric, not one sin gle poem fit to be ranked with Thos. Campbsn's immortal 'sYe Mariners of Eng gland" was the result. Perhaps Mrs. Howe's "Battls Hymn of the Republic" is the most sublime of all the songs that wore written before the rebellion, but that falls far short of Campbell's song. By the way, who is responsible for the air, "Glory, Hallelujah ?" Has 1t father, or did it grow, like Topsy? The air is original with the words, "John Browns 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 a crowd of boys and haf-grown singing while parading through the streets one night after the close of a meeting which was held in Faneuil 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 it's burden:
 Tell John Andrew,
 Tell John Andrew,
 Tell. John Andrew,
 John Browns dead. From this sprang the now famous song
  the army songs, end of the many versions that have been made the best is from the pen of Dr. ". J. Wetmore: See them come, see them come, from the mountain and the plain, A noble band of patriots, the Union to main tain. And they never will return till the country stands again
 United, firm and free, Glory, Halleluiah, etc. Henry Clay Work, western bard, wrote and composed the music of several of the best songs, among which may be named Marching through Georgia" and that very capital and favoFite song with the soldiers, Kingdom Coming" which has additional charm from being in the negro dialect:
 Say dArhes, hab you seen the massa, Wid de mufstash on his face, Go long de road some time dis mornin' Like he goin' to leave the place? He seen de smoke way up de ribber Where de Limcum gunboats lay; He took his hat and left berry sudden, And spose he runned awayl De massa run, ha, hal 2 De darkey stay, ho, ho! It must be now de Kingdom oomin' And de var ob jubilo. The air which accompanies these words is very inspiring one, and it makes cap- ital quickstep.
 George F. Root, who was some time 9 music teacher in this city, is the author and composer of Tramp, tramp, tramp. In the prison cell sit, Thinking, mother dear, of you And our bright and happy home so far away j; And the tears they fill my eyes,
 Spite of all that can do, Though try to cheer my comrades and be Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are march
 ing, etc.
 Root is also the author of "The Battle cry of Freedom"
 Yes, we'll rally round the flag, boys,
 We'll rally once again,
 Shouting the battle cry of freedom.
 We will rally from the hillside, ~
 We'll gather from the plain,
 Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
 There is an adaptability to the air of this song which makes it available to many words. The soldiers were fond of setting the words of "Mary Had Little Lamb'' to 1t with ludicrous effect. As for instance
 Mary had little lamb,
 It's fleece was white as snow, E <
 Shouting the battle-cry of freedom;
 And every place that Mary went
 The lamb was sure to go,
 Shouting the battle cry of freedom.
 And so on. During the terrible fight ing in the Wilderness on; the 9th of May, 1864, brigade of the Ninth Corps, hay ing broken the enemy's line by an assault, became exposed to flank attack, and was driven back in disorder with heavy loss. They retreated but few hundred yards, however, reformed and again confronted the enemy. Just then some gallant fel- flows in the ranks of the Forty fifth Penn sylvania began to sing
 We'll rally round the flag, boys,
 Rally once again,
 Shouting the battle cry of freedom. The refrain was caught up instantly by the entire regiment and by the Thirty six Massachusetts, next in line. There the grim ranks stood st bay in the deadly thlcket. The air was filled with the crackle