The tune was written, around 1855, by South Carolinian William Steffe . The lyrics at that time were alternately called "Canaan's Happy Shore" or "Brothers, Will You Meet Me?" and the song was sung as a Campfire Spiritual . The tune spread across the United States , taking on many sets of new lyrics.
Thomas Bishop, from Vermont , joined the Massachusetts Infantry before the outbreak of war and wrote a popular set of lyrics, circa 1860, titled " John Brown's Body " which became one of his unit's Walking Songs . According to writer Irwin Silber (who has written a book about Civil War folksongs), the song was not about John Brown , the famed Abolitionist , but a Scotsman of the same name who was a member of the 12th Massachusetts Regiment. An article by writer Mark Steyn explains that the men of John Brown's unit had made up a song poking fun at him, and sang it widely.
Bishop's battalion was dispatched to Washington, D.C. early in the Civil War, and Julia Ward Howe heard this song during a public review of the troops in Washington. As with many others, she assumed it was about John Brown the abolitionist. Her companion at the review, the Reverend James Clarke, suggested to Howe that she write new words for the fighting men's song, and the current version of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was born {Link without Title} .
Howe's "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" was first published on the front page of '' The Atlantic Monthly '' of February 1862. The sixth verse written by Howe, which is less commonly sung, was not published at that time. The song was also published as a broadside in 1863 by the Supervisory Committee for Recruiting Colored Regiments in Philadelphia.
Julia Ward Howe was the wife of Samuel Gridley Howe , the famed scholar in education of the blind. Samuel and Julia were also active leaders in anti-slavery politics and strong supporters of the Union.
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:Mine eyes have seen the glory of the Coming Of The Lord :
:He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
:He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
:His truth is marching on.
::()
:: Glory , glory, Hallelujah !
::Glory, glory, hallelujah!
::Glory, glory, hallelujah!
::His truth is marching on.
:I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
:They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
:I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
:His day is marching on.
::
His day is marching on.
:I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
:"As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;
:Let the Hero, born of woman, crush The Serpent with His heel,
:Since God is marching on."
::
Since God is marching on.
:He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
:He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
:Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
:Our God is marching on.
::
Our God is marching on.
:In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
:With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
:As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
:While God is marching on.
::
While God is marching on.
:He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
:He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is Succour to the brave,
:So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of Time His slave,
:Our God is marching on.
::
Our God is marching on.
In later years, when this song was sung in a non-military environment, the clause "let us die to make men free" was sometimes changed to "let us ''live'' to make men free". Also, the line "as he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free" is often changed to be Gender-neutral : "as he died to make ''us'' holy, let us ''live'' to make ''all'' free".
The sixth verse is often omitted. Also, a common variant changes "soul of Time" to "soul of wrong", and "succour" to "honor".
- The lyrics of the Battle Hymn of the Republic appear in Martin Luther King, Jr. 's sermons and speeches, most notably in his speech " How Long, Not Long " from the steps of the Montgomery, Alabama Courthouse on March 25th, 1965 after the 3rd Selma March , and in his final sermon delivered in Memphis, Tennessee on the evening of April 3rd, 1968, the night before his assassination. In fact, the latter sermon, King's last public words, ends with the first lyrics of the Battle Hymn, "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."
- In 1960 the Mormon Tabernacle Choir won the Grammy Award for Best Performance By A Vocal Group Or Chorus with a recording that replaced the line "let us die to make men free" with the more cheery "let us ''live'' to make men free", a variation that has since caught on to some extent.
- The first verse and chorus of the Battle Hymn of the Republic is sung in the background at the end of the Dream Theater song "In the Name of God" on their album '' Train Of Thought ''. This rendition is possibly intended to be Ironic , as it is sung in an uncharacteristic Minor Key .
- Judy Garland performed the song on an episode of '' The Judy Garland Show '' in late 1963 in honor of recently-assassinated President John F. Kennedy , with whom she was close friends.
- The song plays as the soundtrack in The West Wing episode '' 20 Hours In America, Part I ''. In the episode, President Bartlet has just finished addressing a group of sailors and Marines and is seen walking under an American flag with the song playing in the background.
- An episode of Andromeda is called ''To Loose The Fateful Lightning''.
- An episode of The 4400 is called ''Terrible Swift Sword''.
- Can be heard on some Barney & Friends episodes as the song ''S-M-I-L-E'' and ''(S)He Waded in the Water''
- The tune of the song has been used in 44 films to date, the first being ''Mother Machree'' in 1928 and the most recent '' Rocket Science '' in 2007 .
- In the movie '' The Right Stuff '', John Glenn (played by Ed Harris ) Hum s the tune during the tense Reentry of his space capsule after learning of a technical malfunction.
- In the 1989 film '' UHF '', after Stanley Spadowski gives the inspirational speech, "Life is like a mop...." while the song plays in the background.
- The tune of the hymn is the basis for a scene in American History X , during which Ethan Suplee 's racist character is singing along to modified lyrics to reflect Neo-nazi sentiments.
- Auburn University plays the song Glory to Ole Auburn on extra points at football games. "The truth is marching on" is replaced by A-U-B-U-R-N!
- Airborne Troops in WWII parodied the song by naming it Gory,Gory!. The song is about a Paratrooper jumping to his death. "He ain't gonna jump no more" replaces "The truth is marching on".
- The tune was used for the Northern Irish football anthem, "''We're Not Brazil, We're Northern Ireland''"
- "Glory Glory Colorado," one of the Fight Song s of the University Of Colorado , takes its tune from the Battle Hymn.
- Just before each University Of Georgia football game begins, a lone trumpeter stands in the Southwest corner of Sanford Stadium and plays the first phrase, with the entire Redcoat Band joining after the first phrase. The UGA band also plays the entire song after home victories. The same is practiced at the beginning of basketball games, with the trumpeter at center court and the pep band joining in the song. The Georgia Tech marching band also sings a parody called "To Hell With Georgia" under the stands of Bobby Dodd Stadium before every game.1
- The tune is used in Football Chant s in England , originally sung by supporters of Tottenham Hotspur F.C. , but since spreading to other teams, with versions such as " Glory Glory Man United ".
- In the National Hockey League, the tune is used as a song against the Montreal Canadiens called "The Hab Song" which insults the team and its fans.
- At the end of each Ole Miss sporting event, the band plays a song entitled "From Dixie With Love", which combines the southern tune " Dixie " with the Battle Hymn. Rabid Ole Miss fans end the song with the phrase "the south will rise again", rather than "his truth is marching on".
- The Battle Hymn is played by the University Of Minnesota Marching Band during the pregame show of Minnesota Golden Gopher football games in tandem with its trademark "swinging gates" formation. It is also played by the school's pep band at the end of a Men's Hockey series sweep {Link without Title} .
- A fan favorite and popular song played by the Auburn University Marching Band at sporting events is a variant of the song entitled "Glory Glory to Ole Auburn".
- The tune is used for the SANFL Football Club Song of Woodville-West Torrens Football Club .
- Basis for the South Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby League team song, "Glory Glory To South Sydney"
- In 1994 , on the occasion of the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in the United States , Daryl Hall – with the choral group The Sound of Blackness using the tone of the anthem – sang the official song of the event, "Gloryland".
- In fireworks show, this song is heard as the pyrotechnics were released behind The American Adventure pavilion.
- Alexander Glazunov 's Triumphal March, op. 40 (1892), composed for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago , uses the tune throughout {Link without Title} .
- "Flying Regulations", a post WWII jody takes its melody from the Battle Hymn. Oscar Brand recorded a version, titled "Glory Flying Regulations" for his album ''The Wild Blue Yonder.''
- The melody of the song (without the chorus) is used in the Nursery Rhyme '' Little Peter Rabbit ''
- The melody was given a new lyric as a song of the British soldiers in World War One: "They were only playing leapfrog ... when one staff officer jumped right over the other staff officer's back". The song was later discovered by Charles Chilton and used in the musical '' Oh! What A Lovely War ''
- The chorus of the hymn is featured in the song " An American Trilogy ," made famous by Elvis Presley .
- The first line of the hymn is also adopted in "These Things Take Time" by The Smiths : ''"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the sacred wunderkind / you took me behind a dis-used railway line"''.
- The Christian Metal band Stryper recorded a Heavy Metal version of the hymn for their 1985 album '' Soldiers Under Command ''. Since then, has been used as the Intro to all their concerts.
- The Japan ese electronics retailer Yodobashi Camera uses the melody of the song in their in-store advertising Jingle . The lyrics are in Japanese and are about buying cameras and electronics.
- In Turkey , the Hymn is sung as a Scout camp song with Turkish lyrics by both Boy Scouts And Girl Guides .
- British cult band Half Man Half Biscuit (a favorite of John Peel ) recorded a track called "Vatican Broadside", which was sung to the melody of the song but with lyrics including the lines ''"The singer out of Slipknot went to Rome to see the Pope"'' ''"..and the Pope said to his aide:"'' and the chorus: ''"who the fucking hell are Slipknot?"'' ''"..in relation to me getting out of bed."''
- " Blood On The Risers ", a World War II paratrooper song, had its melody taken from "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".
- Peter Wilhousky wrote a concert arrangement used by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and other ensembles of voice and instruments {Link without Title} .
- Many members of the Boy Scouts Of America are familiar with the tune as the campfire song, "Pink Pajamas"
- Basis of the drinking song Godiva's Hymn used by many engineering faculties
- In Dream Theater 's song " In The Name Of God ", the first verse and chorus are sung by the vocalists in an ambient tone and a minor key.
- A version of the hymn (the first verse and chorus only) with upbeat blues music called "Glory, Glory" was performed by Blues Traveler in their early years.
- American rock band Clutch (band) quotes part of the chorus in their song "Pile Driver"
- In Thailand, The tune was used in March Anthem of Chulalongkorn University (Dern-Chula)
- The IWW protest song Solidarity Forever uses the music of the hymn's music, as it was often sung in response to the Salvation Army's counter protests.
- " The Battle Hymn Of The Republic, Updated " (1901) was Mark Twain 's mocking parody of the lyrics, from the "point of view" of an American industrialist inspired by then-recent events of the Spanish and Philippine Wars .
- Schoolchildren all over the United States have sung an irreverent variation of the song beginning ''"Mine eyes have seen the glory of The Burning Of The School ..."''.
- Another wanton parody is a racist rendition recorded by Johnny Rebel and featured in the movie '' American History X '', sung by Ethan Suplee.
- Yet another parody, "Hang Jeff Davis on a Sour Apple Tree/Down went McGinty to the bottom of the sea", has now become one of the official songs of the University Of Pennsylvania .
- In the 1960s Absurdist classic '' The Principia Discordia '', the tune is renamed , with new lyrics that include the line ''"Grand and Gory Ol' Discordja"'' as part of the chorus.
- The radio show "A Prairie Home Companion" featured a version of the tune with the lyrics "One black bug bled blue-black blood while another black bug bled blue" and "One sliced snake slid up the slide while another sliced snake slid down", and the chorus "Glory, glory, how peculiar".
- The JibJab.com animation "What We Call the News" was set to the tune of "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
- In Great Britain, scouts often sing the parody, "He jumped without a parachute from twenty thousand feet," when on camps.
- The Song That Never Ends is often sung to the same tune as the "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
- Allan Sherman 's "The Ballad of Harry Lewis", a song about a man dying while working in a cloth business.
- Ina T and the RVs recorded a version titled "Honey, Have You Seen the Highway?", about an older couple who have trouble getting their bearings (Each verse ends with, "I think we're lost again!")
- Jackson, ''Popular Songs of Nineteenth-Century America'', note on "Battle Hymn of the Republic", p. 263-4.
- Scholes, Percy A. (1955). "John Brown's Body", ''The Oxford Companion of Music''. Ninth edition. London: Oxford University Press.
- Stutler, Boyd B. (1960). ''Glory, Glory, Hallelujah! The Story of "John Brown's Body" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic''." Cincinnati: The C. J. Krehbiel Co.
- Clifford, Deborah Pickman. (1978). ''Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Biography of Julia Ward Howe''. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.
- Vowell, Sarah. (2005). "John Brown's Body," in ''The Rose and the Briar: Death, Love and Liberty in the American Ballad''. Ed. by Sean Wilentz and Greil Marcus. New York: W. W. Norton.
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