View source for When Johnny Comes Marching Home

{{Short description|American Civil War-era popular song}}
{{About|the song|the 1942 musical|When Johnny Comes Marching Home (film)}}
{{Infobox song
| name      = When Johnny Comes Marching Home
| cover     = When Johnny Comes Marching Home - Project Gutenberg eText 21566.png
| caption   = Sheet music cover, 1863
| published = {{start date and age|1863}}
| writer    = Louis Lambert {{a.k.a.}} [[Patrick Gilmore]]
| misc      = {{Audio sample
 | type        = song
 | file        = When Johnny Comes Marching Home - USMA Band.ogg
 | description = {{circa}} 1990 [[United States Military Academy|U.S. Military Academy]] Band performance
 }}
}}
"'''When Johnny Comes Marching Home'''" ([[Roud Folk Song Index|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.

==Origins==
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.<ref>Lighter, pp. 16–17.</ref> 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.<ref>Lighter, p. 16.</ref> 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 (Nebraska)|John O'Rourke]], from the Civil War,<ref>[http://www.ketv.com/Palattsmouth-Mayor-Was-Subect-Of-Historic-Song/10053798] {{dead link|date=October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| title=The House that O'Rourke Built| first = Patti Jo | last = Peterson |journal=The Plattsmouth Journal | date = August 30, 2007 |page = 5}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| title= The O'Rourke House | first = Patti Jo|last = Peterson| journal=The Plattsmouth Journal| date=June 15, 2006| page=11}}</ref> although it is not clear if they were already engaged in 1863; the two were not married until 1875.<ref>Lighter, pp. 70–71.</ref>

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."<ref>Lighter, p. 17.</ref>

The melody was previously published around July 1, 1863, as the music to the Civil War drinking song "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl".<ref>Lighter, pp. 18–19.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Durnal |first1=J. Arranger |title=Johnny fill up the bowl |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=6 October 2024 |url=https://lccn.loc.gov/2023782971}}</ref> 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".<ref>Lighter, p. 21.</ref> The original sheet music for "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl" states that the music was arranged (not composed) by J. Durnal.<ref name="Lighter, p. 19">Lighter, p. 19.</ref> 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]]".<ref>Lighter, pp. 21–28.</ref>

"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.<ref>Lighter, pp. 28–29.</ref>

"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" was immensely popular and was sung by both sides of the American Civil War.<ref name=hardly>Erbsen, p. 68</ref> 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".<ref>Lighter, p. 15.</ref>

===Alternative 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 a similar title, "When Tommy Comes Marching Home". The [[1880 United States presidential election|1880 U.S. presidential election]] campaign featured a campaign song called "If the Johnnies Get into Power,"<ref>Jay Nordlinger, "[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_17_52/ai_64752104 American Sounds: A little music with your politics – music at political conventions]", ''National Review'', 2000-09-11</ref> which supported the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] [[James A. Garfield]] and [[Chester A. Arthur]] against the "Johnnies" ([[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] [[Winfield S. Hancock]] and [[William H. English]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Haynes |first=Stan M. |author-link= |date=2015 |title=President-Making in the Gilded Age: The Nominating Conventions of 1876–1900 |url= |location=[[Jefferson, North Carolina]] |publisher=McFarland |page=43 |isbn=9781476623054}}</ref>

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.

==Lyrics==

[[File:JohnnyMarchingHomeBroadside1863.png|thumb|Illustration of a [[Zouave]] company on Civil War era broadside of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home".]]

{{Listen
| filename    = When Johnny Comes Marching Home, 1898.oga
| title       = When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1898) – John Terrell
| description = The [https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/346056/versions second earliest recording] of the song, ''When Johnny Comes Marching Home'' in 1898 by [https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n99039103.html John Terrell].
}}
[[File:Beadle's Dime Song Book, No. 15 - Cover Page (Digitized by Google).png|thumb|The cover page of the book, "Beadle's Dime Song Book, No. 15: A Collection of the New and Popular Comic and Sentimental Songs", written by Erastus Flavel Beadle]]
[[File:Beadle's Dime Song Book, No. 15 - Page 18 - When Johnny Comes Marching Home, pt. 1 (Digitized by Google).png|thumb|The first part of the song, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home"]]
[[File:Beadle's Dime Song Book, No. 15 - Page 18 - When Johnny Comes Marching Home, pt. 2 (Digitized by Google).png|thumb|The second part of the song, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", and the first part of the song, "The Bird Song"]]

The original lyrics, written by [[Patrick Gilmore]] during the [[American Civil War]], were published in 1863 in [[Erastus Flavel Beadle|Erastus Beadle's]] booklet, [https://books.google.com/books?id=CTdYAAAAcAAJ ''Beadle's Dime Song Book, No. 15: A Collection of New and Popular Comic and Sentimental Songs''] in pages [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beadle%27s_Dime_Song_Book,_No._15_-_Page_18_-_When_Johnny_Comes_Marching_Home,_pt._1_(Digitized_by_Google).png 18] and [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beadle%27s_Dime_Song_Book,_No._15_-_Page_18_-_When_Johnny_Comes_Marching_Home,_pt._2_(Digitized_by_Google).png 19].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beadle |first1=Erastus Flavel |title=Beadle's Dime Song Book, No. 15: A Collection of New and Popular Comic and Sentimental Songs |date=1863 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CTdYAAAAcAAJ |publisher=Beadle and Company |access-date=16 July 2023 |ref=Beadles-Dime-Song-Book-No-15 |location=118 William Street, New York City |pages=18–19 |language=English}}</ref>

{{poemquote|
When Johnny comes marching home again,
    Hurrah, hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then,
    Hurrah, hurrah!
The men will cheer, 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 treasures 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.}}

Some later recordings substitute ''glad'' for ''gay''. {{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

In the [[John Ford]] western ''[[The Horse Soldiers]]'', the last line was changed to "And we'll all ''raise hell'' when Johnny comes marching home".

=="Johnny Fill Up the Bowl"==

"Johnny Fill Up the Bowl", which provided the tune for "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", was a topical drinking song that commented on events in the American Civil War. It was frequently refitted with new words by soldiers and other publishers.<ref name="Lighter, p. 19"/>

A satirical variant of "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl", entitled "'''For Bales'''" or, more fully, "For Bales! An O'er True Tale. Dedicated to Those Pure Patriots Who Were Afflicted with 'Cotton on the Brain' and Who Saw The Elephant", was published in [[New Orleans]] in 1864, by [[Armand Blackmar|A. E. Blackmar]].

== "American Salute" ==
An "American Salute", which is a new modern setting of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", is the 1942 version of the popular american song made by composer, conductor and bandleader [[Morton Gould]].

Proposed as a full set of variations on the theme of the song (with a bombastic finale that also reprise the theme of the tune) the composition is a staple of american classical music and it was recorded many times, specially by the composer himself.<ref>{{Cite web |title=American Salute {{!}} J.W. Pepper |url=https://www.jwpepper.com/american-salute-78030/p |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=www.jwpepper.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Recordings ==
The song became popular during [[World War II]] with recordings in 1942 by [[Glenn Miller]] on [[RCA]] [[Bluebird Records]] with vocals by [[Tex Beneke]], [[Marion Hutton]], and [[The Modernaires]], and [[Guy Lombardo]] and [[The Andrews Sisters]] on [[Decca Records]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://secondhandsongs.com/work/141773/all |title=When Johnny Comes Marching Home |website=Second Hand Songs |access-date=29 February 2024}}</ref>

In 1959, [[Mitch Miller]] recorded the song, followed by [[Jaye P. Morgan]] the following year.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/1710894-Mitch-Miller-And-The-Gang-Folk-Songs-Sing-Along-With-Mitch |author=Mitch Miller and the Gang |author-link=Mitch Miller |title=''"When Johnny Comes Marching Home"''<!--negate automatic italics--> |work=Folk Songs Sing Along With Mitch |via=Discogs |access-date=29 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/4561548-Jaye-P-Morgan-Up-North |first=Jaye P. |last=Morgan |title=''"When Johnny Comes Marching Home"'' |work=Up North |via=Discogs |access-date=29 February 2024}}</ref>

Jazz organist [[Jimmy Smith (musician)|Jimmy Smith]] recorded a version for his 1960 album, ''[[Crazy! Baby]]''.

English pop singer [[Adam Faith]] sang a version titled "Johnny Comes Marching Home", used over the opening and closing title credits for the British crime thriller ''[[Never Let Go (1960 film)|Never Let Go]]'' (1960). This version was arranged and conducted by [[John Barry (composer)|John Barry]]. Another version was released as a single, reaching No. 5 in the [[UK Singles Chart]].

British punk band [[The Clash]] recorded a reworded version in 1978 titled "[[English Civil War (song)|English Civil War (Johnny Comes Marching Home)]]". This version was covered by The Levellers on the ''Julie'' EP released in 1994.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= [[British Hit Singles & Albums]]
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited 
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| pages= 192–3}}</ref>

In 1983–84, the French punk band [[Bérurier Noir]] took up the melody on the track {{lang|fr|italic=no|"Johnny Reviens d'la Guerre"}} ([[English language|English]]: "Johnny returns from the war") from the album ''Macadam Massacre''.

The song [[Civil War (song)]] from the 1991 album [[Use Your Illusion II]] by the US band [[Guns N' Roses]] uses the melody of the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" in the [[Axl Rose]] whistle in the intro and outro of the song.

The 2015 [[anime]] film [[Girls und Panzer der Film]] recorded an original orchestra rendition of the track.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*Erbsen, Wayne: ''Rousing Songs and True Tales of the Civil War.'' Native Ground Books & Music, 2008. {{ISBN|1-883206-33-2}}
*Lambert, Louis (Patrick Gilmore). "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". Boston: Henry Tolman & Co. (1863)
*Lighter, Jonathan. ''"The Best Antiwar Song Ever Written,"'' Occasional Papers in Folklore No. 1. CAMSCO Music and Loomis House Press, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-935243-89-2}}

==External links==
*[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/natlib/ihas/service/patriotic/100010360/100010360.mp3 "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" ], John Terrill (E. Berliner's Gramophone (1893)&mdash;[https://www.loc.gov/performingarts/ Library of Congress ''Performing Arts Encyclopedia''].
*[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200000024/default.html "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (Overview Page]&mdash;[https://www.loc.gov/performingarts/ Library of Congress ''Performing Arts Encyclopedia''].
*[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21566/21566-h/images/johnny.pdf "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (Sheet Music)], [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21566 Oldroyd, Osbourne H. ''The Good Old Songs We Used to Sing, '61 to '67''], &mdash;[https://web.archive.org/web/20060714134745/http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page ''Project Gutenberg''].
* [http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/WhenJohnnyComesMarchingHome.htm "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" - A Civil War Song Marches On]
*[http://contemplator.com/america/whenjohn.html MIDI and description]
*[http://memory.loc.gov/cocoon/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200002389/default.html Library of Congress copy, For Bales]
* {{Internet Archive short film|id=gov.dod.dimoc.30155|name=A NATION SINGS (1963)}}

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[[Category:Songs of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Songs about soldiers]]
[[Category:Songs about fictional male characters]]
[[Category:American patriotic songs]]
[[Category:Burl Ives songs]]
[[Category:Adam Faith songs]]
[[Category:Drinking songs]]
[[Category:1863 songs]]
[[Category:Compositions by Morton Gould]]
[[Category:1942 songs]]
[[Category:1942 compositions]]
[[Category:Boston Pops]]