A tune travels between settings
A camp-meeting melody became a soldiers’ song and then the setting for Howe’s poem.
Song · A CLOSER LOOK
John Brown’s Body
ABOUT THIS SONG
The tune belonged to an earlier religious singing tradition before soldiers made it a marching song. Verses circulated in more than one form, including the association with a soldier named John Brown and with the abolitionist executed in 1859.
The version below comes from The Good Old Songs We Used to Sing, a nineteenth-century veterans’ songbook. Its repeated lines, chorus, and successive verses show a song made for a group to carry together.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Original texts.
John Brown’s Song Full text
John Brown’s body lies a mouldering in the grave,
John Brown’s body lies a mouldering in the grave,
John Brown’s body lies a mouldering in the grave,
His soul’s marching on!
Chorus.
Glory Hally, Hallelujah! Glory Hally, Hallelujah!
Glory Hally, Hallelujah!
His soul’s marching on!
He’s gone to be a soldier in the army of our Lord,
He’s gone to be a soldier in the army of our Lord,
He’s gone to be a soldier in the army of our Lord,
His soul’s marching on!
Chorus.
Glory Hally, Hallelujah! Glory Hally, Hallelujah!
Glory Hally, Hallelujah!
His soul’s marching on!
John Brown’s knapsack is strapped upon his back,
John Brown’s knapsack is strapped upon his back,
John Brown’s knapsack is strapped upon his back,
His soul’s marching on!
Chorus.
Glory Hally, Hallelujah! Glory Hally, Hallelujah!
Glory Hally, Hallelujah!
His soul’s marching on!
His pet lamps will meet him on the way,
His pet lamps will meet him on the way,
His pet lamps will meet him on the way,
They go marching on!
Chorus.
Glory Hally, Hallelujah! Glory Hally, Hallelujah!
Glory Hally, Hallelujah!
They go marching on!
They will hang Jeff Davis to a sour apple tree!
They will hang Jeff Davis to a sour apple tree!
They will hang Jeff Davis to a sour apple tree!
As they march along!
Chorus.
Glory Hally, Hallelujah! Glory Hally, Hallelujah!
Glory Hally, Hallelujah!
As they march along!
Now, three rousing cheers for the Union!
Now, three rousing cheers for the Union!
Now, three rousing cheers for the Union!
As we are marching on!
Chorus.
Glory Hally, Hallelujah! Glory Hally, Hallelujah!
Glory Hally, Hallelujah!
Hip, hip, hip, hip, Hurrah!
A CLOSER LOOK
The story behind it.
The soldiers’ song whose tune carried Howe’s Battle Hymn.
One identified version
The lyrics below preserve a particular printed version, including its unusual wording, rather than silently combining verses from several editions.
Sources for this closer look
Songs (opens in a new tab)The John Brown Song · NPS (opens in a new tab)FOLLOW THE CONNECTIONS
There’s a thread here.
Explore the original.
Follow the original source to explore the work in its own context.
Sources & credits
Introductions are grounded in the sources below. Collection notes and reading prompts provide an editorial starting point; personal opinions are identified in the collection’s content.
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