"Maryland, My Maryland" is the official state song of the U.S. state of Maryland. The song is set to the tune of "Lauriger Horatius"[1] (better known as the tune of "O Tannenbaum") and the lyrics are from a nine-stanza poem written by James Ryder Randall. While the words were penned in 1861, it was not until April 29, 1939, that the state's general assembly adopted "Maryland, My Maryland" as the state song.[2]
Written originally as a poem, the song refers to Maryland's history and geography and specifically mentions several historical figures of importance to the state. The song calls for Maryland to fight the Union and was used across the South during the Civil War as a battle hymn.[3] It has been called America's "most martial poem."[4]
Occasional attempts have been made to replace it as Maryland's state song due to its origin in support for the Confederacy and lyrics that refer to President Lincoln as a "tyrant," "despot," and "Vandal," and to the Union as "Northern scum."[5]
Contents |
The poem was a result of events at the beginning of the American Civil War. During the secession crisis, President Abraham Lincoln (referred to in the poem as "the despot" and "the tyrant") ordered federal troops to be brought to Washington, D.C. to protect the capital. Many of these troops were brought through Baltimore City, a major transportation hub. There was considerable Confederate sympathy in Maryland at the time. Riots ensued as Federal troops came through Baltimore on their way south in April 1861 and were attacked by mobs. A number of Union troops and Baltimore residents were killed in the Baltimore riots, including Francis X. Ward, a friend of James Ryder Randall. Randall, a native Marylander, was teaching at Poydras College in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, at the time and, moved by the news of his friend's death, wrote the nine-stanza poem, "Maryland, My Maryland". The poem was a plea to his home state of Maryland to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy. The poem contains many references to the Revolutionary War as well as to the Mexican-American War and Maryland figures in that war (many of whom have fallen into obscurity). It was first published in the New Orleans Sunday Delta on 26 April 1861.
The poem was quickly turned into a song, by putting it to the tune "Lauriger Horatius", by Miss Jennie Carrie, sister of Hetty Cary.[6] It became instantly popular in Maryland and throughout the South. It was sometimes called "the Marseillaise of the South." Confederate States Army bands played the song after they crossed into Maryland territory during the Maryland Campaign in 1862.[7] According to some accounts, General Robert E. Lee ordered his troops to sing "Maryland, My Maryland," as they entered the town of Frederick, Maryland, but his troops received a cold response, as Frederick was located in the unionist western portion of the state.[8] At least one Confederate regimental band also played the song as Lee's troops retreated back across the Potomac after the bloody Battle of Antietam.
The melody was arranged as a march, with a second strain that is a variation on the "Lauriger Horatius" theme, which is played after the original theme, then the two themes are played together to produce counterpoint. The march remains a popular instrumental standard with New Orleans traditional brass bands and traditional jazz bands. Many who know the tune in these contexts are unfamiliar with the lyrics.
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
* Although the words as written, and as adopted by statute, contain only one instance of "Maryland" in the second and fourth line of each stanza, common practice is to sing "Maryland, my Maryland" each time to keep with the meter of the tune.
"Florida, My Florida" and "Michigan, My Michigan" are set to the same tune. Both of them were written after "Maryland, My Maryland".
In 1962 Edmund Wilson used the phrase "patriotic gore" from the song as the title of his book on the literature of the American Civil War.[9]
The third verse of this song is sung annually at the Preakness Stakes by the United States Naval Academy men's glee club.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||