Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!

"Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!"
Sheet music cover, 1864
Song
Written	1864
Published	1864
Genre	War song
Songwriter(s)	George F. Root

"Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! (The Prisoner's Hope)" was one of the most popular songs of the American Civil War. George F. Root wrote both the words and music and published it in 1864 to give hope to the Union prisoners of war.^[1] The song is written from the prisoner's point of view. The chorus tells his fellow prisoners that hope is coming.

Lyrics

First Verse:
In the prison cell I sit,Thinking Mother dear, of you,
And our bright and happy home so far away,
And the tears they fill my eyes
Spite of all that I can do,
Tho' I try to cheer my comrades and be gay.

Chorus:
Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching,
Cheer up comrades they will come,
And beneath the starry flag
We shall breathe the air again,
Of the freeland in our own beloved home.^[1]

^ Root, "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!".

In popular culture

The song has been parodied and the melody has been repurposed numerous times:

An early variant was "Damn, Damn, Damn the Filipinos", sung during the Spanish American War and Philippine–American War.

It is well known as the melody for the Christian children's song "Jesus Loves the Little Children".

In 1913, the labor organizer and songwriter Joe Hill (1879 - 1915) wrote a song for the Industrial Workers of the World to the tune, called "The Tramp", about a man who is trying to find a job, only to get the universal answer: 'Tramp, tramp, tramp, keep on a-tramping / Nothing doing here for you / If I catch you 'round again / You will wear the ball and chain / Keep on tramping, that's the best thing you can do.'

In 1914 the melody and meter were used as the basis for the World War I song, Belgium Put the Kibosh on the Kaiser by Mark Sheridan.

It also lends the music to an Irish patriotic song, "God Save Ireland".

It was melody of the original song of Sapporo Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University) in Japan.

The Mormon hymn "In Our Lovely Deseret" employs the tune as well.^[2]

In the TV series M*A*S*H, Hawkeye (played by Alan Alda) twice responds to someone making a thrice repeated complaint (such as "Gripe, gripe, gripe!") by singing the line from the song "the boys are marching" .

In the November 26, 2010, edition of the Pickles comic strip, lead character Earl Pickles sings the chorus as a preemptive strike against his wife's urge to sing holiday songs.^[3]

Club Deportivo Universidad Católica, one of Chile's most important football clubs, used the music of this song in its official anthem.^[4]

An Dearg Doom by Horslips uses the air of this song, in Put 'Em Under Pressure.^[5]

The German band De Höhner use the tune for their song "Dat Hätz vun d'r Welt", sung in praise of Cologne in the local dialect, Kölsch.

References

↑ Smith, Stories of Great National Songs, p. 127: "As the soldier was nerved for the shock of battle by the inspiration n the 'Battle Cry of Freedom,' so in his prison cell his heart was fired with hope by the cheering strains of—'Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching.' And how to the sound of that music the blod still thrills with the enthusiasm of '65. There is forcible suggestion of the solid march of Union armies in the words and music of that familiar song. It was composed by Dr. Root—both words and music—quite early in the war. Its purpose was to give a more hopeful view of the conditions of the country, and more particularly to cheer the boys who had been captured by the enemy and placed in prison pens."
↑ "In Our Lovely Deseret". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. May 2, 2013.
↑ Crane, Brian (November 26, 2010). "Pickles". Washington Post Writers Group.
↑ "Himno". Club Deportivo Universidad Católica. February 22, 2012.
↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5PT65I2ny8

Bibliography

Root, George R. "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" (Sheet music). Chicago: Root & Cady (1864).
Smith, Nicholas, Col. Stories of Great National Songs. Milwaukee, Wis.: The Yound Churchman Co. (1899).

External links

"Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!", Harlan & Stanley (Edison Gold 9439, 1905)—Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project.
The Music of the American Civil War (1861-1865) , Confederate Lyrics

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