He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword: He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord: (Oddly, it had been a southerner named William Steffe who had written the original music.) Howe’s version was packed with Biblical imagery and phrasing. The new song spread quickly through the Union armies and was adopted by Union supporters who wanted to teach the southern rebels a lesson. That “something of importance” proved to be the words to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” In February 1862, she sold her poem to the Atlantic Monthly, a well-known magazine, for five dollars. Having completed this, I lay down again and fell asleep, but not before feeling that something of importance had happened to me.” I… began to scrawl the lines almost without looking…. I lay quite still until the last verse had completed itself in my thoughts, then hastily arose, saying to myself, I shall lose this if I don’t write it down immediately. I… awoke the next morning in the gray of the early dawn, and to my astonishment found that the wished-for lines were arranging themselves in my brain. “I replied that I had often wished to do so,” Howe later wrote. A preacher standing with Howe encouraged her to write new lyrics to the tune. While there, Howe, a published poet, heard Union troops belting out a well-known marching song called “John Brown’s Body,” after the famous abolitionist, John Brown. The rejigged verses include references to Jefferson Davis, the first and only President of the Confederate States of America, and radical abolitionist John Brown.In November 1861, a woman named Julia Ward Howe and her husband visited Washington, D.C. Indie rock band Titus Andronicus employ an adaptation of "Battle Cry of Freedom" in "A More Perfect Union", the first song on their Civil War-themed 2010 album The Monitor. Homer & Jethro (Henry Haynes and Ken Burns) had a big hit with a parody called "The Ballad of Roger Miller". With our brothers and our sisters from many far off lands For example the chorus goes:ĭown with the blackleg, all workers unite Joe Hill wrote a song based upon the 'Battle Cry of Freedom' with a socialist slant called "There is power in a Union" which has been recorded several times, including by Billy Bragg on the Talking with the Taxman about Poetry album. This song is performed by Jacqueline Schwab. This song features prominently in Ken Burns Documentary The Civil War. Keith and Rusty McNeil perform both the Battle Cry of Freedom and Southern Battle Cry of Freedom on "Civil War Songs with Historical Narration" (WEM Records, 1989, ISBN 1-87) (This is probably an anachronism, as the latter song was not copyrighted until 1915, well after the scene in question, presumably in the 1870s).Įric Taylor has a live recording of this song as Rally 'Round the Flag on his Hollywood Pocketknife album in 2007. In the film, former Confederate irregular Clell Miller (played by Randy Quaid) confronts a musician playing this song, and threateningly insists he play "I'm a good ole rebel" instead. The song is also performed in the "Long Riders" (1980), with music produced by Cooder. Ry Cooder performed this song as Rally 'Round the Flag on his Boomer's Story album. While we rally round the cause, boys, we'll rally in our might, Our noble women also have aided them at home.įor Lincoln and Johnson, hurrah, boys, hurrah!ĭown with the rebellion and on with the war, While our boys have responded and to the fields have gone. Their motto is resistance - "To the tyrants never yield!" They have laid down their lives on the bloody battle field. Our gallant boys have marched to the rolling of the drums.Īnd the leaders in charge cry out, "Come, boys, come!"
We'll rally 'round the bonny flag, we'll rally once again, Our Dixie forever! She's never at a loss!ĭown with the eagle and up with the cross (albatross)! Our flag is proudly floating on the land and on the main,īeneath it oft we've conquered, and we'll conquer oft again! We will welcome to our numbers the loyal, true and brave,Īnd although they may be poor, not a man shall be a slave, Shouting the battle cry of freedom! Chorus We are springing to the call of our brothers gone before,Īnd we'll fill our vacant ranks with a million freemen more, While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again, We will rally from the hillside, we'll gather from the plain, Yes we'll rally round the flag, boys, we'll rally once again, There are two lyrics, a Union and a Confederate version.