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"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.
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.
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 free land in our own beloved home.[2]
In the battle front we stood, when their fiercest charge they made, And they swept us off a hundred men or more, But before we reached their lines, they were beaten back dismayed, And we heard the cry of vict'ry o'er and o'er.
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 free land in our own beloved home.
So within the prison cell we are waiting for the day That shall come to open wide the iron door. And the hollow eye grows bright, and the poor heart almost gay, As we think of seeing home and friends once more.
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 free land in our own beloved home.
Confederate lyrics
In addition to the original version, soldiers of the Confederate States of America made their own lyrics to the tune. The Confederate lyrics revolve around General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia invading Pennsylvania, following which prisoners held in Northern prison camps shall be liberated.[3]
In my prison cell I sit, thinking, Mother, dear, of you, and my happy Southern home so far away; and my eyes they fill with tears 'spite of all that I can do, though I try to cheer my comrades and be gay.
Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! The boys are marching; cheer up, comrades, they will come. And beneath the stars and bars we shall breathe the air again of free men in our own beloved home.
In the battle front we stood when their fiercest charge they made, and our soldiers by the thousands sank to die; but before they reached our lines, they were driven back dismayed, and the "Rebel yell" went upward to the sky.
Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! The boys are marching; cheer up, comrades, they will come. And beneath the stars and bars we shall breathe the air again of free men in our own beloved home.
Now our great commander Lee crosses broad Potomac's stream, and his legions marching Northward take their way. On Pennsylvania's roads will their trusty muskets gleam, and her iron hills shall echo to the fray.
Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! The boys are marching; cheer up, comrades, they will come. And beneath the stars and bars we shall breathe the air again of free men in our own beloved home.
In the cruel stockade-pen dying slowly day by day, for weary months we've waited all in vain; but if God will speed the way of our gallant boys in gray, I shall see your face, dear Mother, yet again.
Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! The boys are marching; cheer up, comrades, they will come. And beneath the stars and bars we shall breathe the air again of free men in our own beloved home.
When I close my eyes in sleep, all the dear ones 'round me come, at night my little sister to me calls; and mocking visions bring all the warm delights of home, while we freeze and starve in Northern prison walls.
Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! The boys are marching; cheer up, comrades, they will come. And beneath the stars and bars we shall breathe the air again of free men in our own beloved home.
So the weary days go by, and we wonder as we sigh, if with sight of home we'll never more be blessed. Our hearts within us sink, and we murmur, though we try to leave it all with him who knowest best.
Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! The boys are marching; cheer up, comrades, they will come. And beneath the stars and bars we shall breathe the air again of free men in our own beloved home.
In popular culture
The song has been parodied and the melody has been repurposed numerous times:
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 1950, the German anti-US propaganda song Ami – go home! by Ernst Busch was set to this tune (arranged by Hanns Eisler).
Sports
The melody of this song is used as the second stanza of the Georgetown University Fight Song, collectively known as There Goes Old Georgetown.
Club Deportivo Universidad Católica, one of Chile's most important football clubs, has used the music of this song as the official fight song of the "Cruzados Caballeros" since 1943.[5] Also, it has been part of the corporate identity of Channel 13, which served as the startup music of the channel for much of the 1980s, the version used was that of Carlos Haiquel on vocals with mixed chorus, with the orchestral arrangement by Tito Ledermann.[6] The current version was recorded in 1970.
The melody of this song, as used in God Save Ireland, makes up part of Put 'Em Under Pressure, the official song written to support Ireland's national football team in the 1990 FIFA World Cup.[7]
The melody of this song, out of 'God Save Ireland' was used as the tune for a novelty record fan-anthem, for the 1978 world cup released as the song Ally's Tartan Army.
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".
The German band De Höhner use the tune for their song "Dat Hätz vun d'r Welt" (published in 1982), sung in praise of Cologne in the local dialect, Kölsch.
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.[9]
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."
tramp, tramp, tramp, this, page, candidate, copying, over, wikisource, page, edited, into, encyclopedic, article, rather, than, merely, copy, source, text, please, remove, this, message, otherwise, help, formatting, wikisource, guidelines, preparation, being, . This page is a candidate for copying over to Wikisource If the page can be edited into an encyclopedic article rather than merely a copy of the source text please do so and remove this message Otherwise you can help by formatting it per the Wikisource guidelines in preparation for being imported to Wikisource by a Wikisource admin Note that if this source text is not in English it will have to be copied using the transwiki process 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 Tramp Tramp Tramp Sheet music cover 1864SongWritten1864Published1864GenreWar songSongwriter s George F Root Contents 1 Lyrics 2 Confederate lyrics 3 In popular culture 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 External linksLyrics EditIn 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 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 free land in our own beloved home 2 In the battle front we stood when their fiercest charge they made And they swept us off a hundred men or more But before we reached their lines they were beaten back dismayed And we heard the cry of vict ry o er and o er 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 free land in our own beloved home So within the prison cell we are waiting for the day That shall come to open wide the iron door And the hollow eye grows bright and the poor heart almost gay As we think of seeing home and friends once more 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 free land in our own beloved home Confederate lyrics EditIn addition to the original version soldiers of the Confederate States of America made their own lyrics to the tune The Confederate lyrics revolve around General Lee s Army of Northern Virginia invading Pennsylvania following which prisoners held in Northern prison camps shall be liberated 3 In my prison cell I sit thinking Mother dear of you and my happy Southern home so far away and my eyes they fill with tears spite of all that I can do though I try to cheer my comrades and be gay Tramp Tramp Tramp The boys are marching cheer up comrades they will come And beneath the stars and bars we shall breathe the air again of free men in our own beloved home In the battle front we stood when their fiercest charge they made and our soldiers by the thousands sank to die but before they reached our lines they were driven back dismayed and the Rebel yell went upward to the sky Tramp Tramp Tramp The boys are marching cheer up comrades they will come And beneath the stars and bars we shall breathe the air again of free men in our own beloved home Now our great commander Lee crosses broad Potomac s stream and his legions marching Northward take their way On Pennsylvania s roads will their trusty muskets gleam and her iron hills shall echo to the fray Tramp Tramp Tramp The boys are marching cheer up comrades they will come And beneath the stars and bars we shall breathe the air again of free men in our own beloved home In the cruel stockade pen dying slowly day by day for weary months we ve waited all in vain but if God will speed the way of our gallant boys in gray I shall see your face dear Mother yet again Tramp Tramp Tramp The boys are marching cheer up comrades they will come And beneath the stars and bars we shall breathe the air again of free men in our own beloved home When I close my eyes in sleep all the dear ones round me come at night my little sister to me calls and mocking visions bring all the warm delights of home while we freeze and starve in Northern prison walls Tramp Tramp Tramp The boys are marching cheer up comrades they will come And beneath the stars and bars we shall breathe the air again of free men in our own beloved home So the weary days go by and we wonder as we sigh if with sight of home we ll never more be blessed Our hearts within us sink and we murmur though we try to leave it all with him who knowest best Tramp Tramp Tramp The boys are marching cheer up comrades they will come And beneath the stars and bars we shall breathe the air again of free men in our own beloved home In popular culture EditThe song has been parodied and the melody has been repurposed numerous times ReligionIt is well known as the melody for the Christian children s song Jesus Loves the Little Children The Latter day Saint hymn In Our Lovely Deseret employs the tune as well 4 PoliticsIt also lends the music to an Irish patriotic song God Save Ireland An early variant was Damn Damn Damn the Filipinos sung during the Spanish American War and Philippine American War 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 In 1950 the German anti US propaganda song Ami go home by Ernst Busch was set to this tune arranged by Hanns Eisler SportsThe melody of this song is used as the second stanza of the Georgetown University Fight Song collectively known as There Goes Old Georgetown Club Deportivo Universidad Catolica one of Chile s most important football clubs has used the music of this song as the official fight song of the Cruzados Caballeros since 1943 5 Also it has been part of the corporate identity of Channel 13 which served as the startup music of the channel for much of the 1980s the version used was that of Carlos Haiquel on vocals with mixed chorus with the orchestral arrangement by Tito Ledermann 6 The current version was recorded in 1970 The melody of this song as used in God Save Ireland makes up part of Put Em Under Pressure the official song written to support Ireland s national football team in the 1990 FIFA World Cup 7 The melody of this song out of God Save Ireland was used as the tune for a novelty record fan anthem for the 1978 world cup released as the song Ally s Tartan Army OtherIt was the melody of Tokoshie no Sachi 永遠の幸 Eternal Happiness the alma mater of Sapporo Agricultural College now Hokkaido University in Japan 8 In the 1933 Laurel and Hardy comedy film Sons of the Desert the anthem of the Sons of the Desert lounge is a pastiche of several popular tunes including Tramp Tramp Tramp as well as Give My Regards to Broadway Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album 101 Gang Songs 1961 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 The German band De Hohner use the tune for their song Dat Hatz vun d r Welt published in 1982 sung in praise of Cologne in the local dialect Kolsch 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 9 References Edit 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 Root Tramp Tramp Tramp Confederate lyrics to Tramp Tramp Tramp In Our Lovely Deseret The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints May 2 2013 Himno Club Deportivo Universidad Catolica February 22 2012 Archived from the original on January 18 2012 Sanchez Pablo Columna de la UC Vibrar vs Luchar El Grafico Retrieved 2 November 2016 Put em under pressure We re all part of Jackie s Army YouTube 札幌農学校校歌 北海道大学恵迪寮寮歌集アプリ 収録曲一覧 in Japanese 村橋究理基 2018 03 31 Retrieved 2023 08 16 Crane Brian November 26 2010 Pickles Washington Post Writers Group Bibliography EditRoot George R Tramp Tramp Tramp Sheet music Chicago Root amp Cady 1864 Smith Nicholas Col Stories of Great National Songs Milwaukee Wis The Yound Churchman Co 1899 External links Edit Tramp Tramp Tramp Harlan amp Stanley Edison Gold 9439 1905 Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project The Music of the American Civil War 1861 1865 1 Confederate Lyrics Georgetown University Fight Song 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tramp Tramp Tramp amp oldid 1170685934, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
