Читать книгу American Civil War For Dummies - Keith D. Dickson - Страница 60

At the beginning of the war, Union volunteers marched off to war singing a song called “John Brown’s Body.” The first line of the song reflected how Brown had become a prophetic figure to many in the North:

“John Brown’s body lies a’moulderin’ in the grave! But his soul goes marching on!”

Julia Ward Howe heard soldiers singing the song as they marched below her hotel window in Washington, D.C. Filled with inspiration by the massed voices, she immediately sat down and composed new, more strident, words to the tune she heard. That tune and her lyrics became more famous than the original as “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” a song that still stirs a powerful sense of patriotism. Listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing it, and you’ll never forget it. The original tune for “John Brown’s Body” (again with new lyrics) has become the battle song of U.S. paratroopers, titled “Blood on the Risers.” Unfortunately, it is doubtful that you’ll ever hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing that version.