Columbia, Gem of the Ocean
Encyclopedia
"Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" is a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
patriotic song which was popular during the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, especially during the Civil War era. It may have functioned as an unofficial national anthem in competition with "Hail, Columbia" and "The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
" until the latter's formal adoption as the national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of the United States in 1931. For many years the song's melody was used as the Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
's interval signal
Interval signal
An interval signal, or tuning signal, is a characteristic sound or musical phrase used in international broadcasting and by some domestic broadcasters...
.
History
"Columbia" was a common poetic nickname for the United States of America in the 19th century. Graphically, in illustrations and cartoons, the United States was often represented by a heroic female figure named Columbia, dressed in flag-like bunting. Other nations used similar figures, notably the French MarianneMarianne
Marianne is a national emblem of France and an allegory of Liberty and Reason. She represents the state and values of France, differently from another French cultural symbol, the "Coq Gaulois" which represents France as a nation and its history, land, culture, and variety of sport disciplines in...
, and the British Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
.
Historical sources generally agree that in the autumn of 1843 an actor named David T. Shaw wanted a new patriotic song to sing at a benefit performance. He gained the assistance of a fellow performer, Thomas á Becket, who wrote the lyrics and melody for him. Evidently, Shaw published the song under his own name, but Becket was able to prove his authorship by means of his original handwritten composition. There remains some disagreement as to whether other versions of the song predated Becket's composition or followed it.
Besides the debates about authorship, the specific origins of "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean," are further uncertain because a British patriotic song, entitled "Britannia, the Pride of the Ocean", used the same melody and had very similar lyrics, resulting in mutual accusations of plagiarism. It is likely that "Columbia" composer Becket was at least inspired by the British anthem, since the British Isles make much more sense as the "gems of the ocean" referred to in the lyrics than do the United States of America.
Certain lyrics hint that Becket's metaphor is the nation as a ship, or ship of state
Ship of state
The ship of state is a famous and oft-cited metaphor put forth by Plato in book VI of Plato's Republic. It likens the governance of a city-state to the command of a naval vessel - and ultimately argues that the only men fit to be captain of this ship are philosopher kings, benevolent men with...
: the song refers to Columbia as an "ark" with a "crew" which rides safely through a storm. This lyrical play associates the song, and the Columbia symbol, with the warships also named Columbia
USS Columbia
Nine United States Navy ships have been named USS Columbia, after the personification of the United States, also after the city of Columbia, South Carolina....
, both before and after the song became popular.
Cultural influence
The tune was used frequently by the composer Charles IvesCharles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
, featuring notably in his Second Symphony
Symphony No. 2 (Ives)
The Second Symphony was written by Charles Ives between 1897 and 1901. It consists of five movements and lasts approximately 40 minutes.-Scoring:...
and A Symphony: New England Holidays
A Symphony: New England Holidays
A Symphony: New England Holidays, also known as A New England Holiday Symphony or simply a Holiday Symphony, is a composition for orchestra written by Charles Ives. It took Ives from 1897 to 1913 to complete all four movements. The four movements in order are:*I. Washington’s Birthday*II....
.
The melody from "Columbia", along with other traditional songs, is included in "American Patrol
American Patrol
"American Patrol" is a popular march written by F. W. Meacham in 1885. Written originally for piano, it was then arranged for wind band and published by Carly Discher in 1891. Meacham's widow renewed the copyright in 1912. It was later arranged for Glenn Miller's swing band by Jerry Gray in 1941,...
", a popular march written by F. W. Meacham
F. W. Meacham
Frank W. Meacham was an American composer and arranger of Tin Pan Alley.His most famous work is "American Patrol" , a popular march. Written originally for piano, it was then arranged for wind band and published by Carl Fischer in 1891...
in 1885. Originally intended for piano, it was later arranged for the swing band of Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
.
In popular culture
- The song is featured in the film Amistad (1997).
- The song is sung at the 4th of JulyIndependence Day (United States)Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
celebration in the film The Music ManThe Music ManThe Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
(1962). - The song is rehearsed by schoolchildren of 1881 in "No Time Like the PastNo Time Like the Past"No Time Like the Past" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:Paul Driscoll uses a time machine with the noble intention to go back in time and alter past events...
," an episode of The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
. - The first line is sung a capella by Bruno KirbyBruno KirbyBruno Kirby was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally..., Good Morning, Vietnam, The Godfather Part II and Donnie Brasco.-Early life:Kirby was born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr. in New York City,...
in the film Donnie BrascoDonnie Brasco (film)Donnie Brasco is a 1997 crime drama film directed by Mike Newell, starring Al Pacino, Johnny Depp and Michael Madsen. It is loosely based on the real-life events of Joseph D. Pistone, an FBI agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family, one of the Mafia's Five Families based in New York City...
(1997). - An instrumental version of the song frequently marks PopeyePopeyePopeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
's consumption of spinach. - The song was played by the "Columbia, New Hampshire, High School marching band" in The West Wing's third series episode where PresidentPresidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Josiah BartletJosiah BartletJosiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated...
is preparing to announce his bid for reelection. It was also being played in the background just before President Bartlet was sworn in for his second term. - The song can be heard in the title screen of EpyxEpyxEpyx, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before renaming the company to match in 1983...
's computer game DestroyerDestroyer (computer game)Destroyer is a naval combat simulation computer game released by Epyx in 1986. It was released on several platforms, including the Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Commodore 64, and IBM-compatible PCs.-Description:...
. - The song is the last song heard in the 1944 Warner Bros.Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
cartoon, The Weakly ReporterThe Weakly ReporterThe Weakly Reporter is a Warner Bros. cartoon released on March 25, 1944. Directed by Chuck Jones, written by Michael Maltese, and with music directed by Carl Stalling, this cartoon is a spoof of sacrifices made by those on the homefront during World War II....
, used for a scene depicting a ship launch by industrialist Henry J. KaiserHenry J. KaiserHenry John Kaiser was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. He established the Kaiser Shipyard which built Liberty ships during World War II, after which he formed Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Steel. Kaiser organized Kaiser Permanente health care...
. - The last sentence of the song is played as the background music in the cartoon Daffy – The Commando, while Daffy Duck was being shot by Von Vulture as a "human cannonball", flying to BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and hitting Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
in the head with a mallet .
Lyrics
- O Columbia! the gem of the ocean,
- The home of the brave and the free,
- The shrine of each patriot's devotion,
- A world offers homage to thee;
- Thy mandates make heroes assemble,
- When Liberty's form stands in view;
- Thy banners make tyranny tremble,
- When borne by the red, white, and blue,
- When borne by the red, white, and blue,
- When borne by the red, white, and blue,
- Thy banners make tyranny tremble,
- When borne by the red, white and blue.
- When war wing'd its wide desolation,
- And threaten'd the land to deform,
- The ark then of freedom's foundation,
- Columbia rode safe thro' the storm;
- With her garlands of vict'ry around her,
- When so proudly she bore her brave crew;
- With her flag proudly floating before her,
- The boast of the red, white and blue,
- The boast of the red, white and blue,
- The boast of the red, white, and blue,
- With her flag proudly floating before her,
- The boast of the red, white and blue.
- The Union, the Union forever,
- Our glorious nation's sweet hymn,
- May the wreaths it has won never wither,
- Nor the stars of its glory grow dim,
- May the service united ne'er sever,
- But they to their colors prove true.
- The Army and Navy forever,
- Three cheers for the red, white, and blue,
- Three cheers for the red, white, and blue,
- Three cheers for the red, white, and blue,
- The Army and Navy for ever,
- Three cheers for the red, white and blue.
(A slightly different third verse)
- The star spangled banner bring hither,
- O'er Columbia's true sons let it wave;
- May the wreaths they have won never wither,
- Nor its stars cease to shine on the brave.
- May thy service united ne'er sever,
- But hold to the colors so true;
- The Army and Navy forever,
- Three cheers for the red, white, and blue!
- Three cheers for the red, white, and blue!
- Three cheers for the red, white, and blue!
- The Army and Navy forever,
- Three cheers for the red, white, and blue
External links
- "Columbia, the gem of the ocean" (MP3)
- Sheet music for a circa 1862 publication of "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean", from Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...