"Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" was one of the most popular songs of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. George F. Root wrote both the words and music and published it in 1864 to give hope to the Union prisoners of war. The song is written from the prisoner's point of view. The chorus tells his fellow prisoners that hope is coming.

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.

In popular culture

The song has been parodied numerous times. It also lends the music to an Irish patriotic song, "God Save Ireland

God Save Ireland

"God Save Ireland" is an Irish rebel song. It served as an unofficial Irish national anthem for Irish nationalists from the 1870s to the 1910s. During the Parnellite split it was the anthem of the anti-Parnellite Irish National Federation....

", as well as the children's song "Jesus Loves the Little Children. Hawkeye (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" on M*A*S*H. In the November 26, 2010, edition of the Pickles

Pickles (comic strip)

Pickles is a daily and Sunday comic strip by Brian Crane focusing on a retired couple in their seventies, Earl and Opal Pickles. Inspired by Crane's in-laws, they find retirement life less than idyllic.The comic is set in Crane's hometown of Sparks, Nevada...

comic strip, lead character Earl Pickles sings the chorus as a pre-emptive strike

Pre-Emptive Strike

Pre-Emptive Strike is the first release by Five Finger Death Punch on July 10, 2007. It was only released as a digital download to the American iTunes Music Store. The live version of "The Devil's Own" was recorded at a performance in Las Vegas, Nevada....

 against his wife's urge to sing holiday songs.

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) http://www.contemplator.com/america/trampsouth.html, Confederate Lyrics