[Dixielandjazz] Glory, Hallelujah

[Bill Gunter]

Hi Luis,

That song (Battle Hiymn of the Republic) is an old American Civil War song 
dating back to about 1861 and was written by Julia W. Howe. But Julia Howe 
got the melody and the concept from an older song about an American 
abolitionist (one who wanted to end slavery) who died earlier. The original 
lyrics about John Broiwn went as follows:

John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
But his soul goes marching on.
Chorus:
Glory, glory, hallelujah,
Glory, glory, hallelujah,
Glory, glory, hallelujah,
His soul goes marching on.

Julia took that song and rewrote the lyrics and composed several original 
verses to the melody. The first verse and chorus by Julia goes as follows:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
He has trampled out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.
His has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword
His truth goes marching on . . .

(chorus)
Glory, glory, haleluja
Glory, glory, haleluja
Glory, glory, haleluja
His truth goes marching on.

There are also some silly parodies of the the song - for example, here's one 
set to the same melody:

We wear our pink pajamas in the summer when it's hot
We wear our flannel undies in the winter when it's not
ANd sometimes in the springtime and sometimes in the fall
We jump right in between the sheets with nothing on at all!

(Chorus)
Glory glory halitosis,  (halitosis is a word that means having bad breath)
Glory glory halitosis,
Glory glory halitosis,
with nothing on at all!

Now you know more than you need to know about the song.

You can also do a google search and come up with even more information.

Respectfully submitted,

Bill "Glory glory" Gunter
jazzboard at hotmail.com