When Johnny Comes Marching Home

When Johnny Comes Marching Home
by Patrick S. Gilmore

When Johnny comes marching home again,
Hurrah, hurrah,
We'll give him a hearty welcome then,
Hurrah, hurrah!
The men will cheer, the boys will shout,
The ladies, they will all turn out,
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.

The old church bell will peal with joy,
Hurrah, hurrah!
To welcome home our darling boy,
Hurrah, hurrah!
The village lads and lassies say,
With roses they will strew the way,
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.

Get ready for the Jubilee,
Hurrah, hurrah!
We'll give the hero three times three,
Hurrah, hurrah!
The laurel wreath is ready now
To place upon his loyal brow,
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny come marching home.

Let love and friendship on that day,
Hurrah, hurrah!
Their choicest treasures then display,
Hurrah, hurrah!
And let each one perform some part,
To fill with joy the warrior's heart,
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.

When Johnny Comes Marching Home (sometimes "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again") is a song of the American Civil War that expressed people's longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the war.
The tune is that of the Irish antiwar song "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye", generally presumed to be the original, although no published version is known to pre-date "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again”. The lyrics, written by Irish-American bandleader Patrick Gilmore, effectively reverse those of the original, in which Johnny returns home blind and crippled, to the woman he abandoned in order to join the army. The larcenous tendencies of the Union soldiers in New Orleans were parodied in the Confederate lyrics, "For Bales", to the same tune. (Information from Wikipedia)


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