John Brown's Body
"John Brown's Body" (originally known as "John Brown's Song") is a United States marching song about the abolitionist John Brown. The song was popular in the Union during the American Civil War. The song arose out of the folk hymn tradition of the American camp meeting movement of the late 18th and early 19th century. According to an 1889 account, the original John Brown lyrics were a collective effort by a group of Union soldiers who were referring both to the famous John Brown and also, humorously, to a Sergeant John Brown of their own battalion. Various other authors have published additional verses or claimed credit for originating the John Brown lyrics and tune.
Original publication of the text of the "John Brown Song" in 1861: 373 | |
| Lyrics | James E. Greenleaf, C. S. Hall, C. B. Marsh, and others, 1861 |
|---|---|
| Music | American folk song, 1856 |
| Audio sample | |
1902 sound recording by J. W. Myers of John Brown's Body
| |
The "flavor of coarseness, possibly of irreverence": 374 led many of the era to feel uncomfortable with the earliest "John Brown" lyrics. This in turn led to the creation of many variant versions of the text that aspired to a higher literary quality. The most famous of these is Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic", which was written when a friend suggested, "Why do you not write some good words for that stirring tune?" Kimball suggests that President Lincoln made this suggestion to Howe, though other sources do not agree on this point.: 376
Numerous informal versions and adaptations of the lyrics and music have been created from the mid-1800s to the present, making "John Brown's Body" an example of a living folk music tradition.