who wrote the southern battle cry of freedom

MIDI for 'Battle Cry of Freedom', from Project Gutenberg.Sheet music for 'Battle Cry of Freedom', from Project Gutenberg.Battle Cry of Freedom at Civil War Songs.Irwin Silber, Songs of the Civil War, Dover, 1995.Elvis Costello sang and played the last lines of the song in the Two and a Half Men episode, 'Back Off, Mary Poppins'.Film composer John Williams, in his score for the 2012 Steven Spielberg film, Lincoln, used an excerpt from 'The Battle Cry of Freedom' in the track 'Call to Muster and Battle Cry', with vocals performed by the Chicago Symphony Chorus and music performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.The rejigged verses include references to Jefferson Davis, the first and only President of the Confederate States of America, and radical abolitionist John Brown. Indie rock band Titus Andronicus employ an adaptation of 'Battle Cry of Freedom' in 'A More Perfect Union', the first song on their Civil War-themed 2010 album The Monitor.Homer and Jethro (Henry Haynes and Ken Burns) had a big hit with a parody called 'The Ballad of Roger Miller'.The Union forever defending our rights Down with the blackleg, all workers unite With our brothers and our sisters from many far off lands There is power in a Union Joe Hill wrote a song based upon the 'Battle Cry of Freedom' with a socialist slant called ' There Is Power in a Union', which has been recorded several times, including by Billy Bragg on the Talking with the Taxman about Poetry album.This song is performed by Jacqueline Schwab. This song features prominently in Ken Burns' documentary The Civil War.Keith and Rusty McNeil perform both the 'Battle Cry of Freedom' and 'Southern Battle Cry of Freedom' on Civil War Songs with Historical Narration (WEM Records, 1989, ISBN 1-87).Eric Taylor has a live recording of this song as 'Rally 'Round the Flag' on his Hollywood Pocketknife album in 2007.(This is probably an anachronism, as the latter song was not copyrighted until 1915, well after the scene in question, presumably in the 1870s.) In the film, former Confederate irregular Clell Miller (played by Randy Quaid) confronts a musician playing this song, and threateningly insists he play 'I'm a Good Ole Rebel' instead. The song is also performed in the Long Riders (1980), with music produced by Cooder. Ry Cooder performed this song as 'Rally 'Round the Flag' on his banjo Eli Boomer's Story album.While we rally round the cause, boys, we'll rally in our might, Our noble women also have aided them at home.įor Lincoln and Johnson, hurrah, boys, hurrah!ĭown with the rebellion and on with the war, While our boys have responded and to the fields have gone. Their motto is resistance – 'To the tyrants never yield!' They have laid down their lives on the bloody battle field. Our gallant boys have marched to the rolling of the drums.Īnd the leaders in charge cry out, 'Come, boys, come!' ( Chorus) Our Dixie forever! She's never at a loss! Down with the eagle and up with the cross We'll rally 'round the bonny flag, we'll rally once again, Shout, shout the battle cry of Freedom! Our flag is proudly floating on the land and on the main,īeneath it oft we've conquered, and we'll conquer oft again! So we're springing to the call from the East and from the West,Īnd we'll hurl the rebel crew from the land that we love best, We will welcome to our numbers the loyal, true and brave,Īnd although they may be poor, not a man shall be a slave, We are springing to the call of our brothers gone before,Īnd we'll fill our vacant ranks with a million freemen more, ( Chorus) The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah! Down with the traitors, up with the stars While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again, Shouting the battle cry of freedom! ( Chorus) We will rally from the hillside, we'll gather from the plain, Yes we'll rally round the flag, boys, we'll rally once again, Charles Ives quoted the song in his own patriotic song, 'They Are There'.

It is estimated that over 700,000 copies of this song were put in circulation. The song was so popular that the music publisher at one time had 14 printing presses going at one time and still could not keep up with demand. The Union version was used as the campaign song for the Lincoln- Johnson ticket in the 1864 presidential election. Barnes adapted it for the Confederate States of America. A patriotic song advocating the cause of the Union, it became so popular that composer H. The ' Battle Cry of Freedom' is a song written in 1862 by American composer George Frederick Root (1820–1895) during the American Civil War.

Who wrote the southern battle cry of freedom