Texts Sung to the Tune of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "John Brown's Body"
Arranged in approximate chronological order

Glory, glory, hallelujah (3x)
His soul goes marching on.

Union Army chaplains often referred to the Union Army as "The Army of the Lord"--again giving this verse a humorous double meaning.

The refrain, with its "Glory, glory, hallelujah" seems at first glance to fit quite nicely with the tune's earlier use as a camp meeting song--and the soldiers had heard this tune originally in that religious context. But since "His soul goes marching on" is the punchline to the joke, it turns the whole thing inside-out--now it's a mock-religious song, which only adds to the fun.

Notice that this humorous punchline is echoed in "Battle Hymn of the Republic"; there it becomes "His truth is marching on." The good-natured parody of the soldiers has been anti-parodied--and the tune gone full circle from serious, religious song ("Say, Brothers") to parody ("John Brown's Body") back to serious, religious song ("Battle Hymn"). What is surprising about this is that Julia Ward Howe apparently did not know the "Say, Brothers." She was simply writing a "serious" and more "fitting" version of "John Brown's Body"--which is to say, she really was writing an anti-parody.

refrain

We'll hang old Jeff Davis (3x)
from a sour apple tree.

refrain

"We'll feed old Jeff Davis sour apples/'til he gets the diarhee" was the original version. In published versions, this verse was changed to "We'll hang old Jeff Davis/from a sour apple tree"--public discussion of diarrhea being socially unacceptable at that time. Note that the more socially acceptable replacement verse is not only more vindictive, but--even worse!--totally humorless.

Old John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
While weep the sons of bondage whom he ventured all to save;
But though he lost his life in struggling for the slave,
His truth is marching on.

Note that the phrase "John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave" has already--in less than one year--lost its humorous meaning, and is now taken quite seriously. Removing the three-fold repetition of this phrase makes it seem less flippant and more serious, besides leaving room for a sermon in the other two lines.

Marching Song of the First Arkansas Regiment (Capt. Lindley Miller, 1863)
The marching song of one of the many African-American Regiments fighting for the Union Army.

Oh, we’re the bully soldiers of the "First of Arkansas,"
We are fighting for the Union, we are fighting for the law,
We can hit a Rebel further than a white man ever saw,
As we go marching on. Glory, glory, hallelujah (3x)
As we go marching on.

The President’s Proclamation (Edna Dean Proctor, 1863)
With roots, again, in the original "John Brown's Body," this version was written on the occasion of the Emancipation Proclamation.

John Brown died on a scaffold for the slave;
Dark was the hour when we dug his hallowed grave;
Now God avenges the life he gladly gave,
Freedom reigns today!

Note that, in true collaborative fashion, this verse collapses many of the ideas--scattered over many verses--found in early versions of "John Brown's Body":

• John Brown
• scaffold (first it was Jeff Davis who was hung; later John Brown)
• he died for the slave
• his grave (now it's "hallowed" instead of "mouldering")
• The idea that although he himself is dead, "his soul goes marching on." Originally conceived as humor, there's nothing humorous about it now--it's God's vengeance.

The Battle Hymn of the Republic (Julia Ward Howe, December 1861)
Written after Howe heard "John Brown's Body" at a military parade and was asked to write more "fitting" words for the tune. Anti-parody at its finest.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword,
His truth is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! (3x)
His truth is marching on.