Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here is an American popular song first published in 1917. The lyrics, written by D. A. Esrom (pseudonym of

Theodora Morse Theodora Morse (July 11, 1883 — November 10, 1953) was an American songwriter and composer. She was a Tin Pan Alley lyricist who collaborated to produce a number of popular songs. Background Alfreda Theodora Strandberg was born in Brooklyn, New ...

) to a tune composed by

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

for the 1879

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...

'', are: The melody was originally part of "With Cat-Like Tread" in Act II of ''Pirates'' and echoes the

Anvil Chorus The "Anvil Chorus" is the English name for the (Italian for "Gypsy chorus"), a chorus from act 2, scene 1 of Giuseppe Verdi's 1853 opera ''Il trovatore''. It depicts Spanish Gypsies striking their anvils at dawn – hence its English name &nd ...

from

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's opera ''

Il Trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

'';

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most f ...

’s original lyrics set by Sullivan to the tune are: It appears that the lyric "Hail, hail, the gang's all here" had unofficially been added to Sullivan's melody many years before 1917. It was referenced in American newspapers as a familiar song as early as 1898, sung at political and other gatherings. A ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' news item from April 1, 1898, for example, stated that during a raucous meeting, members of the Philadelphia Common Council loudly sang, "Hail, hail, the gang's all here, what the h--- do we care! What the h--- do we care!" Likewise, a Delaware state legislature session in March 1901 was disrupted when Democratic members loudly sang the song. The title line of the song is also quoted in the closing measures of the 1915 song " Alabama Jubilee". Also in 1915, the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

fight song

Across the Field "(Fight The Team) Across the Field" is the older of two fight songs of Ohio State University, with the newer one being "Buckeye Battle Cry". Although the lyrics reference football heroics and was composed by the football team's varsity manager, Wil ...

incorporated the title phrase as the penultimate lyric. By the 1950s, the chorus of the song (with revised lyrics) had become popular in Irish and Scottish communities as being part of " The Celtic Song", sung by the fans of

Glasgow Celtic The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...

in Scotland and later other teams.

Glen Daly Glen Daly (born Bartholomew Francis McGovern McCann Dick (1920–1987) was a Scottish singer and entertainer. Career Daly was born in Calton, Glasgow, where he attended St Mary's School. On completing his education he started work in the Clyde ...

recorded an "official version" of "The Celtic Song" that is commonly played at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...

prior to matches.

External resources

Sheet music with both verse and chorus
on nih.gov

References

{{authority control Compositions by Arthur Sullivan 1917 songs Songs with lyrics by Theodora Morse