"Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! (The Prisoner's Hope)" was one of the most popular songs of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. George F. Root wrote both the words and music and published it in 1864 to give hope to the Union prisoners of war. The song is written from the prisoner's point of view. The chorus tells his fellow prisoners that hope is coming.

Lyrics

Confederate lyrics

In addition to the original version, soldiers of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

made their own lyrics to the tune. The Confederate lyrics revolve around General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia invading Pennsylvania, following which prisoners held in Northern prison camps shall be liberated.

In popular culture

The song has been parodied and the melody has been repurposed numerous times: ;Religion * It is well known as the melody for the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

children's song "

Jesus Loves the Little Children A Christian child's prayer is Christian prayer recited primarily by children that is typically short, rhyming, or has a memorable tune. It is usually said before bedtime, to give thanks for a meal, or as a nursery rhyme. Many of these prayers ...

". * The

Latter-day Saint Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

hymn "In Our Lovely Deseret" employs the tune as well. ;Politics * It also lends the music to an Irish patriotic song, "

God Save Ireland "God Save Ireland" is an Irish rebel song celebrating the Manchester Martyrs, three Fenians executed in 1867. It served as an unofficial Irish national anthem for Irish nationalism, Irish nationalists from the 1870s to the 1920s. Composition On 18 ...

". * An early variant was " Damn, Damn, Damn the Filipinos", sung during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

and

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

. * In 1913, the labor organizer and songwriter Joe Hill (1879–1915) wrote a song for the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...

to the tune, called "

The Tramp The Tramp (''Charlot'' in several languages), also known as the Little Tramp, was English actor Charlie Chaplin's most memorable on-screen character and an icon in world cinema during the era of silent film. ''The Tramp'' is also the title of ...

", about a man who is trying to find a job, only to get the universal answer: 'Tramp, tramp, tramp, keep on a-tramping / Nothing doing here for you / If I catch you 'round again / You will wear the ball and chain / Keep on tramping, that's the best thing you can do.' * In 1914 the melody and meter were used as the basis for the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

song, '' Belgium Put the Kibosh on the Kaiser'' by Mark Sheridan. * In 1950, the German anti-US propaganda song ''Ami – go home!'' by Ernst Busch was set to this tune (arranged by

Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was an Austrian composer (his father was Austrian, and Eisler fought in a Hungarian regiment in World War I). He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artisti ...

). ;Sports * The melody of this song is used as the second stanza of the Georgetown University Fight Song, collectively known as

There Goes Old Georgetown "There Goes Old Georgetown"Listen is the unofficial name of the Georgetown University sports teams' fight song. It is also known as simply "Georgetown Fight Song". It is actually an amalgamation of three songs, only the oldest of which, 1913's ...

. *

Club Deportivo Universidad Católica Club Deportivo Universidad Católica is a professional football club based in Santiago, Chile. Founded in 1937 they play in the Primera División, the top flight of Chilean football. The team has played its home games at Estadio San Carlos d ...

, one of Chile's most important football clubs, has used the music of this song as the official fight song of the "Cruzados Caballeros" since 1943. Also, it has been part of the corporate identity of Channel 13, which served as the startup music of the channel for much of the 1980s, the version used was that of Carlos Haiquel on vocals with mixed chorus, with the orchestral arrangement by Tito Ledermann. The current version was recorded in 1970. * The melody of this song, as used in God Save Ireland, makes up part of

Put 'Em Under Pressure "Put 'Em Under Pressure" was the official song to the Republic of Ireland national football team's 1990 FIFA World Cup campaign in Italy. Background Produced by U2's Larry Mullen, it featured an intro by Moya Brennan. The song was created by Mu ...

, the official song written to support Ireland's national football team in the 1990 FIFA World Cup.Put 'em under pressure! (We're all part of Jackie's Army) - YouTube
/ref> * The melody of this song, out of 'God Save Ireland' was used as the tune for a novelty record fan-anthem, for the 1978 world cup released as the song

Ally's Tartan Army Ally's Tartan Army was a novelty record released by Scottish comedian Andy Cameron on the Klub Records (KRL) label to mark the Scottish football team's qualification for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. The "Tartan Army" are Scotland's fans; "A ...

. ;Other * It was the melody of the original song of Sapporo Agricultural College (now

Hokkaido University , or , is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was the fifth Imperial University in Japan, which were established to be the nation's finest institutions of higher education or research. Hokkaido University is considered ...

) in Japan. *In the 1933

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

comedy film ''

Sons of the Desert A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

'', the anthem of the Sons of the Desert lounge is a pastiche of several popular tunes, including ''Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!'' as well as ''

Give My Regards to Broadway "Give My Regards to Broadway" is a song written by George M. Cohan for his musical play ''Little Johnny Jones'' which debuted in 1904 in New York. Cohan, playing the title character, sings this song as his friend is about to sail to Americ ...

.'' *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

included the song in a medley on his album '' 101 Gang Songs'' (1961) * In the TV series ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. The ...

'', Hawkeye (played by

Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the war co ...

) twice responds to someone making a thrice repeated complaint (such as "Gripe, gripe, gripe!") by singing the line from the song "the boys are marching". * The German band De Höhner use the tune for their song "Dat Hätz vun d'r Welt" (published in 1982), sung in praise of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

in the local dialect, Kölsch. * In the November 26, 2010, edition of the ''

Pickles Pickles may refer to: Dogs * Pickles (dog) (died 1967), a dog that found the stolen World Cup trophy in 1966 * Pickles (pickleball), a dog often cited as the name origin for the sport of pickleball * Mr. Pickles, the titular demonic dog in ...

'' comic strip, lead character Earl Pickles sings the chorus as a

preemptive strike A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war ''shortly before'' that attack materializes. It ...

against his wife's urge to sing holiday songs.

References

Bibliography

*Root, George R. "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" (Sheet music). Chicago: Root & Cady (1864). *Smith, Nicholas, Col. ''Stories of Great National Songs''. Milwaukee, Wis.: The Yound Churchman Co. (1899).

External links

"Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!"
Harlan & Stanley (Edison Gold 9439, 1905)—
Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project
'. *The Music of the American Civil War (1861–1865

Confederate Lyrics *Georgetown University Fight Son

{{Authority control Songs of the American Civil War 1864 songs Songs written by George Frederick Root American Civil War prisoners of war