 Printed lyrics | |
Organizational anthem of theU.S. Marine Corps | |
| Lyrics | Unknown |
|---|---|
| Music | Jacques Offenbach, 1867 (arranged by Edward M. Van Loock, 1915)[a] |
| Adopted | 1929 (1929) |
| Audio sample | |
"Marines' Hymn" (instrumental) | |
The "Marines' Hymn" is the officialhymn of theUnited States Marine Corps, introduced by the first director of the USMC Band,Francesco Maria Scala. Its music originates from an 1867 work byJacques Offenbach with the lyrics added by an anonymous author at an unknown time in the following years. Authorized by the Commandant of the Marine Corps in 1929, it is the oldest official song in theUnited States Armed Forces.[1] The "Marines' Hymn" is typically sung at the position ofattention as a gesture of respect, akin to anational anthem. However, the third verse is also used as atoast during formal events, such as thebirthday ball and other ceremonies.
The line "To the shores ofTripoli" refers to theFirst Barbary War, and specifically theBattle of Derna in 1805.[3][4] "The Halls ofMontezuma" refers to theBattle of Chapultepec on 12/13 September 1847 during theMexican–American War, where a force of Marines stormedChapultepec Castle. Strictly, the usage "Halls of Montezuma" is poetic license, as the building which the Marines stormed had been erected by the Spanish rulers of Mexico, more than two centuries after the Aztec EmperorMontezuma was overthrown. At the time of the assault, the fort was actually the newly founded Mexican Military Academy. Prior to Mexican independence one of the Spanish viceroys had built a personal residence on the hill (1786). However, in Aztec times Chapultepec Hill and its hot springs were a royal spa.[citation needed]
Marine Corps tradition maintains that the red stripe worn on the dress-blues trousers of officers and noncommissioned officers, and commonly known as theblood stripe, commemorates the high number of Marine NCOs and officers killed storming the castle of Chapultepec in September 1847. As noted,
While the lyrics are said to date from the 19th century, no pre-20th century text is known. The author of the lyrics is likewise unknown. Legend has it that a Marine on duty in Mexico penned the hymn. The unknown author transposed the phrases in the motto on the Colors so that the first two lines of the Hymn would read: "From theHalls of Montezuma, to theShores of Tripoli", favoringeuphony over chronology.
The music is from the "Gendarmes' Duet" (or the "bold gendarmes") from the revision in 1867 of theJacques Offenbach operaGeneviève de Brabant, which debuted inParis in 1859. Correspondence between ColonelAlbert S. McLemore and Walter F. Smith (the second leader of theUnited States Marine Band) traces the tune:
Major Richard Wallach, USMC, says that in 1878, when he was in Paris, France, thearia to which the Marines' Hymn is now sung was a very popular one.
The name of the opera and a part of the chorus was secured from Wallach and forwarded to Smith, who replied:
Major Wallach is to be congratulated upon a wonderfully accurate musical memory, for the aria of the Marine Hymn is certainly to be found in the operaGenevieve de Brabant... The melody is not in the exact form of the Marine Hymn, but is undoubtedly the aria from which it was taken. I am informed, however, by one of the members of the band, who has a Spanish wife, that the aria was one familiar to her childhood and it may, therefore, be aSpanish folk song.
John Philip Sousa once wrote:
The melody of the 'Halls of Montezuma' is taken from Offenbach's comic opera, 'Genevieve de Brabant' and is sung by twogendarmes.
Today, the preferred version officially performed by the U.S. Marine Band is a 1915 arrangement by Edward M. Van Loock, a member of the Marine Band at the time. Another later arrangement from the 1950s byDonald R. Hunsberger is also accepted for official performances.[5][6]
The lyrics are also contained in the bookRhymes of the Rookies published in 1917. The author of these poems was W. E. Christian. The book is available online in several formats. It consists of a series of poems regarding military life prior to World War I.
Some websites, including the official USMC website,[7] claim that the U.S. Marine Corps secured acopyright on the song either 19 August 1891 or 18 August 1919.[8] U.S. Copyright Law prohibits copyrighting "any work of the United States Government", including subordinate agencies such as the Marine Corps, but allows them to hold "copyrights transferred to it by assignment, bequest, or otherwise".[9] TheLibrary of Congress asserts that the song was originally copyrighted in 1919 byThe Leatherneck,[10] which was started by off-duty US Marines in 1917 using a donation from the YMCA, and therefore might not be considered a "work of the United States Government". (It does not state whether Leatherneck's copyright was ever transferred to the Marine Corps.) In addition, several composers do hold copyrights on different arrangements of the song. These copyrights cover only the specific arrangements and not the song as a whole.[11] In 1929 thecommandant of the Marine Corps authorized the three verses of the Marines' Hymn as the official version, but changed the fifth through eighth lines:
| Pre-1929 version | Authorized change |
|---|---|
| Admiration of the nation, we're the finest ever seen; And we glory in the title Of United States Marines. | First to fight for right and freedom And to keep our honor clean; We are proud to claim the title OfUnited States Marine. |
This older version can be heard in the 1951 filmHalls of Montezuma. On 21 November 1942, CommandantThomas Holcomb approved a change in the words of the first verse's fourth line from "On the land as on the sea" to "In the air, on land, and sea" to reflect the addition ofaviation to the Corps' arsenal.[12]
Western Illinois University uses the hymn prior to all football games. They are the only nonmilitary academy allowed to use the hymn. The university has had permission to usethe official nickname, mascot, and hymn of the Corps since 1927.[13]
From theHalls of Montezuma
To theshores of Tripoli;
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marine.
Our flag's unfurled to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in ev'ry clime and place
Where we could take a gun;
In the snow of far-off Northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job
The United States Marines.
Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve;
If theArmy and theNavy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.
Various people over the years have written unofficial or semi-official extra verses to commemorate later battles and actions. For example, afterU.S. military forces occupied Iceland in 1941 to guard it against possible occupation byNazi Germany, this verse was written:
Again in nineteen forty-one, we sailed a north'ard course
And found beneath themidnight sun, theViking and theNorse.
The Iceland girls were slim and fair, and fair the Iceland scenes,
And the Army found in landing there, the United States Marines.[14][15][16]
7. Performance of 'The Marines' Hymn'. The Edward M. Van Loock arrangement of "The Marines' Hymn" is designated as the official arrangement; however, the Donald R. Hunsberger arrangement is equally accepted for performance.
In February 1915, Assistant Commandant Colonel John A. Lejeune wrote a memorandum acknowledging that Lieutenant Santelmann was creating a new arrangement of 'the old Marines' Hymn' and stated that the Commandant wanted it to be sent to all the bands in the Marine Corps when published. The new instrumental arrangement was published that summer and credited to First Class Musician Edward M. Van Loock of the Marine Corps Band.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Marine Corps.
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