Marines' Hymn

The Marines' Hymn is the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps. It is the oldest official song in the U.S. Armed Forces.^[1] The song has an obscure origin—the words date from the 19th century, but no one knows the author. The music is from the Gendarmes' Duet from the opera Geneviève de Brabant by Jacques Offenbach, which had its début in Paris in 1859. The Marine Corps secured a copyright on the song on August 19 1919, but it is now in the public domain. The initial verse is "From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli". The Montezuma phrase refers to the Battle of Chapultepec, which took place during the Mexican-American War. The Tripoli phrase refers to actions during the First Barbary War and the Battle of Derne. The "Marines' Hymn" is typically sung at the position of "attention" as a gesture of respect.

Lyrics

From the halls of Montezuma
To the shores 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 Marines.

Our flag's unfurl'd to every breeze
From the dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every 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 have never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.

Alternative first verse

The original lyrics in use from 1890 until 1919 were:

From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli,

We fight our country's battles, on the land as on the sea.

Admiration of the nation, we're the finest ever seen;

And we glory in the title of United States Marines.

This version can be heard in the 1950 film Halls of Montezuma. In 1919, the third and fourth lines were changed to include the "first to fight" motto. In 1942, the second line was changed to reference the addition of air power to the world's military arsenals.^[2]

Extra verses

Various people over the years wrote unofficial or semi-unofficial extra verses to commemorate later battles and actions, for example[1]:

Again in nineteen forty-one, we sailed a north'ard course

and found beneath the midnight sun, the Viking and the Norse.

The Iceland girls were slim and fair, and fair the Iceland scenes,

and the Army found in landing there, the United States Marines.

(In 1940, during WWII, British forces occupied Iceland to guard it from possible occupation by Nazi Germany. In 1941, responsibility for the occupation was transferred to the U.S. who garrisoned a brigade of Marines.)

Trivia

The Marines' hymn has many variations, including The Pride of South Australia - the theme song of the Adelaide Crows Australian rules football side in the Australian Football League. The third verse is also used as a "toast" during events important to the Corps such as the Marine Corps birthday, promotions, and retirements. Note the line "Here's health to you and to our Corps" Earlier versions of 1989 computer game Captain Comic used the Marines' Hymn as the theme tune.

See also

United States Marine Corps Portal

• The Army Goes Rolling Along
• Anchors Aweigh
• Eternal Father, Strong to Save
• The U.S. Air Force
• Semper Paratus - official march of the U.S. Coast Guard

References

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Marines' Hymn

• Marines' hymn, MP3 from the Marine Corps "President's Own" website.
• Marine Corps Theme performed as instrumental band march (.wav file)
• Marine Hymn Lyrics Information about the USMC hymn as well as other USMC history.

Further reading

• London, Joshua E.Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005. ISBN 0-471-44415-4