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(USA) Marine Corps Hymn (Read 4172 times)

17.03.2006 at 13:41:33

Jan Offline
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Posts: 1163

The official hymn of the United States Marine Corps was written in the 19th century by an unknown author, the music borrowed from Jacques Offenbach's opera "Genevieve de Brabant". Officially adopted in 1919, it is the oldest one among the official hymns of the five armed services of the USA (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard).

Marines' Hymn

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 unfurled to every breeze
From 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 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.

Quote:

Historically, the United States Marine Corps has achieved fame in several campaigns, as referenced in the first line of the Marines' Hymn: "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli". In the early 19th century, First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon led a group of eight Marines and 300 Arab and European mercenaries in capturing Tripoli. Separately, the Marines took part in the Mexican-American War (1846–1848) and assaulted the Castillo de Chapultepec, or the Chapultepec Palace, which overlooked Mexico City. The Marines were placed on guard duty at the Mexican Presidential Palace, "The Halls of Montezuma".

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps

Recordings of the Marines' Hymn can be found in the Marches of the U.S. Armed Forces Thread.

Sources:
http://www.instantknowledgenews.com/marine.htm
http://ingeb.org/songs/fromtheh.html

Dass ein gutes Deutschland blühe&&wie ein andres gutes Land (B. Brecht)

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Reply #1 - 03.04.2006 at 16:27:41

Jan Offline
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Posts: 1163

Jan wrote on 17.03.2006 at 13:41:33:

it is the oldest one among the official hymns of the five armed services of the USA

Whilst searching for the texts of the official songs of the different U.S. Armed Services, I noticed that the word "hymn" seems not always to have the same meaning: U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force do also have "hymns", but in those cases, they have a more prayer-like character, asking God to protect the servicemen and -women in on the sea and in the air. Besides those "hymns", Navy and Air Force have "songs" ("Ancors Awaigh" and the "The U.S. Air Force"), same as the U.S. Army with their official song "The Army Goes Rolling Along". Finally, the U.S. Coast Guard calls their "Semper Paratus" an "anthem".

Although called "Marines' Hymn", in my opinion "From the Halls of Montezuma" has not much to do with "hymns" as they are used by Navy and Air Force, but it rather has the same status and character like the "songs" of Army, Navy and Air Force and the "anthem" of the Coast Guard.

In Richard Hayman's arrangement "Servicemen on Parade", composed in 1966 for the U.S. Navy Band, "Anchors Aweigh", "The U.S. Air Force", "From the Halls of Montezuma", "Semper Paratus" and "Army Goes Rolling Along" are used to represent the five Armed Services of the USA.

Dass ein gutes Deutschland blühe&&wie ein andres gutes Land (B. Brecht)

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Reply #2 - 03.04.2006 at 17:42:10

Gutsy Offline
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Posts: 85

I think the word "hymn" does not really translate directly from language to language. In common English the word has the clear connotation of a sung prayer suitable for church services. In other languages it seems to include the connotation of a "solemn song". Examples of this are the use of the Italian "Inno Nazionale" and the French "Hymne National". In that sesne IMO oddly enought the "Marine Corps Hymn" is more of a European-style secular patriotic "hymn".

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Reply #3 - 04.04.2006 at 01:34:17

Jan Offline
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Posts: 1163

It is not a question of translation. In my English-German dictionary, the word "hymn" is definitely translated as "Kirchenlied", i.e. "church song". Although the words "hymne national" (French), "Inno Nazionale" (Italian) or "Nationalhymne" (German) are almost the same like the word "hymn", they are clearly translated as "national anthem".

I was just wondering about the different meanings of the word "hymn" in the U.S. Armed Forces: In the Navy and the Air Force it means a sung prayer (as I would expect it), whilst the "Marines' Hymn" is the same kind of patriotic marching song as the "service songs" (or "anthem" in the case of the Coast Guard) of the other services.

Dass ein gutes Deutschland blühe&&wie ein andres gutes Land (B. Brecht)

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Reply #4 - 04.04.2006 at 07:28:23

Gutsy Offline
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Posts: 85

That was my point! "Hymn" is a non-English equivalent of "anthem". The USMC "Hymn" is an exception.

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Reply #5 - 12.04.2006 at 11:41:36

Dieter Offline
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Posts: 5637

In the official version authorized by the Commandant of the Marine Corps in 1929, the fourth line of the first verse went "On the land as on the sea." On 1942-11-21, this was modified to read "In the air, on land, and sea."

Source:
http://www.mclwestchester.org/USMC/hymn_history.asp

Que dans ces lieux règne à jamais l'amour des lois, la liberté, la paix !

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Reply #6 - 10.06.2006 at 14:59:08

Jan Offline
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Posts: 1163

The Gendarme's Duet "We're public guardians bold yet wary" ("Les Deux Gendarmes") is the piece from Jacques Offenbach's comic opera "Geneviève de Brabant" from which the music of the U.S. Marine Corps Hymn was borrowed. It is sung by a pair of corrupt and cowardly policemen. Here the English versification:

Les Deux Gendarmes

We're public guardians bold yet wary
And of ourselves we take good care
To risk our precious lives we're chary
When danger threatens we're not there
But when we see a helpless woman
Or little boys who do no harm…
|:We run them in, we run them in
We run them in, we run them in
To show them we're the beaux gendarmes:|

Sometimes our duty’s extramural
Then little butterflies we chase
We like to gambol in things rural
Commune with nature face to face
But when we go back to our duties
Refreshed by Nature’s holy charms…
|:We run them in, we run them in
We run them in, we run them in
To show them we're the beaux gendarmes:|

When young men like to make a riot
And punch each other’s heads at night
We are disposed to keep it quiet
Provided that they make it right
But if they do not seem to see it
Or give to us our proper alms…
|:We run them in, we run them in
We run them in, we run them in
To show them we're the beaux gendarmes:|

An audiofile in English (which is slightly different from the text above) can be found here.

Choosing this piece of music probably says a lot about the sense of self-irony of the U.S. Marine Corps Undecided

Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880)

Source:
http://omf.blogspot.com/2004/07/semper-fidelis.html
http://omf.blogspot.com/2005/02/gendarmes-again.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Offenbach

Dass ein gutes Deutschland blühe&&wie ein andres gutes Land (B. Brecht)

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Reply #7 - 11.06.2006 at 00:13:55

zscout370 Offline
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Toasty!

Posts: 650

During morning colors, the Marine Corps Hymn is usually played after the Star Spangled Banner. Marines stand in formation and do not salute during the playing of the Marine Corps Hymn.

Zachary Harden - Please use MSN Messenger for quick responses.

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