Marching through georgia henry clay work biography

"Marching Through Georgia" performed by Tennessee Ernie Ford on Tennessee Ernie Ford Sings Songs of the Civil War, Hollywood, CA: Capitol Records [CDP7957052], © 1991.

It was "Kingdom Coming," --elegant in manuscript, full of bright, good sense and comical situations in its "darkey" dialect--the words fitting the melody almost as aptly and neatly as Gilbert fits Sullivan--the melody decidedly good and taking, and the whole exactly suited to the times. Available on Spotify and YouTube. Some historians have attributed the song’s popularity to its morale-boosting effect as a celebration of the triumphant end of the war.

The final stanza describes the 300-mile-long march to the sea, in which the Union army, in a 60-mile-wide column, “made a thoroughfare for freedom and her train.” The chorus is written in four-part harmony for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, to be performed by a group of people in response to a soloist singing the stanzas.

While this song remained quite popular in the North and became a standard at veterans’ reunions and political rallies, Sherman did not like it and once stated that “if I had thought when I made that march that it would have inspired any one to compose the piece, I would have marched around the state.”

“Marching through Georgia” became a popular tune for parade bands and inspired later composers, including Charles Ives.

In the fourth stanza, the comedic tone returns with reference to “saucy rebels” who did not think the Northern troops could reach the coast. The connection, which continued some years, proved very profitable both to him and to us. During a period of great stress, the popular songs of the day invariably give the most accurate expression of the popular mind.

Henry C. Work Song List: 

• "Babylon is Fallen"
• "Brave Boys Are They"
• "Come Home, Father"
• "God Save the Nation"
• "Grafted Into the Army"
• "Grandfather's Clock"
• "Kingdom Coming!"
• "Little Major"
• "The Lost Letter"
• "Marching Through Georgia"
• "The Ship That Never Returned"
• "The Song of a Thousand Years"
• "Wake Nicodemus"
• "We Are Coming, Sister Mary" 

All bios appear as they were submitted in the year of induction or award presentation.

“Marching through Georgia” is one of the best-known songs of the Civil War (1861-65).

As a testament to freedom and sacrifice, its inspirational lyrics also contain a comic undertone.

The first stanza calls for the rallying of the troops with the bugle call. Like his father, Work too was also an active abolitionist and Union supporter. Work died on June 8, 1884, and was buried in Spring Grove cemetery, Hartford, beside his wife. I looked at it and that at him in my astonishment.

His songs were featured in several minstrel shows and were included in the Broadway shows Good Morning Dearie and Meet Me In St. Louis.

One of his greatest songs “Grandfather’s Clock” was published in 1876 and became a successful hit of the 1880’s. A gentle "Yes" was the answer. Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey, once adopted the tune as its football fight song.

The song’s lyrics are as follows:

Ring the good ol’ bugle, boys, we’ll sing another song,
Sing it with the spirit that will start the world along,
Sing it as we used to sing it 50,000 strong
While we were marching through Georgia.

[Chorus]: Hurrah, hurrah, we bring the jubilee!
Hurrah, hurrah, the flag that makes you free!
So we sang the chorus from Atlanta to the sea
While we were marching through Georgia!

How the darkies shouted when they heard the joyful sound!
How the turkeys gobbled which our commissary found!
How the sweet potatoes even started from the ground
While we were marching through Georgia!

The melody and verse of Henry Clay Work, however, reveal more than the national history of the Civil War. They picture, they record the life of America as it was changing from the last pioneer days into the present great industrial era.