- Lyrics written by
- Joseph B. Geoghegan
- Original music written by
- [Traditional]
- Original lyrics written by
- Patrick Gilmore
- Publication date
- 1867
- Language
- English
- Adapted from
-
When Johnny Comes Marching Home written by [Traditional], Patrick Gilmore
- Comments
-
Johnny I (We) Hardly Knew Ye (You) was published in 1867 and credited to the English music hall singer, Joseph B. Geoghegan (though he likely learned it from others). The song shares the same tune as the one for the 1863 American Civil War song When Johnny Comes Marching Home. Which tune predated the other is in dispute, but the American song was published first and both tunes are just credited as "Traditional". SHS is setting up "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" as a musical adaptation of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" in order to capture the fact that they share the same tune, but again, some might argue the order should be reversed, and the reality is the tune isn't original to either song. Lyrically the two songs are unrelated other than both involve war. The American song is a patriotic song about celebrating the eventual return of our soldiers from battle, while the UK song only addresses the suffering aspect of war.
Originally seen as humorous, the song today is considered a powerful anti-war song. Except for an initial framing stanza, the song is a monologue by an Irish woman who meets her former lover on the road to Athy, which is located in County Kildare, Ireland. After their illegitimate child was born, the lover ran away and became a soldier. He was badly disfigured, losing his legs, his arms, his eyes and, in some versions, his nose, in fighting on the island of "Sulloon", or Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), and will have to be put in (or, in some versions, with) a bowl to beg. In spite of all this, the woman says, she is happy to see him and will keep him on as her beau. Modern versions often end with an anti-war affirmation. - Licensing
- Request a synchronization license
Versions
When Johnny Comes Marching Home written by Patrick Gilmore, [Traditional] English
When Johnny Comes Marching Home written by [Traditional] instrumental
Až začneme vrásky mít written by Zdeněk Borovec Czech
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Až začneme vrásky mít | Karel Gott - Karel Vlach se svým orchestrem | 1975 | First release |
Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye written by Joseph B. Geoghegan English
English Civil War written by Topper Headon, Mick Jones [GB1], Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon English
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
English Civil War | The Clash | November 10, 1978 | First release | |
| English Civil War (Johnny Comes Marching Home) | The Price | December 9, 1991 | |||
| English Civil War | Levellers | 1994 | Unverified | ||
| English Civil War | The Pedestrians | April 17, 2001 | Released more than 10 years after its recording | ||
| English Civil War | Per Persson | December 2005 | |||
| English Civil War | The Crombies | 2013 | |||
| English Civil War | 3 Minute Window | 2015 |
Yö preerialla written by Reino Helismaa Finnish
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yö preerialla | Pärre Förars | 1959 | First release |
Kapteeni Koukku written by Keijo Voudinmäki Finnish
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kapteeni Koukku | Hevisaurus | 2009 | First release |
Sångens makt written by Eddie Bruhner Swedish
| Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sångens makt | Sveriges Jazzband | 1975 | First release |