Why they sang about John Brown

[Captain Long Story, US Cavalry]

The “John Brown Song,” as the soldiers called it, borrowed the tune of a popular Methodist hymn - a melody you probably know today as “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” with its famous chorus of “Glory, glory, hallelujah.” But in May of 1861, Julia Ward Howe’s “Battle Hymn” lyrics still lay six months in the future. “John Brown’s Body lies a-moulderin’ in the grave,” the Massachusetts soldiers sang. “His soul is marching on!”

 

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2011/08/14/why_they_sang_about_john_brown/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed3