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Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye (Johnny Fill Up the Bowl/When Johnny Comes Marching Home)
Irish, American; March (6/8 time); Widely known
ARTIST: From the Clancy’s;
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes
DATE: Johnny Fill Up the Bowl (1863); Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye (1802); When Johnny Comes Marching Home (Civil War) There are several copies of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” dated 1863 in the Levy sheet music collection.
RECORDING INFO: Thieme, Art. Songs of the Heartland, Kicking Mule KM 148, LP (1982), cut# 12 (Johnny Fill Up the Bowl); Bud & Travis. Bud & Travis in Concert, Liberty LDS 12001, LP (196?), cut#1.04; Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Tradition TLP 1042, LP (1961), cut#B.07; Forbes, Walter. Ballads and Bluegrass, RCA (Victor) LPM-2472, LP (1962), cut# 7; Luxon, Benjamin; and Bill Crofut. Simple Gifts. British and American Folk Songs, Stolat SZM 0124, LP (1981), cut#A.06; Sessions, Bob. Blue Dog Cellar Project No. 1, Kimberly RINC 1245, LP (196?), cut#A.04;
OTHER NAMES: “For Bales;” "In Eighteen Hundred and Sixty One” "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." “Buchan Miller;” “Wind It Blew Up the Railroad Track”
RELATED TO: “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” the absolutely original melody is “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” moved from 6/8 time to 4/4. “Paddy Works on the Railway/Erie;” “Miller Tae My Trade” "Snapoo" (tune); "Mademoiselle from Armentieres" (approximate tune)
SOURCES: Ceolas; American Memory Collection; Max Hunter Collection; Levy sheet music collection; O'Neill-Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody 1922, No. 69;
NOTES: C Major. Standard. One part. Origin of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," “Johnny Fill Up the Bowl” “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye” songs points to "John Anderson, My Jo," which is part of the “Paul’s Steeple,” "I am the Duke of Norfolk/York," "St. Paul's Steeple" song group.
Here’s some info about “Paul’s Steeple” from Ceolas: English, Country Dance Tune (cut time). G Dorian. Standard. AB. The air was published by Playford in his English Dancing Master (1650-95) and Division Violist (1685). Chappell (1859) reports the steeple of Old St. Paul's was set on fire by lightning and burnt down in June, 1561, and that within seven days a ballad was entered on the subject at the Stationers' Company. The melody is part of a large tune family which includes the Scottish song "John Anderson, My Jo," the Irish "Cruiskeen Lawn," the American "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again," and the Welsh "Yn Nyffryn Clwyd" (The Vale of Clyde). In addition it is a relative of "Godesses" and "Quodling's Delight," all of which, according to John M. Ward, can be considered descants over the ground known as 'passamezzo antico'. As the vehicle for the song "The Little Man and Little Maid" the tune appears in The Edinburgh Musical Miscellany, printed in that city in 1793 by Grant and Moir. Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time), Vol. 1, 1859; pgs. 282-283. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 44.
JOHNNY I HARDLY KNEW YE- ORIGIN: O'Neill (Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody 1922, No. 69) notes: "Classed as a street ballad in Halliday Sparling's Irish Minstrelsy, London 1887, the editor adds, in a note on page 366: Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye !- This favorite old song is here for the first time given complete. It dates from the beginning of the present century (19th), when Irish regiments were so extensively raised for the East India service.
In "Songs of Ireland," Herbert Hughes, writing in his "Irish Country Songs" (London 1934) says, " Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye is a classic case of a song surviving it's period and presenting a problem for the later folklorist.." His father, whose memories went back to the American Civil War, felt that it belonged to that period and came from the States - having probably been in the repertory of the Christy Minstrels. It had been published in London in1867, but internal evidence dates it back perhaps to as early as1802, when Irish regiments were extensively recruited for the East India service."
Hughes carefully established the song's pre-Civil War Irish origin: “But further research dated it back, conjecturally, to the period immediately succeeding the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, when, as H. H. Sparling pointed out, Irish regiments were extensively recruited for the East India service. In his 'Irish Minstrelsy" (Walter Scott, 1887) Sparling described it as a street ballad in which "the island of Ceylon " is given as "the island of Sulloon"; and in the complete edition of that work he made the following note:
Because in one late version, "Why did you run from me and the child?" is made "Why did you skedaddle," etc., and this word only came into use during the War of Secession, some have imagined this song to be of recent date, and have even attributed it to the Irish American music halls. My own memory carries it back to very near the war, when I heard an old fisherman sing it, to whom it was even then old. It was he who told me of its age and meaning, what I have said above, which is corroborated by the reference to Ceylon. It is hard to believe that any one can read this wonderful piece of grotesquerie, with its mingling of pathos and ribald mockery so closely allied to the spirit that produced "The night before Larry was stretched," and be unable to see either its value or its genuineness."
This spirited air almost forgotten in Ireland blossomed into new popularity during the American Civil War, and, after its arrangement by a master hand - Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore - it became a great favorite with military and volunteer bands. Parodies on the original song such as 'When Johnny comes marching home again', 'Johnny fill up the bowl' etc., were sung to it by the Union soldiers. After the manner of the "Loobeens" and occupational songs of olden days in Ireland, additional verses were improvised, some possibly crude, yet always mirth-provoking, and well-calculated to keep up their spirits on the march, or relieve the monotony of camp life. The circumstance of its arrangement as above stated no doubt led Adair FitzGerald to refer to it in his Stories of Famous Songs in qualified words: When Johnny comes marching home again, said to have been composed by the celebrated Patrick S. Gilmore. The latter, a native of Dublin quite probably had memorized the tune in his youth. The original, it may be observed, included a refrain of four lines not found in the parodies."
From Ballad Index: Patrick S. Gilmore was the real name for Louis Lambert, given as author of 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home'. Scholars continue to argue whether "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" or the doleful "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" is the original. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" can be firmly dated to the beginning of the Civil War, while "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" does not appear until slightly later (1869) -- but as a traditional song. The earliest known printing is, in fact, that of "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl" (early 1863). If I were to make a guess, I think I would put "Johnny Fill Up the Bowl" first; it's a logical tune for Gillmore to steal (and some anonymous Irishman to turn into an anti-war song). But what do I know?
Here are the lyrics to "Johnny, I Hardly Knew You/Ye" from the Clancy’s :
While goin' the road to sweet Athy, hurroo, hurroo
While goin' the road to sweet Athy, hurroo, hurroo
While goin' the road to sweet Athy,
A stick in me hand and a drop in me eye,
A doleful damsel I heard cry,
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
With your drums and guns and drums and guns, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and drums and guns, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and drums and guns,
The enemy nearly slew ye
Oh my darling dear, Ye look so queer
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
Where are your eyes that were so mild, hurroo, hurroo
Where are your eyes that were so mild, hurroo, hurroo
Where are your eyes that were so mild,
When my heart you so beguiled
Why did ye run from me and the child
Oh Johnny, I hardly knew ye
Where are your legs that used to run, hurroo, hurroo
Where are your legs that used to run, hurroo, hurroo
Where are your legs that used to run,
When you went for to carry a gun
Indeed your dancing days are done
Oh Johnny, I hardly knew ye
I'm happy for to see ye home, hurroo, hurroo
I'm happy for to see ye home, hurroo, hurroo
I'm happy for to see ye home,
All from the island of Saloam;
So low in flesh, so high in bone
Oh Johnny I hardly knew ye
Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg, hurroo, hurroo
Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg, hurroo, hurroo
Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg,
Ye're an armless, boneless, chickenless egg
Ye'll have to put with a bowl out to beg
Oh Johnny I hardly knew ye
They're rolling out the guns again, hurroo, hurroo
They're rolling out the guns again, hurroo, hurroo
They're rolling out the guns again,
But they never will take our sons again
No they never will take our sons again
Johnny I'm swearing to ye.
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