Wednesday, June 3, 2009

What Exactly Did Johnny Do?

Today in class I made mention of the song Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye when Mr Bennett asked about the songs used in Dr Strangelove. He said that the song in the movie was actually When Johnny Comes Marching Home. I was going to leave this alone, but something in me (Stubborness? Need for attention? Kicks and giggles? All of the above?) won't allow it. Part of me knew that at least I was half right. In sophomore (?) year, I had Mr Murray, who on St Patricks Day sang us a few songs. One of them was Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye. It had the exact same melody as the song in Strangelove, so I naturally assumed it was the same. Upon research, I have found the answer that I was looking for.

IMDb.com - Trivia Section for Dr Strangelove: The score for the B-52 scenes is mostly made up of the melody of "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye", a traditional Irish anti-war song, which also provides the melody for the somewhat better-known (at least in the United States) American Civil War song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again". While the former tells the story of a soldier coming back from a war heavily mutilated and broken, with the last lines being "They're rolling out the guns again, but they'll never take my sons again", the latter describes the celebrations that will take place when the soldiers return from war: "The men will cheer and the boys will shout / The ladies they will all turn out / And we'll all feel gay / When Johnny comes marching home."So the song is in fact When Johnny Comes Marching Home, but my mistaking it for Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye is justified. (Self Esteem WIN!!!)

For those of you who want a side by side comparison of the songs, I would like to give you one, but the only version of Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye I could find was the Dropkick Murphy's version, which changed around some lyrics and added some, uh, loudness haha, but it kept the basic melody. I'll post it anyway, for fun. If you can see past the loudness of the second one, you can detect the similarites of melody.

When Johnny Comes Marching Home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3k8H_9SjoM&feature=related

Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye (Awesome Version): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEUmJR3-Um8

4 comments:

  1. Very interesting. And Bravo on being right again. Though it does get a bit boring after a while.

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  2. Only boring to those who are wrong =P

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  3. Congrats on at least being half-right against the normally unimpeachable wisdom of Mr. Bennett, although he was still correct.

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  4. Lyrics to the "Awesome Version" -


    When on the road to sweet Athy,
    Hurroo Hurroo
    When on the road to sweet Athy,
    Hurroo Hurroo
    When on the road to sweet Athy
    A stick in the hand, A drop in the eye
    A doleful damsel I heard cry
    Johnny I hardly knew ya

    Where are the eyes that looked so mild?
    Hurroo Hurroo!
    Where are the eyes that looked so mild?
    Hurroo Hurroo!
    Where are the eyes that looked so mild
    When my poor heart you first beguiled
    Why did ya run from me and the child
    Johnny I hardly knew ya

    [Chorus:]
    We had guns and drums and drums and guns,
    Hurroo Hurroo!
    We had guns and drums and drums and guns,
    Hurroo Hurroo!
    We had guns and drums and drums and guns
    The enemy never slew ya
    Johnny I hardly knew ya

    Where are the legs with which you run?
    Hurroo Hurroo
    Where are the legs with which you run?
    Hurroo Hurroo
    Where are the legs with which you run?
    When first you went to carry a gun
    Indeed your dancing days are done
    Johnny I hardly knew ya

    We had guns and drums and drums and guns,
    Hurroo Hurroo!
    We had guns and drums and drums and guns,
    Hurroo Hurroo!
    We had guns and drums and drums and guns
    The enemy never slew ya
    Johnny I hardly knew ya

    You hadn't an arm, you hadn't a leg,
    Hurroo Hurroo!
    You hadn't an arm, you hadn't a leg,
    Hurroo Hurroo!
    You hadn't an arm, you hadn't a leg
    You're a spinless, boneless, chickenless egg
    You'll Have to be put with the bowl to beg
    Johnny I hardly knew ya

    We had guns and drums and drums and guns,
    Hurroo Hurroo!
    We had guns and drums and drums and guns,
    Hurroo Hurroo!
    We had guns and drums and drums and guns
    The enemy never slew ya
    Johnny I hardly knew ya

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