The "Marines' Hymn" is the oldest official song in the U.S. Armed Forces, and one of the most recognized anthems in the world.
So how did it come to borrow its tune from a song about weak, corrupt law enforcement? Read on...
The tune to the "Marines' Hymn" comes from a song in an opera by French composer Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880). By the way, he's the same composer who is responsible for the most famous version of the "can-can."
Offenbach debuted a two-act opera called "Geneviève de Brabant" in Paris in 1859. It was an "opéra bouffe," a style of opera featuring comedy, satire, parody and farce. The opera became so popular that Offenbach expanded it into three acts in 1867.
The newly revised opera included a duet between two French policemen, commonly called "gendarmes" (or "gensd'armes," plural of the French "gent d'armes" meaning "armed man.") The duet was titled "Couplets Des Deux Hommes d'Arms" (Song Of Two Men-At-Arms) or sometimes "Duo Des Deux Gendarmes."
In 1871 Henry Brougham Farnie translated the opera to English for British audiences to enjoy, and titled the song "Gendarmes' Duet." Listen to it here, and follow along with Farnie's original lyrics, directly from an 1872 "Geneviève de Brabant" script:
Verse 1:
We're public guardians bold yet wary,
And of ourselves we take good care.
To risk our precious lives we're chary,
When danger looms we're never there,
But when we meet a helpless woman,
Or little boys that do no harm,
Chorus:
We run them in, we run them in,
We run them in, we run them in,
We show them we're the bold gendarmes.
We run them in, we run them in,
We run them in, we run them in,
We show them we're the bold gendarmes.
Verse 2:
Sometimes our duty's extramural,
Then little butterflies we chase.
We like to gambol in things rural,
Commune with nature, face to face.
Unto our beat then back returning,
Refreshed by nature's holy charm,
Chorus:
We run them in, we run them in,
We run them in, we run them in,
We show them we're the bold gendarmes.
We run them in, we run them in,
We run them in, we run them in,
We show them we're the bold gendarmes.
(The first two verses are the only "official" verses in the original script, but the song was such a show stopper that the producers often added multiple encore verses - a dozen per performance was not uncommon - which commented on the hot social and political topics of the day. This encore verse is the one commonly added today.)
Encore Verse:
If gentlemen will make a riot,
And punch each other's heads at night,
We're quite disposed to keep it quiet,
Provided that they make it right,
But if they do not seem to see it,
Or give to us our proper terms,
Chorus:
We run them in, we run them in,
We run them in, we run them in,
We show them we're the bold gendarmes.
We run them in, we run them in,
We run them in, we run them in,
We show them we're the bold gendarmes.
Here are a few definitions that might make the lyrics more clear:
"Chary" - Cautious or wary
"Extramural" - Outside the bounds of an institution or community, as in "extramural activities"
"Gambol" - To leap playfully, skip, frolic
And if you're really interested, here's a precise translation of Offenbach's original French lyrics.
At this point it's clear. The song is about two effeminate, cowardly, corrupt police officers who bully the weak and innocent. Not exactly the most complimentary song about men who wear uniforms and carry weapons and who are sworn to protect citizens.
So how did this song become the tune of the "Marines' Hymn" - the theme for the most noble, elite fighting force in the world?
That's the mystery.
The lyrics to the "Marines' Hymn" were written around 1850. The tune was appropriated between 1867 and 1891 (from when it first appeared to when it was first copyrighted by the Marines). But neither the author of the words nor the person who connected them to Offenbach's tune have ever been identified.
Perhaps the person was a serviceman who didn't speak French, saw the opera "Geneviève de Brabant" before it was translated into English, and assumed the tune was in support of men-at-arms.
Perhaps he heard the tune second-hand, whistled by a crewmate. Remember, opera was the popular music of its day.
Or maybe the mystery man liked the tune so much that he didn't care about its original meaning.
It's certainly to the credit of the United States Marine Corps that they have so strongly established ownership of the tune that its connection to Offenbach's farcical song has been all but lost.
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