The Marines' hymn is the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps. It is often also referred to as "The Marine Corps' Hymn". It is the oldest official song in the U.S. Armed Forces. The song has an obscure origin—the words date from the 19th century, but no one knows the author. The music is from the opera Geneviève de Brabant by Jacques Offenbach, which had its début in Paris in 1859. The Marine Corps secured a copyright on the song on August 19 1919, but it is now in the public domain.

The initial verse is "From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli". The Montezuma phrase refers to the Battle of Chapultepec. The Tripoli phrase refers actions during the First Barbary War and the Battle of Derna.

Lyrics

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From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli,
We fight our country's battles in the air, on land and sea.
First to fight for right and freedom, and to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title of United States Marine.

Our Flag's unfurled to every breeze from dawn to setting sun.
We have fought in every clime and place, where we could take a gun.
In the snow of far off northern lands and in sunny tropic scenes,
You will find us always on the job, the United States Marines.

Here's health to you and to our Corps, which we are proud to serve.
In many a strife we've fought for life and never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy ever look on heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded by United States Marines.

Extra verses

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Various people over the years wrote unofficial or semi-unofficial extra verses to commemorate later battles and actions, for example:

Again in nineteen forty-one, we sailed a north'ard course

and found beneath the midnight sun, the Viking and the Norse.

The Iceland girls were slim and fair, and fair the Iceland scenes,

and the Army found in landing there, the United States Marines.

(In 1941 during WWII, American forces occupied Iceland to guard it from possible occupation by Nazi Germany.)

Trivia

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The Marines' hymn has many variations including The Pride of South Australia - the theme song of the Adelaide Crows Australian rules football side in the Australian Football League.

At the United States Naval Academy, the third line of the third verse is sung "If the Army and the Air Force ever look on heaven's scenes" with the explanation being that the Navy would just naturally expect to find the Marines doing their job.

In 1942 the words "on the land as on the sea" were replaced with "in the air, on land and sea".

See also

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• The Army Goes Rolling Along
• Anchors Aweigh
• Eternal Father, Strong to Save
• The U.S. Air Force
• U.S. Coast Guard - lyrics to Semper Paratus

References

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External links

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• Marines' hymn, MP3 from the Marine Corps "President's Own" website.

Further reading

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• London, Joshua E.Victory in Tripoli: How America's How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a NationNew Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005. ISBN 0471444154

American songs | Barbary Wars | Hymns | Military marches | Patriotic songs | Traditional songs | United States Marine Corps lore and symbols