The "Marines' Hymn" is the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps. A hymn is a type of Song, usually religious specifically written for the purpose of praise adoration or Prayer, and typically addressed to a deity/deities It is the oldest official song in the United States military. The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States ^[1] The song has an obscure origin—the words date from the 19th century, but no one knows the author. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The music is from the Gendarmes' Duet from the opera Geneviève de Brabant by Jacques Offenbach, which debuted in Paris in 1859. Geneviève de Brabant is an Opéra bouffe, or Operetta, by Jacques Offenbach. Jacques Offenbach (born Jacob Offenbach 20 June 1819 in Cologne &ndash 5 October 1880 in Paris) was a German Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The Marine Corps secured a copyright on the song on August 19, 1919, but it is now in the public domain. Copyright is a legal concept enacted by Governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship Exclusive rights to control its distribution usually for The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

The initial verse is "From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli. Moctezuma, also known as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin (Motēuczōma Xōcoyōtzin|mo Tripolis ( Arabic: طرابلس Ṭarābulus - also طرابلس الغرب Ṭarā-bu-lus al-Gharb Libyan vernacular: " "Montezuma" refers to the Battle of Chapultepec, which took place during the Mexican-American War; "Tripoli" refers to the First Barbary War and the Battle of Derne. The Battle of Chapultepec (September 1847 was a US victory over Mexican forces holding Chapultepec Castle west of Mexico City during the Mexican-American The First Barbary War (1801&ndash1805 also known as the Barbary Coast War or the Tripolitan War, was the first of two wars fought between the United The Battle of Derne was a decisive victory of a mercenary army led by a detachment of United States Marines over the forces of the Barbary coast nation of Tripoli

The "Marines' Hymn" is typically sung at the position of "attention" as a gesture of respect. However, the third verse is also used as a "toast" during events important to the Corps such as the Marine Corps birthday, promotions, and retirements. Note the line "Here's health to you and to our Corps. "

Lyrics

 Music sample:

Marines' Hymn

Instrumental sample of a single verse of the Marines' hymn played by a brass band.

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

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 the 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 have 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. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities.

Alternative first verse

The original lyrics in use from 1890 until 1919 were:

From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli,

We fight our country's battles, on the land as on the sea.

Admiration of the nation, we're the finest ever seen;

And we glory in the title of United States Marines.

This version can be heard in the 1950 film Halls of Montezuma. Halls of Montezuma is a 1951 World War II action/drama that follows a group of U In 1919, the third and fourth lines were changed to include the "first to fight" motto. In 1942, the second line was changed to reference the addition of air power to the world's military arsenals. ^[2]

Extra verses

Various people over the years wrote unofficial or semi-unofficial extra verses to commemorate later battles and actions, for example[1]:

Again in 1941, we sailed a north'ard course

and found beneath the midnight sun, the Viking and the Norse. The midnight sun is a phenomenon occurring in Latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle and south and nearby to the north of the A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who speak one of the North Germanic languages as their native language

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

and the Army found in landing there, the United States Marines. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland (

(In 1940, during World War II, British forces occupied Iceland to guard it from possible occupation by Nazi Germany. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The state of Iceland during World War II was that of a sovereign Kingdom in Personal union with Denmark, with King Christian X as Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers In 1941, responsibility for the occupation was transferred to the U. S. , who garrisoned a brigade of Marines. A brigade is a Military unit Echelon: is )

In Australia

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. This page is for the Australian Rules Football Club in Adelaide This page is for the Australian Rules Football Club in Adelaide Australian (rules football, or simply known as football, footy or Aussie rules, is a Team sport played between two teams of 18 players The Australian Football League (AFL is both the professional Australian national competition in the Sport of Australian Rules Football and its highest

The tune is used as the St. Joseph's Nudgee College rugby union First XV song, with modified lyrics that do not differ greatly from those which are used by the USMC. St Joseph's Nudgee College (commonly referred to simply as Nudgee) is a private, Roman Catholic, day and Boarding school for Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short The tune is generally given as a cry from the stand during home games. The lyrics are as follows:

From the far off hills of Canberra, to the shores of Papua,

We come from every corner, from near and from afar.

Admiration of all GPS, we're the finest ever seen;

And we glory in the title of Nudgee First XV.

References

External links

• Marines' hymn, MP3 from the Marine Corps "President's Own" website.
• Marine Corps Theme performed as instrumental band march (. wav file)
• Marine Hymn Lyrics Information about the USMC hymn as well as other USMC history.

Further reading

• London, Joshua E. Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , 2005. ISBN 0-471-44415-4