Over There
Encyclopedia
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
popular with United States soldiers in both world war
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
s.
It was written by George M. Cohan
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Notable early recordings include versions by Nora Bayes
Nora Bayes
Nora Bayes was a popular American singer, comedienne and actress of the early 20th century.-Early life and career:...
, Enrico Caruso, Billy Murray
Billy Murray (singer)
William Thomas "Billy" Murray was one of the most popular singers in the United States in the early decades of the 20th century...
, and Charles King.
According to Michael Duffy of FirstWorldWar.com, "Cohan later recalled that the words and music to the song came to him while travelling by train from New Rochelle to New York shortly after the U.S. had declared war against Germany in April 1917."
This song, as well as "It's a Long Way to Tipperary
It's a Long Way to Tipperary
It's a Long Way to Tipperary is a British music hall and marching song written by Jack Judge and co-credited to, but not co-written by, Henry James "Harry" Williams. It was allegedly written for a 5 shilling bet in Stalybridge on 30 January 1912 and performed the next night at the local music hall...
", were popular patriotic songs during the First World War. On June 29, 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
awarded Cohan the Congressional Gold Medal for this and other songs.
It has been revived on various occasions also after WWII. As the "over there" is not named, the words can serve as an exhortation for any sending of American troops to a foreign military intervention.
The slogan "The Yanks are Coming" is derived from this song, as is its negation "The Yanks are not Coming".
Lyrics
As sung by early-20th century recording artist Billy MurrayBilly Murray (singer)
William Thomas "Billy" Murray was one of the most popular singers in the United States in the early decades of the 20th century...
:
Verse 1
- Johnny, get your gun, get your gun, get your gun.
- Take it on the run, on the run, on the run.
- Hear them calling you and me,
- Every Son of LibertySons of LibertyThe Sons of Liberty were a political group made up of American patriots that originated in the pre-independence North American British colonies. The group was formed to protect the rights of the colonists from the usurpations by the British government after 1766...
. - Hurry right away, no delay, go today.
- Make your Daddy glad to have had such a lad.
- Tell your sweetheart not to pine,
- To be proud her boy's in line.
Verse 2
- Johnny, get your gun, get your gun, get your gun,
- Johnny, show the "Hun" you're a son-of-a-gun.
- Hoist the flag and let her fly.
- Yankee DoodleYankee Doodle"Yankee Doodle" is a well-known Anglo-American song, the origin of which dates back to the Seven Years' War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today and is the state anthem of Connecticut...
do or die. - Pack your little kitSurvival kitA survival kit is a package of basic tools and supplies prepared in advance as an aid to survival in an emergency. Military aircraft, lifeboats, and spacecraft are equipped with survival kits....
, show your grit, do your bit. - Yankee to the ranks from the towns and the tanks.
- Make your Mother proud of you
- And the old red-white-and-blueFlag of the United StatesThe national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
Chorus
- Over there, over there,
- Send the word, send the word over there
- That the YanksYankeeThe term Yankee has several interrelated and often pejorative meanings, usually referring to people originating in the northeastern United States, or still more narrowly New England, where application of the term is largely restricted to descendants of the English settlers of the region.The...
are coming, the Yanks are coming - The drums rum-tumming everywhere.
- So prepare, say a prayer,
- Send the word, send the word to beware -
- We'll be over, we're coming over,
- And we won't come back till it's over, over there.
Feature films
The most famous of many filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
appearances is in Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
starring James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
in his Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
-winning performance. In that otherwise Hollywoodized film, this song was used effectively as an illustration of the creative process. The way the film portrays it, Cohan is watching a military band parade by, and a segment of one of their songs catches his ear, a simple triad that he finds himself whistling. Late at night, he is seen slowly working out the complete new song on a piano, note by note. The next scene unveils the song, as Cohan (Cagney) and woman dressed in uniform (Frances Langford
Frances Langford
Julia Frances Langford was an American singer and entertainer who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and also made film appearances over two decades.-Birth:...
, portraying Nora Bayes
Nora Bayes
Nora Bayes was a popular American singer, comedienne and actress of the early 20th century.-Early life and career:...
) sing it to a large and appreciative audience. The song is reprised at the very end of the film. As Cohan is leaving the White House grounds, a group of soldiers march past the now-aged Cohan, singing the song. Another bystander, also elderly, does a startled take as he finds himself standing next to the author of that song. Cohan (along with other citizens) begins to march alongside and in step with the soldiers. One of them (character actor Frank Faylen), not knowing who the old man is, teases him into joining the singing. The film irises-out on a closeup of Cohan (Cagney) singing the final line of the song's chorus.
The chorus of the song is used to herald the arrival of American troops on the pier which serves as the symbolic setting in the 1969 film Oh! What a Lovely War
Oh! What a Lovely War
Oh! What a Lovely War is a musical film based on the stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! originated by Charles Chilton as a radio play, The Long Long Trail in December 1961, and transferred to stage by Gerry Raffles in partnership with Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963,...
, with a line of lyrics changed to "We won't come back, we'll be buried over there". Other films using the tune include Leatherheads (2008)
Leatherheads
Leatherheads is a 2008 American sports comedy film from Universal Pictures directed by and starring George Clooney. The film also stars Renée Zellweger, Jonathan Pryce and John Krasinski and focuses on the early years of professional American football....
, in the background in an early scene of The Cardinal
The Cardinal
The Cardinal is a 1963 film which was produced independently and directed by Otto Preminger, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel by Henry Morton Robinson....
, and briefly sung in 1941 (film)
1941 (film)
1941 is a 1979 period comedy film directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and featuring an ensemble cast including John Belushi, Ned Beatty, John Candy, Toshiro Mifune, Christopher Lee and Dan Aykroyd...
.
Sports
A version by British musical group The Babe Team, produced a pop single based on the chorus of the song for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Finals.The chorus of the song was used in a 2009 campaign for the U.S. men's national soccer team leading into the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals held in South Africa.
Television
The song appears in the 5th season of The Golden GirlsThe Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
, as the lullaby Rose's mom sang when she was a child.
The Song is heard in the Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
episode The Yankee Doodle Mouse
The Yankee Doodle Mouse
The Yankee Doodle Mouse is a 1943 American one-reel animated cartoon. It is the eleventh Tom and Jerry short produced by Fred Quimby, and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with musical supervision by Scott Bradley and animation by Irven Spence, Pete Burness, Kenneth Muse and George Gordon...
.
Grampa Simpson sings the song while babysitting Bart Simpson
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Lisa Simpson
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
in The War of the Simpsons
The War of the Simpsons
"The War of the Simpsons" is the twentieth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 2, 1991. In the episode, Homer gets drunk at a party and embarrasses his wife Marge, so she decides to sign them up for a marriage counseling retreat...
from The Simpsons (season 2)
The Simpsons (season 2)
The Simpsons second season originally aired between October 11, 1990 and May 9, 1991, and contained 22 episodes, beginning with "Bart Gets an F". Another episode, "Blood Feud" aired during the summer after the official season finale. The show runners for the second production season were Matt...
.
The song's chorus is heard over the credits to "The Arrangements," Episode 4, Season 3, of Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
.
The Song can be heard in the background of one of the final scenes of "Broadway Limited", Episode 3, Season 1, of Boardwalk Empire.
The song's melody is used (with different lyrics) in a TV and radio advertising campaign for British comparison website Go Compare.
The song´s beginning is used in the last scene of "No Brains Left Behind", Season 4, Episode 9, of Boston Legal.
"The Yanks are Coming", title of an episode (Series 3, Episode 25) in the popular BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
science fiction sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart
Goodnight Sweetheart
Goodnight Sweetheart is a sitcom that ran for six series on BBC1 from 1993 to 1999. It stars Nicholas Lyndhurst as Gary Sparrow, an accidental time traveller who leads a double life after discovering a time portal allowing him to travel between the London of the 1990s and the same area during the...
, is derived from the above.
Literature
The title of John A. LeeJohn A. Lee
John Alfred Alexander Lee DCM was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialists in New Zealand's political history.-Early life:...
's 1943 book "The Yanks are Coming" is derived from the above song.
"The Yanks Are Not Coming"
After the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
on August 24, 1939, the Communist Party of the United States - like other Communist parties around the world - took an anti-war line, declaring the Second World War to be "an imperialist war" and strongly opposing US involvement in it. This was manifested, among other things, in widespread use of the slogan "The Yanks Are Not Coming", in direct opposition to the words of the above song.
However, after Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
broke the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact by attacking the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
on June 22, 1941, the CPUSA changed its position again, taking a strong position in favor of US entering the war (manifested in revival of the original WWI song).