Old John Brown’s body lies a moldering in the grave,
While weep the sons of bondage whom he ventured all to save.
And though he lost his life in his struggle to free the slaves,
his truth is marching on.
Old John Brown’s body lies a moldering in the grave.
John Brown’s body lies a moldering in the grave.
John Brown’s body lies a moldering in the grave.
But his truth still marches on.
John Brown was a hero, undaunted, true and brave.
Kansas knew his valor when he fought her rights to save.
And now, though the grass grows green above his grave,
his truth still marches on.
John Brown’s body lies a moldering in the grave.
John Brown’s body lies a moldering in the grave.
John Brown’s body lies a moldering in the grave.
But his truth still marches on.
He captured Harper’s Ferry, with his nineteen men so few.
And he frightened “Old Virginny” till she trembled through and through.
They hung him for a traitor, themselves a traitorous crew.
But his truth still marches on.
He’s gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord.
He’s gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord.
He’s gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord.
And his truth still marches on.
John Brown was John the Baptist for the Christ we are to see—
Christ of whom the bondsmen shall the Liberator be.
And soon throughout the sunny south the slaves were all set free.
And his truth went marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
His truth went marching on.
The conflict that he heralded he looks down from heaven to view,
On the army of the Union with its flag red, white and blue.
And heaven shall ring with anthems o’er the deeds they mean to do,
for his truth still marches on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
His truth still marches on.
All soldiers of Freedom, then strike, while strike ye may.
The death blow of oppression for a better time and way.
For the dawn of old John Brown has brightened us today.
And his truth is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
His truth still marches on.
He’s gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord.
He’s gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord.
He’s gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord.
And his truth still marches on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
His truth still marches on.
John Brown was truly a great revolutionary fighter, and we should all learn from his spirit of sacrificing oneself for the revolution!
(Below is the original excerpt of John Brown from “World History Talk”)
That part feels too long, and the rhythm is too different from before.
This also feels similar to the previous one; maybe changing it to “His truth still moves forward” would be better.
Could these two parts be slightly modified? The rhythm feels a bit chaotic, with many triplet notes (dividing a single beat into three equal parts), which doesn’t quite match the emotion of the song.
Similarly, this part has too many triplet notes, which doesn’t feel quite right.
This also has a similar feeling; mainly, these sections have rhythm discrepancies that can cause confusion.
Same issue here, too many triplet notes.
This paragraph also shares the same problem as above. If just expressing the meaning, it feels very appropriate. The main issue is that in the parts with more words, it seems only possible to sing with triplet notes, which might give a chant-like feeling and could hinder the emotional expression of the song.
The rhythm of the song mentioned here is something I spontaneously sang based on my intuitive understanding. If it is not the correct rhythm, please feel free to point it out.
Okay, thank you jqr. By the way, why haven’t you appeared for so long?
Uh, my mental state is not very good.
Uh, based on the perspective of the original melody, I listened to several versions of “John Brown’s Song” a long time ago. They may not be the same version as yours, but basically the rhythm is quite similar. The main approach should be mostly using anacrusis notes, that is, the previous note occupies three-quarters of a beat, and the following note occupies one-quarter of a beat. This conveys a… relatively lively, cheerful mood. If most of these are turned into triplets, it would seem to hinder the expression of the original song’s emotional tone.
I see. Can you help me make some changes?
Emmm, actually, sometimes the translated versions of some revolutionary songs do not quite match the meaning of the original lyrics. For example, if the lyrics of the “Internationale” from various countries are translated into Chinese, some sentences have different meanings. Maybe we can give it a try, but is there an audio version of this song? If there is, it might be much easier to synchronize.