Noted Bandmaster Patrick Gilmore wrote the lyrics for this tune when his band was attached to the 24th Massachusetts Infantry. The tune is the same as the Irish song "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" but there is some dispute as to which came first. "Johnny" did not refer to "Johnny Reb" but most likely Gilmore's future brother-in-law, a Union army officer. The story behind the song is on the Library of
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