Some homework.

The song circulated widely before the published version. I heard on a podcast that the earliest version of what came to be the official song came from an army unit. They had a member, who was absent, when John Brown was hanged. That soldier was also named John Brown and the men joked that it was their comrade who was killed.

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 keeps marching on.

It caught on during the War and had innumerable different lyrics. My personal favorite:

We'll hang Jeff Davis from a crab apple tree

We'll hang Jeff Davis from a crab apple tree

We'll hang Jeff Davis from a crab apple tree

John Brown's truth keeps marching on

I never realized how hard this song goes until I was listening to the Wasteland 3 soundtrack.

The choral renditions were really too good for that game. Not because W3 was bad - it was great. But goddamn, those pieces belonged in some fucking gut-wrenching work of art.