A lusty call to comradery, 1917.
words by D.A. Esrom (Theodora Morse)
music by Theodore Morse and Arthur Sullivan
The melody for Hail Hail originally appeared in the Anvil Chorus in Verdi’s 1853 opera The Troubador. Then it was reworked for the song “With Cat-Like Tread” in Gilbert & Sullivan’s 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. An anonymous American came up with the lyric substitution “hail, hail the gang’s all here”. In 1915 it was used in the song Alabama Jubilee near the end of the chorus. Finally, the husband and wife songwriting team of Theodore and Theodora Morse (pseudonym D.A. Esrom, her name spelled backwards) wrote the 1917 version presented here. It has a military marching feel and was a favorite of WW1 soldiers. Early recordings were made by Irving Kaufman and The Shannon Four.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment track:
Lyrics
- A gang of good fellows are we, (are we)
Are we, (are we), are we, (are we)
With never a worry you see, (you see)
You see, (you see), you see, (you see)
We laugh and joke, we sing and smoke, and live life merrily
No matter the weather when we get together we have a jubilee
Chorus
Hail! Hail! the gang’s all here
What the deuce do we care, what the deuce do we care
Hail! Hail! we’re full of cheer
What the deuce do we care, Bill!
- We love one another we do, (we do)
We do, (we do), we do, (we do)
With brotherly love and it’s true, (it’s true)
It’s true, (it’s true), it’s true, (it’s true)
It’s one for all, the big and small, it’s always me for you
No matter the weather when we get together
We drink a toast or two - When out for a good time we go, (we go)
We go, (we go), we go, (we go)
There’s nothing we do that is slow, (is slow)
Is slow, (is slow), is slow, (is slow)
Of joy we get our share you bet, the gang will tell you so
No matter the weather when we get together
We sing this song you know
Sung here by Fred Feild: