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"The Liberty Bell" (1893) is an American military march composed by John Philip Sousa.

History

"The Liberty Bell", at the time a new composition as yet untitled, was written for Sousa's unfinished operetta "The Devil's Deputy" before financing for the show fell through. Shortly afterwards, while attending the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Sousa and his band manager George Hinton watched the spectacle "America", in which a backdrop depicting the Liberty Bell was lowered. Hinton suggested "The Liberty Bell" for the title of Sousa's unnamed march. Coincidentally, Sousa received a letter from his wife saying their son had marched in a parade in honor of the Liberty Bell. Sousa agreed, and he sold "The Liberty Bell" sheet music to the John Church Company for publication; the new march was an immediate success. The march is played as part of an exhibit in the Liberty Bell Center.

The United States Marine Band has played "The Liberty Bell" march at five of the last seven presidential inaugurations: the 1993 inauguration of President Bill Clinton, the 2005 inauguration of President George W. Bush, the 2009 and 2013 inaugurations of President Barack Obama, and the 2017 inauguration of President Donald Trump.

The ship's bell from the SS John Philip Sousa, a World War II Liberty ship, is housed at the Marine Barracks and is used by The President's Own in select performances of the march.

"The Liberty Bell" is also the official march of the Canadian Forces Public Affairs Branch.

Composition

The march follows Sousa's "extended" trio form: "HEAD (intro, 1st strain, 2nd strain), TRIO (trio A), interlude, Triumphal return (trio B + final trio)", which since the Liberty Bell has become a standard for military marches. The trio uses tubular bells to symbolize the Liberty Bell ringing.

Instrumentation

This is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, snare drum, and strings.

Use in Monty Python's Flying Circus

A version of the march, performed by the Band of the Grenadier Guards and published in 1938, was used as the opening theme of the British TV comedy program Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974). Cast member Terry Gilliam, the only American member of the troupe, argued for the use of "The Liberty Bell" because it had fallen into the public domain by that time and could thus be used without the need to pay royalties. He has said the piece was chosen because the troupe thought it would not be associated with the program's content, and that the first bell strike and subsequent melody would give the impression of getting "straight down to business."

The Monty Python mode of presenting the tune was with a single strike of the bell, lifted from the third section and increased in volume, followed by a strain of each of the first two sections, followed by the famous stomping foot animation and a noticeably flatulent "splat" sound reminiscent of a whoopee cushion (the first 13 episodes used a "raspberry"). At the end of the film Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl, the entire march was played over the closing credits.

Other uses

NASA played the march as wake-up calls for two Space Shuttle missions: STS-61-C on January 12–18, 1986, and STS-63 on February 3–11, 1995.

SpaceX used the march as background music for their video How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, a compilation of failed rocket landings to celebrate their efforts in pioneering orbital launch vehicle reusability.

See also

• List of marches by John Philip Sousa
• "Chimes of Liberty" by Edwin Franko Goldman

References

1. "The Works of John Philip Sousa". John Philip Sousa – American Conductor, Composer & Patriot. Dallas Wind Symphony. Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
2. Baker, Rick (16 September 1994). "Liberty Bell March History". Skyways.lib.ks.us. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
3. "Michigan State University Libraries – Vincent Voice Library". Vvl.lib.msu.edu. 20 January 1993. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
4. Bill Clinton Presidential Inauguration 1993 (Part 1 of 3), see 6:21–9:10, on YouTube
5. "2005". Setiathome.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
6. Bralley, Jean-Marie (20 August 2017). "John Philip Sousa: 10 Things You Don't Know About The Man Behind the Marches". USO.org. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
7. "CFAO 32-3 Regimental & Branch Marches of the Canadian Armed Forces by Timothy R. Groulx CD". Thunder Bay Telephone. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
8. Jonathan Elkus, Defining the Sousa March: Its Formal and Stylistic Constants, The American Music Research Center Journal; Boulder, CO Vol. 15, (Jan 1, 2005), 41-5e3. (pdf file)
9. Clark, Philip. "Monty Python: Sousa, two-sheds and musical subversions," The Guardian, Friday, July 11, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2018
10. Fries, Colin (13 March 2015). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
11. "SpaceX Bloopers Video: 'How NOT to Land an Orbital Rocket'". VOA. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
12. Space Exploration Technologies (14 September 2017). "How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster". YouTube.

External links

• The Liberty Bell (audio file) – In MIDI format; from the John Philip Sousa website maintained by David Lovrien, hosted by the Dallas Wind Symphony
• The Monty Python version (archived) – In MP2 format; from the same website
• An 1896 Recording (Probably the first) played by the Edison Grand Concert Band, from the Internet Archive
• Sheet music for a piano arrangement, courtesy of the Mutopia Project

v t e John Philip Sousa
List of compositions List of marches List of operettas
Marches	"Anchor and Star" "The Black Horse Troop" "Boy Scouts of America" "Columbia's Pride" "The Dauntless Battalion" "The Fairest of the Fair" "The Gallant Seventh" "The Gladiator March" "Hands Across the Sea" "The High School Cadets" "Imperial Edward" "The Invincible Eagle" "Kansas Wildcats" "King Cotton" "The Liberty Bell" "Manhattan Beach" "The Minnesota March" "Nobles of the Mystic Shrine" "The Royal Welch Fusiliers" "Semper Fidelis" "The Stars and Stripes Forever" "The Thunderer" "Transit of Venus March" "U.S. Field Artillery March" "The Washington Post"
Operettas	Chris and the Wonderful Lamp Désirée El Capitan The Charlatan
Adaptations	"The Army Goes Rolling Along" Stars and Stripes Stars and Stripes Forever
Other	John Philip Sousa House John Philip Sousa Baton
Honoraria	Armed Forces March Competition John Philip Sousa Bridge John Philip Sousa Foundation John Philip Sousa Junior High School (Bronx) John Philip Sousa Junior High School
Category

• 1893 compositions
• American military marches
• Comedy television theme songs
• Compositions in F major
• Compositions for symphony orchestra
• Orchestral marches
• Concert band pieces
• Monty Python
• Songs written by John Philip Sousa
• Sousa marches