#890: Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory

Where's it from?

The (US) Civil War. The tune was originally a folk song about radical abolitionist John Brown; Ward Howe adapted it to be a general "God is on the side of freedom" rallying cry.

So the line about making men free...

Yeah, that was originally "let us die to make men free."

Are there more verses missing?

Yes, including one about serpents and another about morning dew.

Did this song invent the phrase "the grapes of wrath"?

No, it's actually from the Bible.

Why is God sifting out the hearts of men?

To judge sinners, probably, but I'm amused by the image of God as a great big sieve. (Minnesota hockey slang for "bad goalie," which is a terrible insult.)

Anything else on the subject of sports?

The chorus ("Glory, glory, hallelujah") has been adopted for various UK soccer teams, and also just in general.

And we're through another cycle, yay! I'm getting a real job in a couple months so maybe this'll peter out then, but nice to see I'm making progress.