View source for The Liberty Bell (march)

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"'''The Liberty Bell'''" (1893) is an [[American march music|American military march]] composed by [[John Philip Sousa]].<ref name="dws">{{cite web|url=http://www.dws.org/sousa/works.htm|title=The Works of John Philip Sousa|access-date=29 September 2010|publisher=Dallas Wind Symphony|work=John Philip Sousa – American Conductor, Composer & Patriot|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008215050/http://www.dws.org/sousa/works.htm|archive-date=8 October 2010}}</ref>

{{short description|American military march composed by John Philip Sousa}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
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{{Listen|filename=Liberty bell march.ogg|title="The Liberty Bell"|description=Performance by The New York Military Band c. 1910|filename2=Sousa's "The Liberty Bell" - United States Marine Band (2017).mp3|title2="The Liberty Bell"|description2=Performance by the [[United States Marine Band]] c. 2016}}
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== 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.<ref>{{cite web|first=Rick |last=Baker |url=http://skyways.lib.ks.us/orgs/mcb/Library/M0912.htm |title=Liberty Bell March History |publisher=Skyways.lib.ks.us |date=16 September 1994 |access-date=26 May 2011}}</ref> 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 [[United States presidential inauguration|presidential inaugurations]]: the 1993 inauguration of President [[Bill Clinton]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vvl.lib.msu.edu/record.cfm?recordid=2345 |title=Michigan State University Libraries – Vincent Voice Library |publisher=Vvl.lib.msu.edu |date=20 January 1993 |access-date=26 May 2011}}</ref><ref name="CBS">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkvVR1U5R20 ''Bill Clinton Presidential Inauguration 1993 (Part 1 of 3)''], see 6:21–9:10, on [[YouTube]]</ref> the 2005 inauguration of President [[George W. Bush]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=10950&nowrap=true |title=2005 |publisher=Setiathome.berkeley.edu |access-date=26 May 2011}}</ref> the 2009 and 2013 inaugurations of President [[Barack Obama]], and the 2017 and 2025 inaugurations 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, Washington, D.C.|Marine Barracks]] and is used by [[United States Marine Band|The President's Own]] in select performances of the march.<ref>{{cite news|title=John Philip Sousa: 10 Things You Don't Know About The Man Behind the Marches|url=https://www.uso.org/stories/2040-john-philip-sousa-10-things-you-don-t-know-about-the-man-behind-the-marches |date=20 August 2017| access-date=17 April 2019|work=USO.org|first=Jean-Marie|last=Bralley}}</ref>

"The Liberty Bell" is also the official march of the [[Canadian Forces]] [[Public Affairs Branch (Canadian Forces)|Public Affairs Branch]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://my.tbaytel.net/tgroulx/marches.htm|title=CFAO 32-3 Regimental & Branch Marches of the Canadian Armed Forces by Timothy R. Groulx CD|work=[[Thunder Bay Telephone]]|access-date=9 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716184606/http://my.tbaytel.net/tgroulx/marches.htm|archive-date=16 July 2011}}</ref>

== Composition ==
The march follows Sousa's "extended" [[Trio (musical form)|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.<ref>[[Jonathan Elkus]], [https://www.proquest.com/openview/0c3d34597b2a515e4ecb940effa0ce6d/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1817919 Defining the Sousa March: Its Formal and Stylistic Constants], ''The American Music Research Center Journal''; Boulder, CO Vol. 15,  (Jan 1, 2005), 41-5e3. ([https://www.colorado.edu/amrc/sites/default/files/attached-files/AMRC%20Journal%20%2315.pdf pdf file])</ref> The trio  uses [[tubular bell]]s 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 [[royalty payment|royalties]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/jul/11/monty-python-and-classical-music Clark, Philip. "Monty Python: Sousa, two-sheds and musical subversions," ''The Guardian'', Friday, July 11, 2014.] Retrieved February 12, 2018</ref> 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."{{cn|date=July 2023}}

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 [[flatulence|flatulent]] "splat" sound reminiscent of a [[whoopee cushion]] (the first 13 episodes used a "[[Blowing a raspberry|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/wakeup%20calls.pdf|author=Fries, Colin|title=Chronology of Wakeup Calls|publisher=NASA|date=13 March 2015|access-date=October 20, 2023}}</ref>

[[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 [[SpaceX reusable launch system development program|their efforts in pioneering orbital launch vehicle reusability]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=SpaceX Bloopers Video: 'How NOT to Land an Orbital Rocket' |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/spacex-bloopers-video-how-not-to-land-an-orbital-rocket/4029153.html |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=VOA |date=14 September 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Space Exploration Technologies |date=14 September 2017 |title=How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvim4rsNHkQ |website=YouTube}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of marches by John Philip Sousa]]
* "[[Chimes of Liberty]]" by [[Edwin Franko Goldman]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.dws.org/sousa/mid/liberty.mid The Liberty Bell (audio file)] – In [[Musical Instrument Digital Interface|MIDI]] format; from the [http://www.dws.org/sousa John Philip Sousa website] maintained by David Lovrien, hosted by the [[Dallas Wind Symphony]]
* [http://www.dws.org/sousa/mp2/python.mp2 The ''Monty Python'' version] ([https://web.archive.org/web/19970707172453/http://www.dws.org/sousa/mp2/python.mp2 archived]) – In [[MPEG-1 Audio Layer II|MP2]] format; from the [http://www.dws.org/sousa same website]
* [https://archive.org/download/EdisonGrandConcertBand/EdisonGrandConcertBand-TheLibertyBellMarch.mp3 An 1896 Recording (Probably the first)] played by the Edison Grand Concert Band, from the [[Internet Archive]]
* [http://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/make-table.cgi?searchingfor=liberty+bell Sheet music] for a piano arrangement, courtesy of the Mutopia Project

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{{Monty Python}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberty Bell, The}}
[[Category:1893 compositions]]
[[Category:American military marches]]
[[Category:Comedy television theme songs]]
[[Category:Compositions in F major]]
[[Category:Compositions for symphony orchestra]]
[[Category:Orchestral marches]]
[[Category:Concert band pieces]]
[[Category:Monty Python]]
[[Category:Songs written by John Philip Sousa]]
[[Category:Sousa marches]]
[[Category:Liberty Bell]]