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The Ants Go Marching
1860s 
USA Lyrics
The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching one by one,
The little one stops to suck his thumb
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching two by two,
The little one stops to tie his shoe
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching three by three,
The little one stops to climb a tree
And they all go marching down to the ground
To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
(The pattern continues, often up to ten, with rhymes like: four by four/shut the door, five by five/take a dive, six by six/pick up sticks, seven by seven/pray to heaven, eight by eight/shut the gate, nine by nine/check the time, ten by ten/shout "The End!")
History and Meaning
The familiar tune of "The Ants Go Marching" carries echoes of a much more somber time. Its melody is directly borrowed from "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," a song penned by the Irish-American bandmaster Patrick Gilmore during the American Civil War in 1863. Gilmore's original piece captured the fervent hope for the safe return of soldiers from the battlefield. Over time, this poignant marching tune found a new, much lighter life. It shed its wartime associations and transformed into a playful counting song for children, replacing soldiers with industrious ants on parade. The driving, rhythmic quality that made it a good march also made it perfect for a children's action rhyme, ensuring its survival long after the conflict that inspired it had ended.