Road to Boston
"It's
a long road to Boston, boys,
Oh, when shall we get there?"
After the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775 it didn't take long for word to get out to surrounding Massachusetts communities that the War for Independence had begun. Militias and minutemen soon arrived to drive the British from Concord and all the way to Boston. Due to the efforts of various Committees of Safety and couriers sent to all of the colonies, the story was well known in New York within 4 days and Philadelphia in less than a week. Troops began the long march to Boston from all over the colonies, known to some as the "Bee Line" March. In Virginia, Col. William Morgan began a 600 mile march to Boston on June 10 and covered the distance in 24 days.
In Cambridge, General George Washington hastily put a chain of command together and the new army kept General Gage at bay in the city. Once Colonel Henry Knox moved large guns from Ft. Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights, the game was up. The Army of Great Britain quickly left Boston, never to return.
Like many tunes American fifers and drummers frequently play today, this one was taken from an earlier one of British origin, called Road to London. Also known as On the Road to Boston, March to Boston and The Boston March, it has been very popular for well over 225 years. In 1853, 93 year old veteran Benjamin Smith of Needham, Massachusetts described it as one of the most popular tunes of the entire American Revolution. It was published in Thompson's Compleat Collection of 200 Favorite Country Dances in 1788 and Cushing Eel's Music Book (1789). In 1805, it appeared in Cushing's Fifer's Companion #1, in 1808, The Village Fifer and later in many books, including Robinson's Massachusetts Collection of Martial Music(1818) and others ever since. The score below is from Massachusetts Collection of Martial Music with a harmony part that is rarely played today.
In
1985, Road to Boston became the official ceremonial march for the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts.
©2005, E.W. Boyle