The Salvation Army and Pirating Music

My denomination, The Salvation Army, has a long history of pirating – er… borrowing songs.  Our founder, William Booth, is quoted as saying, “Why should the devil have all the good tunes?”  Early Salvation Army musicians would take the popular tunes heard in taverns and music halls and on the docks and would compose new, spiritual verses for them.  

An example is the song Champagne Charlie:

Champagne Charlie is my name

Champagne drinking is my game
There’s nothing like its fizz fizz fizz
I’ll drink every drop there is is is
All ‘round town it is the same
by pop pop pop I rose to fame
I’m the idol of the bar maids
and Champagne Charlie is my name.

Which The Salvation Army took and turned into Bless His Name, He Sets Me Free:

Bless his name, he sets me free
bless his name, he sets me free
And O, the blood – the precious blood
I am trusting in the precious flood
Bless his name, he sets me free
bless his name, he sets me free
I know my sins are washed away
And now in Jesus I am free.

But now, I’ve discovered, there is at least one example of the reverse happening – a Salvation Army song appropriated by those outside the church. The Salvation Amy chorus:   We’ll Roll the Old Chariot Along

Chorus:

And we’ll roll the old chariot along,
and we’ll roll the old chariot along,
and we’ll roll the old chariot along,
and we won’t drag on behind.

Verse:
If a sinner’s in the way then we’ll stop and take him in,
If a sinner’s in the way then we’ll stop and take him in,
if a sinner’s in the way then we’ll stop and take him in,
and we won’t drag on behind.

Subsequent verses would replace “sinner” with “drunkard” or “harlot” or “gambler” etc.The final verse was:

If the devil’s in the way then we’ll roll it over him.
If the devil’s in the way then we’ll roll it over him.
If the devil’s in the way then we’ll roll it over him.
and we won’t drag on behind.

Sailors, hearing the song, replaced the list of those being hauled up into the chariot with a list of thing that “wouldn’t do us any harm…”

Well a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm
Oh, a plate of Irish stew wouldn’t do us any harm
Oh a night with the gals wouldn’t do us any harm
and we’ll all hang on behind.

(Nelson’s Blood was a euphemism for Rum)