John Philip Sousa

Hands Across The Sea

In 1899, a march by John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), which was to become one of his great successes, was heard for the first time at the Philadelphia Academy of Music: 'Hands Across The Sea'. In a report in the 'Great Lakes Recruit' of March 1918, Sousa comments on the origin of this march: 'After the war against Spain (= Spanish-American War of 1898) there were different positions in Europe concerning this war towards us. While some states were of the opinion that we had no justification to intervene, others were convinced of the honesty of our cause. One evening I read in a play (by Frere) the following line: 'A sudden thought came to me - let us swear eternal friendship.' This quote immediately led me to the title 'Hands Across The Sea' for this composition and within just a few weeks the now famous march was a fact.' So if 'Hands Across The Sea' was a 'political march' when it was composed, Sousa later understood it as a piece he wanted to see dedicated to all friends of the USA. A bridge of a special kind was to be built above all during his European tours, which he conducted in 1900, 1901, 1903 and 1905. And, of course, during his tour around the world, which he undertook with his orchestra in 1910 and which took him to Great Britain, the Canary Islands, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Fiji Islands, Hawaii, Canada and finally back to the United States.