“March of the Women”: Dame Ethel Mary Smyth composed the music of this anthem of the English and American suffrage movement. The lyrics, which begin with “Shout, shout, up with your song!” were by Cicely Hamilton. An ardent member of the militant English suffrage organization, Women’s Social and Political Union, Smyth, along with 108 other members, spent time in Holloway Prison for breaking the windows of anti-suffrage politicians. A visitor to the prison reported seeing a group of suffragettes singing the anthem in the prison yard led by Ethel Smyth who was conducting from a upstairs window by waving her toothbrush. It was the theme music for the BBC series “Shoulder to Shoulder.” Here’s a link:
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