“when The Saints Go Marching In” Definition & Meaning

Definition

Examples

“When the Saints Go Marching In” Cultural

1. An American spiritual (see also spiritual), one of the best-known songs played by Dixieland bands. The first verse is:

   Oh, when the saints go marching in,

   Oh, when the saints go marching in,

   Oh, Lord, I want to be in that number,

   When the saints go marching in.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

His former adversary, Pakistani coach Intikhab Alam, who had captained the country's team in the 1970s, even performed for Bedi, serenading him with the Louis Armstrong song When The Saints Go Marching In.

From BBC

Before the vote, marching to the tune of a thumping djembe drum and a brass trombone playing “When the Saints Go Marching In,” Pearson helped lead hundreds of supporters on a walk to the commission meeting from the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed April 4, 1968.

From Washington Post

On that tree-lined stretch of West 63rd Street, the brass band accompanying Amal broke into a festive rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In,” and she began to dance as she walked along.

From New York Times

As the last notes of “When the Saints Go Marching In” dissolved, the monstrous heat wave that had clutched the city for days began to crack.

From Los Angeles Times

I gave Paul the sign and he played the first parts of “Cielito Lindo” and “When the Saints Go Marching In,” the school’s theme song.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.