Spoken on April 18, 1775 Quotes

Context

This quote is attributed to Paul Revere, who alerted the patriots and the Minutemen that the British were indeed coming on April 18, 1775, the night before the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

Paul Revere was a busy man. He was a silversmith. A dentist. A sexy art model. And a human Life Alert system.

But he wasn't helping people who had fallen and couldn't get up. No, he was alerting colonial Americans that the British were coming. They weren't coming for tea, either. They were coming to kill them.

As you know from "Paul Revere's Ride," he was signaled "one if by land, and two if by sea," depending on how the British rolled into town. When two lanterns were set ablaze, Paul Revere rode through the towns, waking the minutemen, shouting "The British are coming! The British are coming!"

Oh, except that he never actually said it.

Where you've heard it

Just as the poem mentions that the "British Regulars fired and fled," Revere likely whispered that the Regulars were on the way. But that isn't as catchy, is it? We blame this misunderstanding on Schoolhouse Rock. 

The mission had to be carried out quietly, so in truth, it was probably more a "Psst, hey fellas, the British are, like, on the way. Get your guns"—quietly, under cover of night.

Additional Notable References:

• Weezer is over 200 years late with their single "The British Are Coming." 
• Check out this CD of British rock hits. 
• FIAT announced that the Italians are coming, the Italians are coming! 
• The first episode of Brit-com 'Allo 'Allo lets you know the British are here in its first episode, "The British are Coming." 
• Garfield never met an old joke he didn't like. 
• Keep Calm: The British are Coming. 

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

The Regulars are coming! The Regulars are coming!