The Liberty Bell was one of the first marches that John Philip Sousa sent to his new publisher in 1893. Under his previous contract, the composer received $35 outright per composition with no royalties, but with the switch he became a more astute businessman. The origin of the present work, one of his most famous marches, was the rededication of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, which in those days was often on display at different locations around the country, a symoblic aid to the healing of the still raw wounds of the Civil War. There is also a story that Sousa was admiring the backdrop of a grade-school pageant depicting the bell and was thus inspired. Whatever the origin, it is a rousing piece that remains among the composer's dozen or so most famous. It has become even more so in recent times thanks to its having served as the theme of the madcap British television series Monty Python's Flying Circus.

The very introduction of this march is novel (virtually no two of Sousa's introductions even slightly resemble each other) in its downward chromatic spiral and full stop. In 6/8 time, the two skittish opening themes are linked by a common triplet figure. The soaring trio, more relaxed, is based on an ascending scale, while the grandiloquent breakstrain makes very effective use of rests. The last two sections are punctuated by chimes, providing an evocation of the great bell itself.

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