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Battle Of New Orleans
Old-Time, Bluegrass; Breakdown. Widely known.
Tune: Eighth of January, Lyrics: Jimmy Driftwood
ARTIST: Jimmy Driftwood- Plus Long Version from Mudcat
Listen: Jimmy Driftwood- Battle of New Orleans
Listen: Johnny Horton- Battle of New Orleans 1959
Listen: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band- Battle of New Orleans 1974
Listen: Bluegrass Messengers- Battle of New Orleans 2001
Listen: Eighth Of January- Fox Chasers
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes; DATE: 1936 Driftwood;
RECORDING INFO (Eighth Of January/Battle of New Orleans): Johnny Horton Makes History, Columbia 1478; Anderson, Bob; and the Country Ramblers. Indiana Hoedown, Puritan 5003, LP (1973), cut#B.02; Arkansas Barefoot Boys. Echoes of the Ozarks, Vol. 1, County 518, LP (1977), cut# 5; Ashby, John; and the Free State Ramblers. Old Virginia Fiddling, County 727, LP, cut# 1; Brickman, Weissberg & Company. New Dimensions in Banjo and Bluegrass, Elektra EKS-7238, LP (197?), cut# 13; Brower, Cecil (Cousin Cecil). Old Fashion Country Hoedown, Cumberland MGC 29500, LP (196), cut#A.04; Brower, Cecil; and his Square Dance Fiddlers. America's Favorite Square Dances, Smash MGS 27015, LP (196?), cut#B.05 (8th of January); Cedar Point String Band. Cedar Point String Band, Roane, Cas (1993), cut# 4; Claunch, W. E.. Anglo-American Shanties, Lyric Songs, Dance Tunes & Spirituals, Library of Congress AAFS L 2, LP (195?), cut# 14; Douglas, Bob. Sequatchie Valley, Tennessee Folklore Soc. TFS-109, LP (198?), cut# 3; Fall Creek Ramblers. 28th Annual Galax Old Fiddlers Convention. Galax, Virginia 1963, Kanawha 302, LP (1963), cut# 9; Feldmann, Peter. How to Play Country Fiddle, Vol.1, Sonyatone STI-101, LP (1975), cut# 4; Flippen, Benton. Old Times, New Times, Rounder 0326, Cas, cut# 5; Fox Chasers. Old Time String Band Classics, County 531, LP, cut# 6; Frazier, Nathan; and Frank Patterson. Altamont: Black Stringband Music from the Library of Congress, Rounder 0238, LP (1989), cut# 5; Free State Ramblers. 38th Annual Galax Old Fiddlers Convention, 1973, Gazette 38, LP (1973), cut# 14; Gosset, Ted;'s String Band. Old Time Fiddle Classics, Vol. 2, County 527, LP (1973), cut# 12; Gosset, Ted;'s String Band. Fiddle Band Music from Kentucky, Vol.2, MorningStar 45004, LP (1980), cut# 8; Hascall, Carol. Now That's a Good Tune. Masters of Missouri Traditional Fiddling, Grey Eagle 101, LP, cut# 2; Johnston, Don. National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest & Folk Music Festival. 1965, Century, LP (1966), cut# 14; Johnson, Vesta. Down Home Rag, Marimac 9017, Cas (1988), cut# 19; Long, Bill; and Ora Spivey. More Fiddle Jam Sessions, Voyager VRLP 304, LP (197?), cut# 15; Maxson, Charles; and Karen Skidmore. From the Heartland of West Virginia. The Hammered & Plucked Dul, Peaceable 4, LP (1975), cut# 17 (8th of January); Mitchum, Johnny. Johnny Mitchum, Sircy 7304, LP (197?), cut#A.01; Molsky, Bruce. Lost Boy, Rounder 0361, CD (1996), cut#12 (8th of January); Paley, Tom. Folk Banjo Styles, Elektra EKL-217, LP (195?), cut# 11; Perry County Music Makers. Going Back to Tennessee, Davis Unlimited DU 33024, LP (1976), cut#B.02 (8th of January); Red River Dave and His Texas Tophands. Songs of the Golden West, Remington, LP (1957), cut# 5; Rice, Tony. Tony Rice, Rounder 0085, LP (1976), cut#B.04; Roan Mountain Hilltoppers. Down Home, Roan Mountain, CD (2000/1983), cut#21 (8th of January); Ryan, Buck. Fiddler on the Rocks, Rebel REB 1529, LP (197?), cut# 8; Scancarelli, Jim. Virginia Carolina Sampler, Flying Cloud FC 007, LP (1988), cut#A.08 (8th of January); Shannon, Bookmiller. Southern Journey. Vol. 7: Ozark Frontier, Rounder 1707, CD (1997), cut#18; Shannon, Carlos. Folk Songs from the Ozarks, Prestige International INT 25006, LP (196?), cut# 7; Sharp, Hardy. Great Big Yam Potatoes. Anglo-American Fiddle Music from Missi., Southern Culture AH002, LP (1985), cut# 19; Simmons Family. Stone County Dulcimer, Dancing Doll DLP 112, LP (197?), cut#2.06; Sweeney, Ed. American Sampler, North Star NS0033, Cas (1991), cut# 20; Taylor, Kermit. Rackensack. Volume 2, Driftwood LP 279, LP (1972), cut#B.08; Thomason, Ron. Mandolin and Other Stuff, Kanawha RT-3, LP (198?), cut#B.05; Traum, Happy. American Stranger, Kicking Mule KM 110, LP (1977), cut#A.02; Walters, Bob. Drunken Wagoner, MSOTFA 106, Cas (1993), cut#A.01; Wanzer, Loyd. Famous Country Fiddling, American Heritage AH-401-19C, LP (197?), cut#A.10; Warren, Paul. America's Greatest Breakdown Fiddle Player, CMH 6237, LP (1979), cut# 4 (8th of January); Williams, Vivian. National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest & Folk Music Festival. 1966, Century, LP (1966), cut# 12; Bate, Dr. Humphrey; & his Possum Hunters. Nashville Early String Bands, Vol. 1, County 541, LP, cut# 6; Brunswick 239 (78 RPM) {1928}, Dr. Humphrey Bate and His Possum Hunters (Nashville, Tenn. Bill Barret was the fiddler for the tune, not Bate's regular, Oscar Stone). Caney Mountain Records CLP 228, Lonnie Robertson (Mo.) - "Fiddle Favorites." County 518, Arkansas Barefoot Boys- "Echoes of the Ozarks, Vol. 1." County 531, "Old Time String Band Classics" (1975). County 541, Dr. Humphrey Bate & His Possum Hunters - "Nashville; the Early String Bands, Vol. 1." County 727, John Ashby- "Old Virginia Fiddling." Heritage 060, Major Contay and the Canebreak Rattlers - "Music of the Ozarks" (Brandywine, 1984). Kicking Mule KM-301, "Happy Traum, American Stranger" (1977). Marimac 9017, Vesta Johnson - "Down Home Rag." Mississippi Department of Archives and History AH-002, Hardy C. Sharp (Meridian, Mississippi) - "Great Big Yam Potatoes: Anglo-American Fiddle Music from Mississippi" (1985). Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers' Association, Bob Walters (b. 1889) - "Drunken Wagoneer." Morning Star 45004, Ted Gossett's String Band (western Ky., originally recorded Sept., 1930) - "Wish I Had My Time Again." Ok 45496 (78RPM), The Fox Chasers. Rounder 0085, "Tony Rice." Rounder 7002, Graham Townsend--"Le Violin/The Fiddle." Spr 2655 (78 RPM), Buddy Young's Kentuckian's (AKA the Ted Gossett Band, originally recorded Sept. 1930). Spt 9775 (78 RPM), The Country String Band (AKA the Ted Gossett Band/Buddy Young's Kentuckian's/Tommy Whitmer Band). Voyager 340, Jim Herd - "Old Time Ozark Fiddling."
OTHER NAMES: Eighth of January; Jackson’s Victory. "Ken Perlman (1979) reports that the melody was originally named "Jackson's Victory" after Andrew Jackson's famous rout of the British at New Orleans on January, 8th, 1815. Around the time of the Civil War, some time after Jackson's Presidency, his popular reputation suffered and the tune was renamed to delete mention of him by name, thus commemorating the battle and not the man. Despite its wide dissemination, Tom Carter (1975) says that some regard it as a relatively modern piece refashioned from an older tune named "Jake Gilly." Not all agree-Tom Rankin (1985) suggests the fiddle tune may be older than the battle it commemorates, and that it seems American in origin, not having an obvious British antecedent, as do several older popular fiddle tunes in the United States. A related tune (though the 'B' part is developed differently") is Bayard's (1981) Pennsylvania collected "Chase the Squirrel" (the title is a floater)." (Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc).
RELATED TO: Jake Gilly/Gillie; Chase the Squirrel (Ford)
SOURCES: Traditional Music in America, Folklore Associates, Bk (1940/1965), p 63a; Bell, David. Learning the Fiddler's Ways, Penn State, Sof (1980), p 48; Kaufman, Alan. Beginning Old-time Fiddle, Oak, sof (1977), p39; Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc; Krassen, Miles. Appalachian Fiddle, Oak, sof (1973), p50; Smith, Warren. Devil's Box, Devil's Box DB, Ser (196?), 22/1, p21; Settle, Jim. Fiddle Book, Oak, Bk (1967), p114b; Charlie Higgins (Galax, Va.) [Krassen]; Cyril Stinnett (Oregon, Missouri) [Christeson]; Tommy Jackson [Phillips/1994]. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 99. R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddler's Repertory, Vol. 2), 1984; pg. 65. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 63. Kaufman (Beginning Old Time Fiddle), 1977; pg. 39. Krassen (Appalachian Fiddle), 1973; pg. 50. Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook), 1989; pg. 17. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 1, 1994; pg. 80. Ruth (Pioneer Western Folk Tunes), 1948; No. 15, pg. 7. Sing Out, Vol. 36, No. 2, August, 1991; pg. 77. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1964/1981; pg. 76.
NOTES: This version is by Jimmy Driftwood. "The Battle of New Orleans" is the fiddle tune "Eighth of January" with lyrics by Jimmie Driftwood and others. It is the most commercially successful example of adding lyrics to an established fiddle tune. In the 1930s Jimmy Driftwood was a high school teacher, and used his songs to help teach his classes. The song, "The Battle of New Orleans", was written around 1936 in order to help Jimmy explain to his high school history students that the Battle of New Orleans was fought during the War of 1812 instead of during the Revolutionary War. His students helped him write additional verses and it's rumored that over 100 verses were written (see Version 2 for some other verses from Driftwood and his students).
My student group, Bluegrass Messengers, recorded a version with at least one of the additional verses: Listen: Bluegrass Messengers- Battle of New Orleans 2001
WIKI: The comic song describes the 1815 Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier. It has been recorded by many artists, but the singer most often associated with this song is Johnny Horton. His version scored #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 during 1959.
In Billboard magazine's rankings of the major songs during the first fifty years of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, "The Battle of New Orleans" was ranked as the twenty-eighth song overall and the number-one country music song to score the chart.
The melody is based on a well-known American fiddle tune "The 8th of January", which was the date of the Battle of New Orleans. Jimmie Driftwood, a school principal in Arkansas with a passion for history, set an account of the battle to this music in an attempt to get students interested in learning history. It seemed to work, and Driftwood became known well in the region for his historical songs. He was "discovered" during the late 1950s by Don Warden, and eventually was given a recording contract by RCA, for whom he recorded 12 songs during 1958, including "The Battle of New Orleans".
"The Battle of New Orleans" is played often during North American sporting events, and is commonly heard during home games of the NHL's Calgary Flames[citation needed]. Original Horton 45 r.p.m. discs of the song are now worth many times the original cost.
Covers and remakesAs noted, Johnny Horton's 1959 version is the best-known recording of the song, which omits the mild expletives and much of the historical references of the original. Horton also recorded an alternative version for release in British Commonwealth countries which did not have unfavorable lyrics concerning the British: the word "British" was replaced with "Rebels", along with a few other differences.
OTHER RECORDINGS: Many other artists have recorded this song. Notable versions include the following:
In the United States, Vaughn Monroe's 1959 single competed with Horton's but did not achieve the same degree of success and became only a minor Hot 100 success.
In the United Kingdom, Lonnie Donegan and His Skiffle Group's 1959 version competed with Horton's and achieved greater success, maximizing at number two. In Donegan's spoken introduction, he made it obvious that the British were on the losing side.
Harpers Bizarre had a minor Hot 100 success with their somewhat psychedelic version from their 1968 album Secret Life of Harpers Bizarre.
Johnny Cash cover-versioned the song during 1972 on the album America: A 200-Year Salute in Story and Song.
The Germany-based Les Humphries Singers 1972 success, "Mexico", used the melody and parts of the lyrics, violating copyright by crediting the song to British bandleader Les Humphries.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had a minor Hot 100 success with their version during 1974.
Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen played a cover version of the song at their performance in New York, NY, on September 14, 1976.
Dolly Parton sang the song for her 1976/1977 variety show, Dolly.
Bill Haley recorded a version during 1979 at his final recording sessions and it was released on his final album, Everyone Can Rock and Roll.
Perhaps the most unexpected recording is The Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 1991 cover version on their album Songs from America's Heartland.
Cornershop covered the song as a bonus track for their 2009 album "Judy Sucks a Lemon For Breakfast".
PARODIES: "The Battle of Kookamonga""The Battle of Kookamonga"
Single by Homer and Jethro from the album Homer and Jethro at the Country Club
Country music parodists Homer and Jethro had a success when they parodied "The Battle of New Orleans" with their song "The Battle of Kookamonga." The single was released during 1959 and featured production work by Chet Atkins. In this version, the scene shifts from a battleground to a campground, with the combat being changed to the Boy Scouts chasing after the Girl Scouts.
Other parodies"The Battle of All Saints Road" by Big Audio Dynamite, 1988.
"The Battle of the Waikato" by Howard Morrison Quartet, 1960.
"The Ballad of Hank Williams" by Hank Williams Jr..
"The Cattle of New Orleans" (Hurricane Katrina) by John Archer, 2005.
"The White House Burned (The War of 1812)" by Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie.
"The Battle of Bannockburn" by The Corries.
Kuntz notes Eighth of January: "D Major. Standard or ADAE. AABB (Brody, Christeson, Phillips, Ruth, Sing Out, Sweet): AABB' (Krassen). One of the most popular and widespread of Southern fiddle tunes." (Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc).
On January 8, 1815, Major General Andrew Jackson led a small, poorly-equipped army to victory against eight thousand British troops at the Battle of New Orleans. The victory made Jackson a national hero and he was later elected President. "Eighth of January" was recorded for the Library of Congress from Ozark Mountain fiddlers in the early 1940's by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, and from Mississippi fiddlers (John Hatcher, W.E. Claunch, Enos Canoy, Hardy Sharp) in 1939 by collector Herbert Halpert. It was in the repertoire of Cuje Bertram, an African-American fiddler from the Cumberland Plateau region of Kentucky who recorded it on a home tape in 1970, made for his family." (Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc). In 1958, James Morris (Jimmy Driftwood) composed lyrics to the old tune and recorded it as "The Battle of New Orleans" (recorded on Jimmie Driftwood Sings Newly Discovered Early American Folk Songs, Victor RPM 1635). In 1959, Johnny Horton recorded a version of Driftwood's song, and the song rose to the top of the hit parade that year.
THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS- Jimmy Driftwood
Listen: Jimmy Driftwood- Battle of New Orleans
(Mr. Driftwood: “Now I want to do a little practice on a song that I’ll be singing, one of the numbers I’ll be doing at the World’s Fair. I hope you like it. I guess you know what it is. What do you think it is? Ah, one man’s a good guesser.”)
In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon, and we took a little beans,
We met the bloody British near the town of New Orleans.
Chorus: We fired our guns, and the British kept a-coming.
There wasn’t nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more, and they began to running,
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
I seed Mars Jackson a-walking down the street,
Talking to a private by the name of Jean LaFitte.
He gave Jean a drink that he brought from Tennessee,
And the private said he'd help 'em drive the British to the sea.
The French said, "Andrew, you’d better run,
For Packingham's a-coming with a bullet in his gun."
Old Hickory said he didn’t give a damn.
He was a-gonna rip the britches off of Colonel Packingham.
(Chorus)
We looked down the river, and we seed the British come.
Well, there must a-been a hundred of ‘em beating on the drum.
They stepped so high, and they made their bugles ring,
While we stood beside our cotton bales, didn’t say a thing.
Old Hickory said we could take ‘em by surprise
If we didn’t fire our muskets ‘til we looked ‘em in the eyes.
We held our fire ‘til we seed their faces well.
Then we opened up our squirrel guns and really gave ‘em hell.
(Chorus)
We fired our cannon ‘til the barrel melted down,
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.
We filled his head with cannonballs and powdered his behind,
And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.
We’ll march back home, but we’ll never be content
‘Til we make Old Hickory the people's president,
And every time we think about the bacon and the beans,
We’ll think about the fun we had way down in New Orleans.
(Chorus)
Well, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles,
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn’t go.
They ran so fast the hounds couldn’t catch ‘em,
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
(Chorus)
BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS- Additional Verses
Listen: Johnny Horton- Battle of New Orleans 1959
Well, in 18 and 14, we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Missisip
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we met the bloody British in the town of New Orleans
We fired our guns and the British kept a comin'
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began a running
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Well, I seed Marse Jackson come a-walkin' down the street
And a-talkin' to a pirate by the name of Jean Lafitte;
He gave Jean a drink that he brung from Tennessee,
And the pirate said he'd help us drive the British to the sea.
Well the French told Andrew, "You had better run
For Packenham's a-comin' with a bullet in his gun."
Old Hickory said he didn't give a damn
He's a-gonna whup the britches off of Colonel Packenham.
Well, we looked down the river and we seed the British come
And there must have been a hundred of them beating on the drum
They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring
While we stood behind our cotton bales and didn't say a thing
Old Hickory said we could take em by surprise
If we didn't fire a musket till we looked em in the eyes
We held our fire till we seed their face well
Then we opened up our squirrel guns and really gave em well..
Well they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go
They ran so fast the hounds couldn't catch em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Well we fired our cannons till the barrels melted down
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round
We filled his head with minie balls and powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off, the 'gator lost his mind
They lost their pants and their pretty shiny coats
And their tails was all a-showin' like a bunch of billy goats.
They ran down the river with their tongues a-hanging out
And they said they got a lickin', which there wasn't any doubt.
Well we marched back to town in our dirty ragged pants
And we danced all night with the pretty girls from France;
We couldn't understand 'em, but they had the sweetest charms
And we understood 'em better when we got 'em in our arms.
Well, the guide who brung the British from the sea
Come a-limping into camp just as sick as he could be,
He said the dying words of Colonel Packenham
Was, "You better quit your foolin' with your cousin Uncle Sam."
Well, we'll march back home, but we'll never be content
Till we make Old Hick'ry the people's president.
And every time we think about the bacon and the beans
We'll think about the fun we had way down in New Orleans.
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