• Track: The Battle of New Orleans
• Artist: Johnny Horton
• Album: Johnny Horton Makes History
• Year: 1959

Lyrics:

(Written by Johnny Driftwood)

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
And we caught the bloody British near the town of New Orleans

We took a little bacon
and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British
near 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 begin to runnin’
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
(One-two-three, with a-one-two-three)

We looked down a river
(Hut-two)
And we see’d the British come
(Three-four)
And there must have been a hundred of’em
(Hut-two)
Beatin’ on the drums
(Three-four)
They stepped so high
(Hut-two)
And they made their bugles ring
(Three-four)
We stood by our cotton bales
(Hut-two)
And didn’t say a thing
(Two-three-four)

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 begin to runnin’
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

Old Hickory said we could take ’em by surprise
(One-hut, two-three-four)
If we didn’t fire our muskets
(One-hut, two-three-four)
‘Till we looked ’em in the eye
(One-hut, two-three-four)
We held our fire
(Hut, two-three-four)
‘Till we see’d their faces well
Then we opened up our squirrel guns
And really gave ’em – well 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 begin to runnin’
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

Yeah, they ran through the briars
(One-hup-two)
And they ran through the brambles
(Hup-two-three-four)
And they ran through the bushes
(Hup-two)
Where the rabbit couldn’t go
(Hup-two-three-four)
They ran so fast
(Hup-two)
That the hounds couldn’t catch ’em
(One-two-three-four)
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
(One-two, hup-two-three-four)

We fired our cannon ’til the barrel melted down
So we grabbed an alligator and we fired another round
We filled his head with cannon balls, and powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off the gator lost his mind

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 begin to runnin’
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

Yeah, they ran through the briars
(Hup-one-two)
And they ran through the brambles
(One-two-three-four)
And they ran through the bushes
(Hup-two)
Where the rabbit couldn’t go
(Hup-two-three-four)
They ran so fast
(Hup-two)
That the hounds couldn’t catch ’em
(One-two-three-four)
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

Get It:

Get your very own copy of Johnny Horton Makes History right here:

Dances with Bass YouTube Channel:

I have many fond childhood memories of visiting my grandparents in Michigan. Whether it was devouring Grandma’s homemade cookies and tapioca pudding with freshly picked raspberries from the garden, or cruising on the bicycle with Gramps down to the park where he would push me high on the swing and then patiently sit on the bench while I took seemingly endless trips down the spiral slide; I was rarely bored. For the times I found myself needing to self-entertain, I would sometimes snoop around in grandpa’s workshop, checking out all the cool, shiny, and very sharp tools or I’d go exploring in the attic where the remnants of their past life together sat frozen in time, anxiously awaiting someone to admire them once more.

But one solo activity I found myself involved in often was listening to their wide collection of record albums. Hank Williams, Johnny Mathis, and even old Bill Cosby recordings were at my disposal for hours of listening amusement. One album in particular that this young audiophile took a liking to was Johnny Horton Makes History, by the Grammy award-winning rockabilly and country artist, Johnny Horton.

Johnny Horton, (born John LeGale Horton) was born in Los Angeles, California, but grew up in Rusk, Texas. He was the son of migrant fruit pickers and the youngest of five siblings. Johnny Horton released several hit singles during his career, including Honky Tonk Man, The Battle of New Orleans, and North to Alaska. On November 4th, 1960, Horton and two of his bandmates were involved in a head-on collision on a bridge with an oncoming truck. Horton died en route to the hospital. Fellow country star and good friend Johnny cash gave a eulogy at the funeral and would go on to dedicate his rendition of the song, When It’s Springtime in Alaska (It’s Forty Below), on a later album.

Video:

This video for The Battle of New Orleans has been aired many times, in part or in whole, on television over the decades.

While the video quality isn’t great, this piece of history comes from an Ed Sullivan performance on June 7, 1959:

And here is the aforementioned North to Alaska. This is an audio track that has been edited to include some images, but it’s not an official video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSt0NEESrUA

Lastly, we have an audio track of Honky Tonk Man for your listening enjoyment:

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