Quotes from work
The Battle of New Orleans

Jimmy Driftwood

"The Battle of New Orleans" is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood. The song describes the Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier; the song tells the tale of the battle with a light tone and provides a rather comical version of what actually happened at the battle. It has been recorded by many artists, but the singer most often associated with this song is Johnny Horton. His version scored number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959 . Billboard ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1959, it was very popular with teenagers in the late 50s/early 60s in an era mostly dominated by rock and roll music.

“Ole Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise,
If we didn't fire our muskets 'til we looked 'em in the eyes.”

Jimmy Driftwood The Battle of New Orleans

"The Battle of New Orleans" (1936)
Context: p>Ole 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 an' really gave 'em... well! Yeah, they ran through the briars an' they ran through the brambles
An' they ran through the bushes where the rabbits couldn't go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.</p

“In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.”

Jimmy Driftwood The Battle of New Orleans

"The Battle of New Orleans" (1936)
Context: p>In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon an' we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British at the town of New Orleans. We fired our guns an' the British kept a'comin'.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was awhile ago.
We fired once more an' they begin to runnin'
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.</p

“We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down,
So we grabbed an alligator an' we fought another round.”

Jimmy Driftwood The Battle of New Orleans

"The Battle of New Orleans" (1936)
Context: We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down,
So we grabbed an alligator an' we fought another round.
We filled his head with cannon balls an' powdered his behind,
An' when they touched the powder off, the 'gator lost his mind.