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Battle of New Orleans
Pete Seeger
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Well, 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
Well, the French said, "Andrew, you'd better run
For Pakenham's a-comin' with a bullet in his gun"
Old Hickory said that he didn't give a damn
He's gonna whip the britches of a Colonel Pakenham
Well, we fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
But they wasn't nigh as purty as they was a while ago
We fired once more and they was just a-runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Well, we looked down the river and we seen the British come
There must have been a hundred of 'em beating on the drum
They stepped so high that they made the bugles ring
While we stood beside the cotton there and didn't say a thing
Well, Old Hickory said we'd take 'em for surprise
If we didn't fire our musket if we looked 'em in the eyes
We held our fire 'til we see their faces well
And we opened up and fired, and we really gave 'em hell
They ran to the briars, and they ran to the brambles
And they ran to the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Well, we grabbed our cannon 'til the barrel nearly bounced
We grabbed the alligator and we fought him all around
We filled his head with minie balls and powdered his behind
But when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind
Well, they lost their pants and their pretty shiny coats
Their tails were all a-showing like a bunch of billy goats
They ran down the river with their tongues hangin' out
They said they got a lickin' which there wasn't any doubt
Well, we fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
But they wasn't nigh as purty as they was a while ago
We fired once more and they was just a-runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Well, we marched back to town in our dirty ragged pants
We danced all night with them pretty gals from France
We couldn't understand 'em, but they had the sweetest charm
But we understood 'em better when we got 'em in our arms
Well, the guide who brung the British from the sea
Come a-lippin' into camp just as sick as he could be
He said the dyin' words of the Colonel Pakenham
Was "You'd better quit your foolin' when you're crossin' Uncle Sam"
Well, we marched back home, but we'll never be content
'Til we make Old Hickory the people's president
Every time we think about the bacon and the beans
Well, we think about the fun that we had down in New Orleans
Well, we fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
But they wasn't nigh as purty as they was a while ago
We fired once more and they was just a-runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Well, they ran to the briars, and they ran to the brambles
And they ran to the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Well, we fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
But they wasn't nigh as purty as they was a while ago
We fired once more and they was just a-runnin'
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico