“The Battle Of New Orleans” – Johnny Horton

“The Battle Of New Orleans” – Johnny Horton

“The Battle Of New Orleans” – Johnny Horton

In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississippi
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught 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 to runnin’
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

We looked down the river and we seed the British come
And there must have been a hundred of ’em beatin’ on the drum
They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring
We stood behind our cotton bales and didn’t say a thing

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

Old Hickory said we could take ’em by surprise
If we didn’t fire our muskets till we looked ’em in the eyes
We held our fire till we seed their faces well
Then we opened up our squirrel guns and 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 began to runnin’
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

Yeah they ran through the briers and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn’t go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn’t catch ’em
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

We fired our cannon till the barrel melted down
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round
We filled his head with cannonballs ‘n’ 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 began to runnin’
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

Yeah they ran through the briers and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn’t go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn’t catch ’em
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

Hut, hut, three, four
Sound off, three, four
Hut, hut, three, four
Sound off, three, four
Hut, hut, three, four
Writer/s: JAMES MORRIS
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

 

Soon after he was awarded a Gold Record (then given for sales of one million copies of singles) for this, Horton asked the person who gave it to him (RIAA’s Bill Gallagher) if he could trade it for four “Golden Guitar” awards, given by the RIAA for a Country single that sold at least 250,000 copies. Horton’s wife thought the Gold Record didn’t fit the home decor, but the Golden Guitar did.

This won the 1959 Grammys for Song of the Year (for composer Jimmy Driftwood) and Best Country and Western Performance for Johnny Horton.

A parody version by Homer and Jethro (“Battle of Kookamonga”) also won a Grammy for Best Musical Comedy Performance.

 

British skiffle star Lonnie Donegan had a #2 hit in the UK in 1959 with his live version recorded at Bristol Hippodrome. His version was originally banned by the BBC as it contained the word “Ruddy.” Once Donegan substituted the word “Blooming,” the BBC started playing it.

 

(source Songfacts.com)

https://youtu.be/mDCKBT8jkag