January 08, 2026, 08:56 PM
sigfreundThe 8th of January song.
Almost forgot this year:
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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 fought the bloody British near the town of New Orleans.
CHORUS:
Oh, 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.
Well, I seed Marse Jackson a’walkin’ down the street
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.
The French said, “Andrew, you’d better run,
’Cause Pakenham’s a’comin’ with a bullet in his gun.”
Ol’ Hickory said he didn’t give a damn,
He’s gonna whup the britches offa Colonel Pakenham.
CHORUS
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 the bugles ring;
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 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 really gave ’em hell.
CHORUS
We fired our cannons till the barrels melted down,
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.
We filled his head with musket balls and powdered his behind,
And when we touched the powder off, that ’gator lost his mind.
They lost their pants and their pretty ruddy coats
And their tails were all a’showin’ like a bunch of billy goats.
They run down the river with their tongues hangin’ out,
And they said they got a lickin’, which there wasn’t any doubt.
CHORUS
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 that the hounds couldn’t catch ’em,
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
The guide who brought the British from the sea
Came a’limpin’ into camp, just as sick as he could be.
He said the dyin’ words of the Colonel Pakenham:
“You better quit your foolin’ with your cousin Uncle Sam.”
CHORUS
We marched back to town in our dirty, ragged pants
And we danced all night with them pretty girls from France.
We couldn’t understand them but they had the sweetest charms;
And we understood ’em better when we got ’em in our arms.
We’ll march back home, but we’ll never be content
Till we make Ol’ 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
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 that the hounds couldn’t catch ’em,
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
January 09, 2026, 05:49 AM
BroadsideI am old enough to remember listening to this song on the radio. Sadly, I only now learned The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815.
Thank you for the knowledge and the memories, sigfreund.