Third National Flag of the Confederate States of America |
P. A. Stonemann, CSS Dixieland |
National Jack of the Confederate States Navy |
CSS Dixieland
Probing the depths of knowledge
These essays by P. A. Stonemann, CSS Dixieland, cover a wide range of
historical, philosophical, scientifical and technical subjects. Each page
deals with a particular topic, divided into sections and explained by itself.
Every page shows at its top hyper links to every other page. The Start page
also has short descriptions of the other pages. CSS Dixieland expresses
gratitude to the readers that make this work meaningful.
This Web document has been tested with KDE Konqueror, graphic HTML interpreter
for Linux. It may not be rendered correctly by other graphic HTML interpreters.
It will probably be correct when rendered by text-only HTML interpreters (visual,
aural, or Braille tactile interpreters), but if feasible, please use KDE Konqueror.
Uniform Resource Locator:
Country Music page
History and records of North American Old Time Root Music
Sections in this page
History of Old Time Country Music
Technical note: In languages other than English or Latin, but which use mainly
Latin characters, some characters are taken from other alphabets, or some Latin
characters are modified with diacritic marks for representing different phonemic
sounds or other orthographic conventions of those languages. Those characters,
when used in this document, have been encoded as entities of Hyper Text Mark-up
Language or sometimes in Unicode UTF-8. Therefore computers using other character
encodings may render some characters inaccurately, but hopefully, it will still
be possible to read non-English words without too much difficulty.
Legal note: All records offered here from the server of CSS Dixieland are well
over fifty years old, some records are over a hundred years old. They are all
believed to be in the Public Domain, therefore readers are invited to download
them if they wish and they have the means to do so. For this purpose, information
is provided on running time, storage size and audio or video format of each record.
Hyper links to external servers may point to records still protected by authoral
rights. In this case playing the record is usually permitted, but downloading or
distribution may not be permitted. Readers are advised to check conditions from
external servers, as it is not the responsibility of CSS Dixieland to warn the
reader of the highly diverse legal permissions maintained by external servers.
History of Old Time Country Music
'Country Music is the living image of Southron Culture, a fusion of the
varied and sometimes antagonistic elements of Southron Life'.
'Country Music is all Confederate Music because it is about defeat, violence,
and the realities of man as both good and evil'.
'I don't think we could have an army without music'.
Chronology
1607: Foundation of Jamestown as the first permanent English colony in the
American continents. Jamestown is the cradle of Old Virginia, of the Dixie
People, and of the Confederate Nation. The English colony of Newfoundland
(located in what is today Canada) is older, but Newfoundland was at that
time only a seasonal fishing port with temporary dwellings for fishing crews,
it was not a permanent settlement. The English colony of Plymouth (located in
what is today Massachussetts, United States) was founded in 1620, and therefore
it is thirteen years younger than Jamestown, in spite of ignorant Yankee claims
to Plymouth as being the 'oldest' English colony in the Americas.
Folk ballads of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon origin from Ireland, Scotland, Wales
and England enter North America, initially through Jamestown with the first
migrants. Among the oldest known ballads are:
'The Boy with the Auburn Hair', Irish Traditional, on which music was
composed in 1863 the Confederate song 'The Southron Soldier Boy'.
'Whisky Before Breakfast', Irish Traditional.
'Will You Go, Lassie, Go', Irish Traditional, later renamed 'Wild Mountain
Thyme' in the Appalachian Mountains.
'Bridget Cruise', by the Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738).
'Hewlett', also by Turlough O'Carolan.
'Seeds Of Love', English traditional, with lyrics written round 1689.
'Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes', a translation made in 1616 by the English
writer Ben Jonson of lyrics composed by Philostratus, Athenian poet who lived
in the III century. The music of the English version has been credited to
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
'Flow Gently, Sweet Afton', Scotch Traditional.
'Mc Leod's Reel', Scotch Traditional.
'Bonnie Dundee', Scotch Traditional: in 1641 the National Covenant had been
signed by thousands of Lowland Presbyterian Scots against the Church of
England. Many signed with their own blood and wore red cloths round their
necks as insignia. 'Red neck' became a North English term for religious
dissenters, while Dundee and his Scotch Highlanders became known as 'The
Terror of the Covenanters'. In 1863 a Confederate song with this music was
composed in honour to Confederate Cavalry General J. E. B. Stuart.
'John Riley', Scotch Traditional: from 1717 to about 1800 three great waves
of Lowland 'Red neck' Scots migrated to Pennsylvania (United States), whence
they later moved South, to North Carolina (Confederate States). John Riley
was one of the first migrants.
'Green Grows The Laurel', Scotch Traditional: during the British Dynastic
War between the Scotch House of Stuart and the Dutch House of Orange, the
loyals of 'Bonnie Prince' Charles Stuart 'changed their laurels' (a Scotch
symbol of fidelity) for the Stuart's blue bonnet, while those of William
Prince of Orange 'changed their laurels' for the Orange's blue and orange
colours. After controlling much of Scotland and seriously menacing England,
the Stuarts were defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
'Auld Lang Syne', Scotch Traditional: the King of England Charles I Stuart
(of Scotch origin) was executed in 1649 by the Commonwealth Republic of
Oliver Cronwell. The loyals of the King (known as 'Cavaliers') used this
phrase meaning 'old long since' as a password for reciprocal recognition,
supposedly not to be understood by the Republicans (known as 'Roundheads').
Poems with the title 'Auld Lang Syne' appeared in those turbulent years before
the Restauration of the Stuarts in the Throne of England, by military action
of General Monk. About 1793 the Scotch writer Robert Burns composed some of
the verses, while a friend musician adapted it to a Lowland Scotch tune.
About 1800: Influenced by spiritual songs commonly executed a cappella or
accompanied by a primitive banjo, by blacks at agricultural plantations, some
white musicians (usually with the face painted in black) begin to perform
Minstrel songs at preaching shows or at medicine shows. Those white performers
often incorporated the banjo. The traditional instrument of Minstrel Music is
thus the Old Time banjo, also called Clawhammer banjo, which is open at the
back and of four natural gut strings played with the thumb. By comparison, the
much later Blue Grass banjo is closed at the back and of five metallic strings
played with three fingers. The Blue Grass banjo was introduced in 1945 by Earl
Scruggs. One of the most important makers of Clawhammer banjo was George Teed
in the 1860's.
About 1830: 'Jim Crow' is one of the earliest known Minstrel songs, performed
by Big Daddy Thomas D. Rice.
1842: First known black-faced Minstrel band, The Virginia Minstrels, of
Daniel Decatur Emmett (author of 'Dixie's Land', a song that in 1861 became
the unofficial National Anthem of the Confederate States of America).
About 1845: Stephen Foster becomes another well known Minstrel, with songs
like 'Oh, Susanna', ubiquitous during the California Gold Rush (in 1849),
during the War of Kansas (in the late 1850's), and during the War for
Confederate Independence (in 1861).
1877: Thomas Edison in the United States and Charles Cros in France patent
the tinfoil cylinder phonograph.
About 1880: Appalachian folk tunes are scholarly researched and found to be
mostly British folk ballads, sometimes combined with Minstrel songs or also
with Godspel black spirituals of plantations. Black Godspel derives from black
spirituals of 1800 or earlier. White Godspel is more clearly originated from
Church songs, but it became somewhat influenced by black spirituals since
1880. The purest spirituals are sung a cappella or with very few instruments,
maybe only a banjo. One of the oldest spirituals is 'Old Man River' (black
name of the River Mississippi). The most important names in White Godspel were
the Carter Family of Virginia in 1926, Albert E. Brumley with 'I'll Fly Away'
in 1931, and later the Lewis Family, the Statler Brothers, and the Oak Ridge
Boys. Other styles of music and dance such as Hoedown, Barbershop Quartet, or
Square Dance, also became prominent in the 1880's, although they were older.
1885: Chichester Bell and Charles Tainer replace the tinfoil of the
phonograph by waxed cardboard.
1887: Emile Berliner patents the lateral cut flat disc gramophone.
1891: First phonograph cylinders, featuring Opera singers.
23rd April 1900: The word 'Hillbillie' appears printed for the first time, in
the New York Journal. Hillbilly is the name given by researchers of the late
XIX century to tunes supposed to have originated in the Appalachians, not
just kept as an inheritance of British Folk Ballads. The Old Time banjo,
already mentioned in connection with Minstrel Music, is also the traditional
instrument of Hillbilly Music. Other traditional instruments are the fiddle,
the mandolin, the counter-bass, the harp, and the Appalachian dulcimer. The
dobro and the steel guitar were incorporated later. Sometimes the tambourine,
the mouth harmonica, the flute, the whistle and the birimbau are also used,
as well as daily objects such as bones, glass bottles or wash boards, but
brass is not used in pure old Hillbilly.
1906: Victor (His Master's Voice) markets the first victrola gramophone, of
78 turns per minute.
1907: Lee de Forest invents the triode thermionic valve (vacuum tube), making
feasible the Marconi's invention of wireless telegraphy (transmission of Morse
signals by air waves) and of radiophony (transmission of sounds by air waves).
1909: The humourous country tale 'Uncle Josh' is recorded.
30th June 1922: A.C. Eck Robertson (Texas) and Henry C. Gilliland (Indian
Territory) record for Victor in New York.
9th September 1922: Fiddler John Carson (Atlanta, Georgia) broadcasts from
WSB Atlanta. Shortly later other Georgians also broadcast their music:
fiddler Clayton McMichen, Riley Pucket and Andrew Jenkins, this one receives
from Polk C. Brockman an offer to record 'Floyd Collins'.
April 1923: Henry Whitter (Virginia) records for Okeh in New York.
14th June 1923: John Carson receives from Ralph S. Peer an offer to record
for Okeh in Atlanta.
1923: WBAP Fort Worth (Texas) begins the first radio barn dance.
1924: Vernon Dalhart records 'The Wreck of the Old 97', a song of Henry
Whitter, for Edison in Atlanta.
1924: WLS Chicago begins the second radio barn dance, with distribution of
flyleaves containing the lyrics. Some of the best known artists are Ford and
Glenn, Chubby Parker, and Grace Wilson.
1924: Southron States series of Vocalion. Old Times Tunes series of Okeh.
About 1925: Tex-Mex Music begins in Texas, combining Hillbilly, German Polka,
Mexican Corrido and Mexican Ranchera. Two important artists of this music in
the 1970's were Johnny Cash and Charlie Daniels.
1925: Vernon Dalhart records again 'The Wreck of the Old 97', plus 'The
Prisoner's Song', this time for Victor.
1925: Al Hopkins and his Hillbillies record for Okeh in New York.
Evening of 29th November 1925: George Dewey Hay, a promoter of wireless radio
shows, begins the third radio barn dance with Uncle Jimmy Thompson in WSM
Nashville, inaugurating the Nashville Sound. Other artists who became known
at that time were Humphrey Bate and Deford Bailey.
1925: Old Familiar Melodies series of Columbia. First electric (non acoustic)
records by Victor and Columbia.
1926: The Skillet Lickers. The Peer Southron Organisation.
1926-1960's: The Carter Family. This musical family began in Virginia in 1926
with Maybelle Carter, her sister and her brother-in-law. In the late 1940's,
the original band being inactive, Maybelle Carter and her daughters formed
another band known as Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, later renamed
The Carter Family, which had been the name of the original formation in 1926.
The second Carter Family was active into the 1960's, performing the most
traditional form of Old Time Country Music. Some members of the family
continued in activity after the death of Mother Maybelle.
1927: The WSM Nashville radio barn dance is re-named Grand Ole Opry.
1927: The Carter Family, the Tenneva Ramblers, Jimmie Rodgers, and Alfred
Karnes record for Victor in Bristol, Tennessee. This historical event is
known in Country Music as 'The Bristol Sessions'. Important names such as
Ernest V. Pop Stoneman acted as talent scouts.
1928: The Stonemans (also known as The Stonemann Family, and originally
formed as Ernest V. Pop Stoneman and The Dixie Mountaineers).
1928: Old Familiar Tunes series and Grand Ole Opry series, both of Victor.
About 1929: Musique Cajun in Louisiana, based on an old tradition of French
Creole Music combined with British, German and Spanish elements. The style
called Zydeco combines also black elements. Typical instruments in both
styles are the fiddle and the accordion.
1929: 'Why do You Bob You Hair, Girls ?', by Blind Alfred Reed.
1929: Gene Autry records in New York and becomes a famous 'singing cowboy' in
the Westron Swing style.
1929: 'The Singing Brakeman', a short film of Jimmie Rodgers, is the first
Country Music in cinematography.
October 1929: The enormous economical crisis leaves many men to ramble about,
seeking for a pittance to survive. It begins the tradition of Hobo travelling
songs with Woody Guthrie in late 1929 and with Fred Rose in 1930. Inspired in
part in North American aboriginal tribal music, Hobo lyrics typically relate
the exploitation of itinerant labourers and their forced or chosen wanderlust.
About 1930: Honky Tonk Music begins in Texas. It is an electrified Hillbilly,
more rythmical than melodical. One of its first artists is Al Dexter.
1930: 'Song of the Saddle', of Ken Maynard, is the first long film featuring
Country Music.
1930: The Dixieliners. The Alladin's Laddies (later re-named the Light Crust
Doughboys).
1930: XER del Rio is the first Country Music radio station in Mexico, located
in Nuevo Leon, very near the border line with Texas.
1931: 'Green Grow the Lilacs', by Tex Ritter, Country Music show in New York.
1932: Montana Slim records for Victor (he had done before some small records
in Canada).
1932: The Musical Brownies. Homer and Jethro.
1933: Lulu Belle and Scotty. Bob Wills and his Playboys (in 1934 re-named the
Texas Playboys, when they moved to KVOO Tulsa).
1933: First WWVA Jamboree in Wheeling, Virginia.
1934: The Pioneer Trio (shortly later re-named Roy Rogers and the Sons of the
Pioneers).
1934: 'In Old Santa Fe', of Gene Autry and Ken Maynard, is the second long
film featuring Country Music.
1935: The Crazy Mountaineers.
1936: Roy Acuff. The Monroe Brothers. The Blue Sky Boys. The Dixon Brothers.
Ernest Tubb and the Bailes Brothers.
1936-1960's: Ernest Tubb. With his always strong and joyful manners, Ernest
Tubb was seen as one of the prototypes of the singing cowboy.
1936-1990's: Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. The Monroe Brothers began in
1936. After the death of his brother, Bill Monroe formed the Blue Grass Boys
and created a unique style known as 'Blue Grass'. For this, Bill Monroe was
known as 'The Father of Blue Grass Music'. He remained active in Blue Grass
Music for sixty years, until his death in the late 1990's.
1937: The Golden West Cowboys join the Grand Ole Opry.
1937: WLW Cincinnati begins the Renfro Valley Barn Dance.
1938: Tom T. Hall, Merle Travis.
1938: The Smokey Mountain Boys join the Grand Ole Opry.
1938: Bill Monroe (from the Monroe Brothers) and the Blue Grass Boys.
1939: Red River Dave makes in New York the first Country Music performance on
television.
1939: Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys join the Grand Ole Opry, which
becomes regularly broadcast from NBC Radio Network.
1930's-1960's: Rose Maddox was the star of a band formed with her many brothers
(she was the only female sibling), whose musical style is known as Hillbilly
Boogie, a perfect bridge between the traditions of Hillbilly Country Music and
of Rockabilly. Besides their highly attractive sound, they also were the most
colourful band on stage, always featuring a plethora of festive Country and
Westron dressing styles.
1941: The Grand Ole Opry moves to the Ryman Auditorium.
1941: Billboard magazine begins its list of top Hillbillie hits.
1943: Ernest Tubb and the Bailes Brothers join the Grand Ole Opry, which
becomes broadcast by the United States Armed Forces.
1943: Roy Acuff and Fred Rose establish in Nashville the first Country Music
publishing house.
1945: Earl Scruggs introduces a new kind of banjo, closed at the back and of
five metallic strings played with three fingers, in the band of Bill Monroe
and the Blue Grass Boys, where he also meets Lester Flatt.
1946: The combined style of Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs is named Blue Grass
Music, and the new kind of banjo becomes known as Blue Grass banjo.
1946: Hank Williams records for Sterling, mostly in the Honky Tonk style.
Being now perhaps the most famous legend of Country Music, Hank Williams
performed mainly in the Honky-Tonk style. He died suddenly while travelling,
maybe of kidney failure (he was heavily inclined to alcohol). His son and his
first wife (he married twice) continued their artistic performances after the
death of Hank Williams.
1947: First magnetic recording tapes.
1947: KRLD Dallas begins the Big D Jamboree.
1948: Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs separate from the band of Bill Monroe.
Flatt and Scruggs had begun in 1945 as part of the Blue Grass Boys, the band
of Bill Monroe. In 1948 Flatt and Scruggs separated from the Blue Grass Boys
and formed their own band, named Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt and the Foggy
Mountain Boys. Legend has it that Monroe never again talked to them, not even
greeting them when they met at some festival. The Foggy Mountain Boys continued
and improved the Blue Grass style that had been begun by Bill Monroe.
1948: First long play vynil disc (of 33 turns per minute), by Columbia.
1949: First single vynil disc (of 45 turns per minute), by RCA.
1949: Hank Williams joins the Grand Ole Opry.
1952: 'High Noon', a song of Tex Ritter, wins an Oscar as the best music in a
film (the film is also entitled 'High Noon', starring Gary Cooper).
1950's: Blue Grass becomes the shrine of our oldest and most cherished
traditions, with gigantic figures such as the already mentioned band of Bill
Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, the band of Flatt, Scruggs and the Foggy
Mountain Boys, plus other important names such as Ralph Stanley and the
Clinch Mountain Boys, Jim and Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys, Jimmy
Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys, Fisher Hendley and his Aristocratic Pigs,
the Carolina Tar Heels, the North Carolina Ramblers, Vassor Clements, Doc
Watson, and Blue Grass Experience.
1954: 'Rock Around the Clock', a song of Bill Haley and the Comets, is the
first Rockabilly in a film. Rockabilly combines Rock and Roll with Honky Tonk
and Hillbilly, using some electric instruments and brass drums. Some of its
best known artists were Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Gene Vincent and the
Blue Caps, Eddie Cochrane, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Brenda Lee.
1950's-1990's: A child prodigy, Brenda Lee began her musical career being
extremely young, one of the youngest in Country Music History. She also
performed memorable Rock and Roll songs. P. A. Stonemann had the honour of
seeing her in person in a Marlboro Country Music festival, organised by the
famous tobacco brand.
1950's-1990's: In the line of celebrities like Elvis Presley, Wanda Jackson was
known as the Feminine Rock and Roll Star par excellence. She performed Country
Music and Rockabilly like few other women in the History of our Music. Later
she turned her talent to Godspel Music.
1961: First Country Music Encyclopedia, by Linnell Gentry.
1961: First Country Music Hall of Fame.
1962: The first Country Music Research Center, 'John Edwards Memorial', is
incorporated to U.C.L.A.
1962: 'The Beverly Hillbillies', a music of Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and
the Foggy Mountain Boys, becomes the first Country Music regularly performed
on a television series (the series is also entitled 'The Beverly Hillbillies').
1965: Foundation of the Academy of Country and Western Music.
1965: First Blue Grass Festival, in Fincastle, Virginia.
1966: 'Picture History of Country and Western Music', by Goldblatt and John
Shelton Reed.
1966: First issue of Blue Grass Unlimited magazine.
1967: First annual award of the Country Music Association.
1967: Opening of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
1972: Opening of the Country Music Foundation Library and Media Center.
1974: The Grand Ole Opry moves to Opryland.
Bibliography
'Country Music Encyclopedia', by Linnell Gentry, 1961.
'Picture History of Country and Western Music', by Goldblatt and John Shelton
Reed, 1966.
'Southron Music, American Music', by Bill Malone. Kentucky University Press,
Lexington 1979.
'Country Music U.S.A.', by Bill Malone. Texas University Press, Austin 1985.
Tunes probably originated in Dixie
The Alabama
Created in 1863. Honouring the Confederate States Ship Alabama, commanded by
Confederate Admiral Raphael Semmes.
Amazing Grace
The Arkansas Traveller
Aura Lea
Created in 1861.
Blue Tail Fly
Created in 1846.
Boatman's Dance
The Bonnie Blue Flag
Lyrics by Harry McCarthy in 1861. Music from 'The Irish Jaunting Car'. First
interpreted by Harry McCarthy in Jackson, Mississippi, in mid June 1861. The
song is also known as 'We Are a Band of Brothers', a title inspired on the
speech of Saint Crispin Day, in the theatrical play 'Henry V' (fourth act,
second scene), by William Shakespeare.
As 'The Bonnie Blue Flag' has rather long lyrics (original given below), it is
common to interpret shorter versions of the song. An example is given in the
following record, in which only the first and last stanzas are sung (eliminating
the other five stanzas), then the last two lines are repeated:
The Bonnie Blue Flag, interpreted by the Army Band and Chorus
We are a band of brothers and native to the soil
As long as the Union was faithful to her trust
First gallant South Carolina nobly made the stand
Ye men of valor gather round the banner of the right
Now here's to brave Virginia, the Old Dominion State
Then cheer, boys, cheer, raise a joyous shout
Then here's to our Confederacy, strong we are and brave
The order of secession from the United States was not exactly as given in the
song. Mississippi and Florida seceded before Alabama, Alabama seceded before
Georgia, Louisiana seceded before Texas. The correct historical order is:
South Carolina: 20th December 1860
Below, a version of 'The Bonnie Blue Flag' with different lyrics, version called
'The Gathering Song', composed by Confederate writer Annelizah Chambers Bradford
Ketchum (1824-1904) in Memphis, Tennessee, at the request of a British diplomat.
After publishing this version, the military commander of the Federal forces that
occupied Memphis demanded Lady Annelizah to give oath of allegiance to the United
States. She proudly replied that she was loyal to the Confederate States, and she
refused allegiance to a foreign enemy. She was then ordered to abandon Memphis.
She moved to Georgetown, Kentucky, her original town.
Come, brothers, rally for the right !
Hurray, hurray, for Southron rights hurray !
We've borne the Yankee trickery
Hurray, hurray, for Southron rights hurray !
Now Georgia marches to the front
Hurray, hurray, for Southron rights hurray !
By every stone in Charleston Bay
Hurray, hurray, for Southron rights hurray !
The earliest known record of 'The Bonnie Blue Flag', a phonograph cylinder
recorded in 1913 by Polk Miller and his Old South Quartet (Edison Blue
Amberol number 2175):
Buffalo Gals
Lyrics and music by Cool White and the Virginia Serenaders, published in 1844
as 'Lubly Fan'.
Camptown Races
The Captain in his Whiskers
Lyrics and music by Thomas Haynes Bayly in 1863, arranged by Francis Held in
1863.
Cindy
Traditional.
Come Dearest, the Daylight is Gone
Congo River
Traditional.
Cripple Creek
Traditional.
Cumberland Gap
Inspired on the music of 'McLeods Reel', Scotch traditional renamed 'Virginia
Reel' in the Appalachians. That part of the Appalachians began White settlement
in 1773, still in colonial times, when Daniel Boone crossed from Virginia the
Cumberland Mountain Gap into what is now Kentucky and Tennessee. Most pioneers
were Scotch, and English Scots accent predominates until today.
Dixie Doodle
Lyrics by Margaret Weir in New Orleans in 1862. Music of 'Yankee Doodle',
a Yankee song of the War for United States Independence of 1775-1783.
The authoress dedicated her lively 'Dixie Doodle' to 'Our Dear Soldiers
on the Battle Field'.
Dixie whipped old Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodles soundly slept
Yankee Doodles grease your heels
Anderson the gallant brave
A thousand blessings on your heads
Wright on Carolina's coast
Louisiana bold and brave
Yankee Doodle fair thee well
Dixie's Land
Lyrics and music by Daniel Decatur Emmett in 1859. In February 1861 it became
the unofficial National Anthem of the Confederate States of America (the
Official National Anthem is 'God Save the South'). It seems that the author
received some collaboration for the song from the Snowden Family Band of Knox
County, Ohio, who was a musical formation composed of Copperheads (people of
Dixie origin or loyal to Dixie).
The first interpretation was by Jerry Bryant and the Bryant's Minstrels at
Mechanics' Hall, in Broadway, New York, on Monday 4th April 1859. This band of
about twelve members began the interpretation of 'Dixie's Land' with two or three
singers, followed by the rest of the band playing and dancing, and finished with
a fiddle solo instrumental slowly fading away. The original tempo was slower than
what was usually played later. The Bryant's Minstrels in New York, the Rumsey and
Newcomb Minstrels in New Orleans in March 1860, the Buckley's Serenaders in London
in late 1860, and other Minstrel musicians, played at a slow tempo.
On 20th December 1860 the band played 'Dixie's Land' after each vote for secession
at Saint Andrew's Hall in Charleston, South Carolina. On 18th February 1861 the
song was played at the inauguration of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in
Montgomery, Alabama, arranged as a quickstep by Herman Frank Arnold, and possibly
for the first time as a band arrangement. In May 1861 Confederate Henry Hotze
commented that 'Dixie's Land' had become a national hit in the Confederate States.
This famous song had four early phonograph recordings: A band version by Issler's
Orchestra in 1895, another band version by Gilmore's Band in 1896, yet another
band version by the Edison Grand Concert Band in 1896, and a vocal version by
George J. Gaskin in 1896. Countless other arrangers and interpreters have
incorporated the song to their repertoire, sometimes with modified lyrics.
Minstrel artists did not always pronounce correct English. Instead, they often
mimicked the popular slang of the plantations. These are the original lyrics:
Dixie's Land, interpreted by the Army Band and Chorus
I wish I was in the land of cotton, old times there are not forgotten
and I wish I was in Dixie, hurray ! hurray !
and I wish I was in Dixie, hurray ! hurray !
A militant Confederate version named 'The War Song of Dixie', created by
Albert Pike, published on the Natchez Courier on 30th May 1861:
Southrons, hear your country call you !
Henry Throop Stanton created another militant Confederate version. Those and
other war versions were often preferred by Confederate soldiers.
Do They Miss Me at Home ?
Down in the Valley
Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes
Created in 1789.
The Drummer Boy of Shiloh
Lyrics and music by William Shakespeare Hays, in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1862.
Fisher's Hornpipe
Also known as 'Rickett's Hornpipe'.
Flop Eared Mule
For the Dear Old Flag I Die
Lyrics by George Cooper. Music by Stephen Foster. The song interprets the last
words of a brave little drummer boy who was fatally wounded at the Battle of
Gettysburg (July 1863).
For the dear old Flag I die
For the dear old Flag I die
Do not mourn, my mother dear
For the dear old Flag I die
Farewell mother, Death's cold hand
For the dear old Flag I die
The Glendy Burk
Lyrics and music by Stephen Foster in 1855.
God Save the South
Lyrics by George Henry Miles in 1861. Played with three different music scores:
Music by Charles Wolfgang Amadeus Ellerbrock in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1861
'God Save the South' is the Official National Anthem of the Confederate States
of America ('Dixie's Land' is well known, but it is not official). 'God Save the
South' was the first song published after the foundation of the Confederate States
(8th February 1861), and included as such in the book 'The Soldier's Companion',
given to all Confederate soldiers during the War for Confederate Independence.
Going back to Dixie
Lyrics and music by C. A. White in 1874.
Goober Peas
Green Grow the Lilacs
Originally called 'Green grows the Laurel', traditional.
Hard Times Come Again no More
Lyrics and music by Stephen Foster in 1854.
The Homespun Dress
Home Sweet Home
Lyrics by John H. Payne. Music by Henry R. Bishop in 1823.
Hound Dog Song
Traditional from the Ozark Mountains, between Arkansas and Missouri.
How Are You, John Morgan ?
Lyrics and music by C. D. Benson, 1864. 'How Are You, John Morgan ?' is an
addition of some lines to a song of the same author called 'Mister, Here is
Your Mule', created by C. D. Benson, published in 1862 by C. D. Benson in
Nashville, Tennessee, Confederate States, and by John Church in Cincinnati,
Ohio, United States. The lines added by C. D. Benson in 1864 as 'How are You,
John Morgan ?' are:
Then raise the shout, the glorious shout
Confederate Colonel John Hunt Morgan commanded courageous Cavalry troops that
often raided enemy territory, mainly in Ohio. Colonel Morgan was captured in
a dangerous raid in 1863, but in a short time he was the protagonist of a
spectacular escape from the Federal military prison of Ohio. A Confederate
version of unknown author was sung to the music of 'Maryland, My Maryland',
and published in the Nashville Daily on 14th July 1863. Confederate General
Braxton Bragg, mentioned in the song, had difficulties for rallying his troops
at the Battle of Mission Ridge.
Hark ! Morgan's boys are on a raid
Come Soldiers, listen to my lay
I Am a Good Old Rebel
Lyrics by Confederate Major James Innes Randolph about 1865. Music based on the
Minstrel song 'Joe Bowers'. It is not known who created the music for 'Joe
Bowers', with a claim in 1864 attributing it to 'J. R. T.' and an 1866 sheet
music copy ironically dedicating it to Thad Stevens.
'I Am a Good Old Rebel' is strongly anti-Federal, expressing deep hatred against
the United States and their symbols, such as the Declaration of Independence of
the United States (approved on 2nd July 1775, signed two days later by John Hancock,
President of Congress at Philadelphia), and the Federal Constitution of the United
States (ratified by the different States from 7th December 1787 to 29th May 1790).
That Federal Constitution terminated de facto (not de jure) the original Articles
of Confederation of the United States, which had been approved by the different
states from 1778 to 1781. The Articles of Confederation never were officially
derogated, simply each State voluntarily abandoned the Articles (as States were
entitled to do), and adopted the new Federal Constitution. The Confederate States
of 1861 represent, in part, a return to the original Confederation of States.
'I Am a Good Old Rebel' reflects a conviction held by patriotic Confederates, who
did not accept the invasion by the foreign occupation forces of the United States,
and an expression of the bitterness and anger that Confederate nationalists felt
after the Confederacy had lost the War, confronted to an industrial power tenfold
its own, and with a more numerous population available for military enlistment.
'I Am a Good Old Rebel' was first published as a poem in Maryland in 1898, and
published as a song in the 4th April 1914 edition of Collier's Weekly. Before
publication, 'I am a Good Old Rebel' had been sung and passed through oral
tradition all throughout Dixie. The published version initially contained only
four verses, but individual artists have added their own verses to reflect their
personal ideas against the United States 'and everything they do'.
Consuelo Montagu, Duchess of Manchester, once sang the song in London for the
Prince of Wales (who later became King Edward VII). After the performance, the
Prince requested a repetition of the song 'with the cuss words in it'.
The Robert mentioned in the song is Confederate General Robert E. Lee, of
Virginia, Commander in Chief of all Confederate Forces. Point Lookout was a
Federal camp for Confederate prisoners located in Maryland. The Confederate
Marine Corps one time attacked the camp and liberated a number of prisoners.
Oh, I'm a good old rebel
I hate the Constitution
I hate the Yankee nation
I followed old mas' Robert
Three hundred thousand Yankees
I can't take up my musket
Jackson in the Valley
Jenny, get your Hoecake done
Johnny Booker
Also known as 'Jim along Josie'.
Johnny Reb Confederate Soldier
Lyrics and music by Johnny Horton in the 1950's. A patriotic song honouring
the anonymous Confederate soldier, known by the Federals as 'Johnny Reb'
(meaning 'Johnny Rebel'). Similarly, the anonymous Federal soldier is known
by the Confederates as 'Billy Yank' (meaning 'Billy Yankee'). Johnny Horton
was a Country Music singer of great success in those unforgettable years of
the 1950's.
Johnny Reb Confederate Soldier, interpreted by Johnny Horton
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb, Johnny Reb
I saw You a-marching with Robert E. Lee
Because You fought all the way, Johnny Reb, Johnny Reb
I heard Your teeth chatter from the cold outside
But You fought all the way, Johnny Reb, Johnny Reb
I saw General Lee raise a sabre in his hand
Because You fought all the way, Johnny Reb, Johnny Reb
When honest Abe heard the news about Your fall
Because You fought all the way, Johnny Reb, Johnny Reb
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb, Johnny Reb
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb, Johnny Reb
John Riley
Traditional.
Johnson's Old Grey Mule
Join the Cavalry
Also known as 'Jine the Cavalry'. This military song details many feats
performed by Confederate Cavalry General J. E. B. Stuart, while the chorus
urges the listener to 'join the cavalry'. This song was one of the favourites
of General Stuart, and became the unofficial song of his Confederate Cavalry.
It recounts many of the early exploits of General Stuart, including the daring
'Ride around the Army of the Potomac' in July 1862, and the Confederate Cavalry
raid to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in October 1862. One of the men of General
Stuart, soldier Sam Sweeney, was an accomplished banjo player and often
serenaded Stuart and his officers during the Gettysburg Campaign.
We're the boys that rode around McClellan
If you want to have a good time, join the cavalry !
Old Joe Hooker, won't you come out of The Wilderness ?
If you want to have a good time, join the cavalry !
We're the boys who crossed the Potomac, who
If you want to have a good time, join the cavalry !
We're the boys that rode to Pennsylvania
If you want to have a good time, join the cavalry !
The big fat Dutch gals hand around the breadium
If you want to have a good time, join the cavalry !
Jump on the Wagon
Created in 1861. Lively political song celebrating the secession of most Dixie
States, and inviting the few other Dixie States to "Jump on the Secession Wagon".
Katty Wells
Created in 1865, anonymous.
Keemo Kimo
Keep your Powder Dry
Lyrics and music by F. C. Mayer in 1861.
Kingdom coming
Listen to the Mocking Bird
Lyrics and music by Alice Hawthorne in 1855.
The Lone Sentry
Lud Gals
Lyrics and music by Daniel Decatur Emmett in 1843. First interpreted by his
black faced Minstrel band, The Virginia Minstrels.
Lynchburg Town
Created in 1835. Also known as 'Going Down Town'.
Maryland, My Maryland
Lyrics by James Ryder Randall in 1861. Music by Melchior Franck in 1615 for
the song 'Lauriger Horatius', adapted by Jennie Cary in 1861. Randall wrote
'Maryland, My Maryland' as a poem, published by the Sunday Delta of New
Orleans. Some days later Cary, in Baltimore, adapted the poem to the music
that had been composed by Franck almost 250 years earlier.
This martial song is the Official Anthem of the State of Maryland. It was
composed on 26th April 1861 for encouraging Dixie patriots to fight against
the United States, seven days after the clash of civilians, Baltimore Police
and Maryland State Militia against United States soldiers, in Baltimore on
19th April 1861, a fight where there were dead and injured on both sides.
Randall strongly supported the Confederate States, including lyrics that refer
to United States President Abraham Lincoln as 'tyrant', 'despot', and 'Vandal',
and to the United States as 'Northron scum', as well as referring to the phrase
'Sic semper tyrannis', which was the slogan shouted in 1865 by Marylander John
Wilkes Booth when he assassinated Lincoln.
The despot's heel is on thy shore, Maryland !
Hark to an exiled son's appeal, Maryland !
Thou wilt not cower in the dust, Maryland !
Come ! 'Tis the red dawn of the day, Maryland !
Come ! For thy shield is bright and strong, Maryland !
Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain, Maryland !
I see the blush upon thy cheek, Maryland !
Thou wilt not yield the Vandal toll, Maryland !
I hear the distant thunder-hum, Maryland !
Nine o'Clock Bell Jig
Lyrics and music by James Buckley in 1862.
Oh, Susanna
Lyrics and music by Stephen Foster and Edwin Pearce Christy (leader of the
Christy Minstrels, a black faced Minstrel band) in 1848. In 1849 gold was
discovered in Upper California, and thousands of adventurers rushed to try
their luck at gold mining. 'Oh, Susanna', created the previous year, became
the song of those courageous men, known as 'the Forty Niners of the Gold Rush'.
Old Dan Tucker
Traditional.
Old Joe Clark
Appalachian traditional song created about 1840, honouring Joe Clark, a United
States soldier who fought against the British in the Second British-United
States War (1812-1815). When the war ended by the Treaty of Ghent (1815), Joe
Clark received some land in reward for his military services, and he settled
as a farmer on the Westron slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
There is an instrumental interpretation of the song by Bill Monroe and the
Blue Grass Boys, in the section 'Records of Old Time Country Music'.
My Old Kentucky Home
Old King Crow
Created in 1840. 'Old King Crow' is one of the oldest black faced Minstrel
songs that have survived complete.
Old Zip Coon
Lyrics and music by Robert Farrell in 1834. 'Old Zip Coon' is a comical
character of black faced Minstrel bands, a character known as 'broadway
swell', who dresses on stage with ultramodish clothes, tightly fitting
pantaloons, a blue swallowtail coat, lacy jabot, silk hat, baubles
dangling from his waistband, and a walking cane.
Our First President's Quickstep
Lyrics and music by P. Rivinac in February 1861, published in Augusta, Georgia,
shortly later. The song celebrates Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, whom the
Provisional Confederate Congress in Montgomery, Alabama, elected on 9th February
1861 as Provisional President of the Confederate States of America. The ceremony
of official inauguration happened also in Montgomery, on 18th February 1861. In
February 1862 the Provisional Congress and the Provisional Government of the
Confederate States became formally instaured, with Mister Davis continuing as
President. The Confederate President has a mandate of six years.
The Palmetto State Song Quickstep
Lyrics and music by George O. Robinson in late 1860. This song was the first
published Confederate sheet music, and became the first of several major
Confederate anthems. Robinson dedicated the song to the signers of South
Carolina's act of secession, on 20th December 1860. The lyrics of the song
accuse the United States of attempting to impose their will upon the Dixie
Nation. This is not the Official State Song of South Carolina, known as 'The
Palmetto State'. South Carolina has two Official State Songs: 'Carolina' and
'South Carolina on My Mind'.
Polly Wolly Doodle
Richmond is a Hard Road to Travel
Lyrics and music by John Reuben Thompson in 1863. The song is a Confederate
version, with different lyrics, inspired on the song 'Jordan is a Hard Road
to Travel', this one created by Daniel Decatur Emmett in 1853. The Confederate
version 'Richmond is a Hard Road to Travel' speaks about the enormous losses
suffered by the Federal forces that tried to capture Richmond, Virginia,
Capital City of the Confederate States.
After the first stanza, each stanza mentions a separate battle or military
campaign. The last stanza refers to the conviction of niggers that the
Confederate Forces 'fight like the devil':
Would you like to hear my song? I'm afraid it's rather long
Then pull off your coat and roll up your sleeve
First, McDowell, bold and gay, set forth the shortest way
Then pull off your coat and roll up your sleeve
Next came the Wooly-Horse, with an overwhelming force
Then pull off your coat and roll up your sleeve
Then the great Galena came, with her portholes all aflame
Then pull off your coat and roll up your sleeve
Then McClellan followed soon, both with spade and balloon
Then pull off your coat and roll up your sleeve
Then said Lincoln unto Pope
Then pull off your coat and roll up your sleeve
Last of all the brave Burnside, with his pontoon bridges, tried
Then pull off your coat and roll up your sleeve
We are very much perplexed to know who is the next
Then pull off your coat and roll up your sleeve
Riding a Raid
Created in 1862, anonymous lyrics. Based on the music of 'The Bonnie Dundee',
Scotch traditional. 'Riding a Raid' honours Confederate Cavalry General J. E.
B. Stuart.
Ring, Ring the Banjo
Lyrics and music by Stephen Foster in 1851.
Rock of Ages
Rock the Cradle, Julie
Rose of Alabama
https://konqueror.org/
The Blue Grass Champs, one of the various formations of the Stoneman Family
Records of Old Time Country Music
Hyper links to Old Time Country Music
The Sons of the Pioneers, starring Roy Rogers (at the centre, with guitar)
Declared by Michael Bane in 'Hillbilly Band', published in 'Country Music'
magazine in March 1977.
Declared by Tom Connelly, published in 'The State and The Columbia Record' in
March 1983.
Declared by Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Recorded in 1963
Running time: 67 seconds. Storage size: 2.2 Megabytes. Video format: Motion Picture Expert Group, Layer Four
confederate_army_band-the_bonnie_blue_flag-1963.mp4
fighting for our liberty with treasure, blood and toil
and when our rights were threatened the cry rose near and far
hurray for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star !
hurray, hurray, for Southron rights hurray !
hurray for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star !
like friends and like brethren, kind were we, and just
but now, when Northron treachery attempts our rights to mar
we hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star
hurray, hurray, for Southron rights hurray !
hurray for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star !
then came Alabama and took her by the hand
next, quickly Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida
all raised on high the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star
hurray, hurray, for Southron rights hurray !
hurray for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star !
Texas and fair Louisiana join us in the fight
Davis, our loved President, and Stephens statesmen are
now rally round the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star
hurray, hurray, for Southron rights hurray !
hurray for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star !
who with the young Confederacy at last has linked her fate
impelled by her example, now other states prepare
to hoist high the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star
hurray, hurray, for Southron rights hurray !
hurray for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star !
for Arkansas and North Carolina now also have gone out
and let another rousing cheer for Tennessee be given
the single star of the Bonnie Blue Flag has grown to be eleven
hurray, hurray, for Southron rights hurray !
hurray for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star !
like patriots of old we'll fight, our heritage to save
and rather than submit to shame, to die we would prefer
so cheer for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star
hurray, hurray, for Southron rights hurray !
hurray for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star !
Mississippi: 9th January 1861
Florida: 10th January 1861
Alabama: 11th January 1861
Georgia: 18th January 1861 (sometimes given as 19th January 1861)
Louisiana: 26th January 1861
Texas: 1st February 1861
Virginia: 17th April 1861
Arkansas: 6th May 1861
North Carolina: 20th May 1861
Tennessee: 8th June 1861
The list given above forms the eleven states mentioned in the song at the time
when it was composed (mid June 1861). On 8th August 1861 the Confederate
Government recognised Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland (including in Maryland the
part of Washington City North of the River Potomac) and Delaware as part of
Dixie, pending their formal entry as part of the Confederate States.
the bravest of the brave
sends forth his ringing battle cry
beside the Atlantic wave
she leads the way in honour's path
come, brothers, near and far
come, rally round the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star !
hurray for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star !
the Yankee gibe and sneer
till Northron insolence and pride
know neither shame nor fear
but ready now with shot and steel
their brazen front to mar
we holst aloft the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star
hurray for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star !
and close beside her come
her sisters of the Mexique sea
with pealing trump and drum
till answering back from hill and glen
the rallying cry afar
a nation holsts the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star
hurray for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star !
by each beleaguered town
we swear to rest not night nor day
but hunt the tyrants down
till bathed in valor's holy blood
the gazing world afar
shall greet with shouts the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star
hurray for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star !
http://www.library.ucsb.edu/OBJID/Cylinder1440
early in the morning
so Yankeedom had best look out
and take a timely warning
hurray for our Dixie Land !
hurray for our borders !
Southron boys to arms will stand
and whip the dark marauders !
upon their greasy pillows
while Dixie boys with muffled oars
were gliding over the billows
hurray for our Dixie Land !
hurray for our borders !
Southron boys to arms will stand
and whip the dark marauders !
make ready to be running
for Dixie boys are near at hand
surpassing you in cunning
hurray for our Dixie Land !
hurray for our borders !
Southron boys to arms will stand
and whip the dark marauders !
who broke upon their slumbers
even little girls and boys shall sing
Your name in tuneful numbers
hurray for our Dixie Land !
hurray for our borders !
Southron boys to arms will stand
and whip the dark marauders !
our brave unflinching leaders
a light you are upon the path
of all our brave seceders
hurray for our Dixie Land !
hurray for our borders !
Southron boys to arms will stand
and whip the dark marauders !
was ever a hero bolder ?
he seized a Yankee foe and made
a breastwork of the soldier
hurray for our Dixie Land !
hurray for our borders !
Southron boys to arms will stand
and whip the dark marauders !
renowned for Creole beauty
Your champions will bear in mind
the watchword grace and booty !
hurray for our Dixie Land !
hurray for our borders !
Southron boys to arms will stand
and whip the dark marauders !
ere long you'll be forgotten
while Dixie's notes shall gaily float
throughout the land of cotton
hurray for our Dixie Land !
hurray for our borders !
Southron boys to arms will stand
and whip the dark marauders !
Recorded in 1963
Running time: 77 seconds. Storage size: 2.7 Megabytes. Video format: Motion Picture Expert Group, Layer Four
confederate_army_band-dixies_land-1963.mp4
look away, look away, look away, Dixie Land
in Dixie Land where I was born in early on a frosty morning
look away, look away, look away, Dixie Land
in Dixie Land I'll take my stand to live and die in Dixie
hurray ! hurray ! away down South in Dixie
hurray ! hurray ! away down South in Dixie
in Dixie Land I'll take my stand to live and die in Dixie
hurray ! hurray ! away down South in Dixie
hurray ! hurray ! away down South in Dixie
up ! lest worse than death befall you !
hear the Northron thunders mutter !
Northron flags in South wind flutter
send them back your fierce defiance !
stamp upon the cursed alliance !
said the wounded drummer boy
mother, press your lips to mine
oh, they bring me peace and joy !
'tis the last time on earth
I shall ever see your face
mother take me to your heart
let me die in your embrace
mother, dry your weeping eye
for the honour of our land
and the dear old Flag I die
every pang will soon be over
for I hear the angel band
calling from their starry shore
now I see their banners wave
in the light of perfect day
though 'tis hard to part with you
yet I would not wish to stay
mother, dry your weeping eye
for the honour of our land
and the dear old Flag I die
weighs upon my spirit now
and I feel his blighting breath
fan my pallid cheek and brow
closer, closer to your heart
let me feel that you are by
while my sight is growing dim
for the dear old Flag I die
mother, dry your weeping eye
for the honour of our land
and the dear old Flag I die
Music by C. T. de Cœniél in Richmond, Virginia, in 1861
Music of the British National Anthem 'God save the Queen'
John Morgan is caught at last
proclaim it loud, the land throughout
he is in to prison fast
upon his mule he is gone, they say
to Dixie's Promised Land
and at no very distant day
to lead a new command
come on, come on, come on, old man
and don't be made a fool
I'll tell you the truth as best I can:
'John Morgan has got your mule !'
here's your mule, oh here's your mule !
to meet the foe they are not afraid
here's your mule, oh here's your mule !
and when bluecoats see them come
they stop the fire and break and run
and then begins John Morgan's fun
here's your mule, oh here's your mule !
here's your mule, your long eared mule
I'll sing the warriors of the day
here's your mule, oh here's your mule !
old General Bragg, he leads the way
and moves his army twice a day
and once at night I have heard them say
here's your mule, your long eared mule
now that's just what I am
for this 'fair land of freedom'
I do not care at all
I'm glad I fit against it
I only wish we'd won
and I don't want no pardon
for anything I've done
this great republic too
I hate the Freedmans' Buro
in uniforms of blue
I hate the nasty eagle
with all his braggs and fuss
the lying thieving Yankees
I hate them wuss and wuss
and everything they do
I hate the Declaration
of Independence, too
I hate the glorious Union
'tis dripping with our blood
I hate their striped banner
I fit it all I could
for four year near about
got wounded in three places
and starved at Pint Lookout
I caught the rheumatism
a-camping in the snow
but I killed a chance of Yankees
I'd like to kill some more
still in Southron dust
we got three hundred thousand
before they conquered us
they died of Southron fever
and Southron steel and shot
I wish they were three million
instead of what we got
and fight them now no more
but I ain't going to love them
now that is sarten sure
and I don't want no pardon
for what I was and am
I won't be reconstructed
and I don't care a dam
Running time: 143 seconds. Storage size: 3.3 Megabytes. Audio format: Motion Picture Expert Group, Layer Three
confederate-johnny_horton-johnny_reb_confederate_soldier.mp3
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb
You held Your head high trying to win the Victory
You fought for Your folks but You didn't die in vain
even though You lost they speak highly of Your name
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb
I saw the bullets open all the wounds in Your side
I saw the young boys as they began to fall
You had tears in Your eyes because You couldn't help at all
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb
I heard the cannons roar as You made Your last stand
You marched into battle with the Grey and the Red
when the cannon's smoke cleared it took days to count the dead
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb
the folks thought he'd call a great Victory ball
but he asked the band to play the song Dixie
for You, Johnny Reb, and all that You believed
yeah, You fought all the way, Johnny Reb
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb
yeah, You fought all the way, Johnny Reb...
rode around McClellan, Rode around McClellan
we're the boys that rode around McClellan
bully boys, hey ! Bully boys, ho !
join the cavalry ! Join the cavalry !
if you want to catch the Devil, if you want to have fun
if you want to smell Hell, join the cavalry !
come out of The Wilderness, come out of The Wilderness !
old Joe Hooker, won't you come out of The Wilderness ?
bully boys, hey ! Bully boys, ho !
join the cavalry ! Join the cavalry !
if you want to catch the Devil, if you want to have fun
if you want to smell Hell, join the cavalry !
crossed the Potomac, who crossed the Potomac
we're the boys who crossed the Potomac
bully boys, hey ! Bully boys, ho !
join the cavalry ! Join the cavalry !
if you want to catch the Devil, if you want to have fun
if you want to smell Hell, join the cavalry !
rode to Pennsylvania, rode to Pennsylvania
we're the boys that rode to Pennsylvania
bully boys, hey ! Bully boys, ho !
join the cavalry ! Join the cavalry !
if you want to catch the Devil, if you want to have fun
if you want to smell Hell, join the cavalry !
hand around the breadium, hand around the breadium
the big fat Dutch gals hand around the breadium
bully boys, hey ! Bully boys, ho !
join the cavalry ! Join the cavalry !
if you want to catch the Devil, if you want to have fun
if you want to smell Hell, join the cavalry !
his torch is at thy temple door, Maryland !
avenge the patriotic gore
that flecked the streets of Baltimore
and be the battle queen of yore
Maryland ! My Maryland !
my mother State ! to thee I kneel, Maryland !
for life and death, for woe and weal
thy peerless chivalry reveal
and gird thy beauteous limbs with steel
Maryland ! My Maryland !
thy beaming sword shall never rust, Maryland !
remember Carroll's sacred trust
remember Howard's warlike thrust
and all thy slumberers with the just
Maryland ! My Maryland !
come with thy panoplied array, Maryland !
with Ringgold's spirit for the fray
with Watson's blood at Monterrey
with fearless Lowe and dashing May
Maryland ! My Maryland !
come ! For thy dalliance does thee wrong, Maryland !
come to thine own anointed throng
stalking with Liberty along
and sing thy dauntless slogan song
Maryland ! My Maryland !
Virginia should not call in vain, Maryland !
she meets her sisters on the plain
'Sic semper !' 'tis the proud refrain
that baffles minions back amain
Maryland ! My Maryland !
for thou wast ever bravely meek, Maryland !
but lo ! There surges forth a shriek
from hill to hill, from creek to creek
Potomac calls to Chesapeake
Maryland ! My Maryland !
thou wilt not crook to his control, Maryland !
better the fire upon thee roll
better the blade, the shot, the bowl
than crucifixion of the soul
Maryland ! My Maryland !
the Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum, Maryland !
she is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb
huzza ! She spurns the Northron scum !
she breathes ! She burns ! She'll come ! She'll come !
Maryland ! My Maryland !
The First Battle of Manassas (Confederate Generals Stonewall Jackson,
Beauregard and Johnston against Federal General McDowell).
The Valley Campaign (where the Federals lost their entire supply trains).
The Battle of Drewry's Bluff (where Federal boats participated, to no avail).
The Peninsula Campaign and the Battle of Cedar Mountain (Confederate General
Longstreet against Federal General McClellan).
The Second Battle of Manassas (Confederate General Stonewall Jackson against
Federal General Pope).
The Battle of Fredericksburg (Federal General Burnside tried an attack through
the Rappahannock, which ended in disaster).
of the famous 'On to Richmond' double trouble
of the half-a-dozen trips and half-a-dozen slips
and the very latest bursting of the bubble
'tis pretty hard to sing and like a round, round ring
'tis a dreadful knotty puzzle to unravel
though all the papers swore, when we touched Virginia's shore
that Richmond was a hard road to travel
Richmond is a hard road to travel
then pull off your coat and roll up your sleeve
Richmond is a hard road to travel, I believe
by Manassas in the pleasant summer weather
but unfortunately ran on a Stonewall, foolish man
and had a 'rocky journey' altogether
and he found it rather hard to ride over Beauregard
and Johnston proved a deuce of a bother
and 'twas clear beyond a doubt that he didn't like the route
and a second time would have to try another
for Manassas is a hard road to travel
Manassas gave us fits, and Bull Run made us grieve
for Richmond is a hard road to travel, I believe !
to march down to Richmond by the Valley
but he couldn't find the road, and his "onward movement" showed
his campaigning was a mere shilly-shally
then Commissary Banks, with his motley foreign ranks
kicking up a great noise, fuss, and flurry
lost the whole of his supplies, and with tears in his eyes
from the Stonewall ran away in a hurry
for the Valley is a hard road to travel
the Valley wouldn't do and we all had to leave
for Richmond is a hard road to travel, I believe !
and the Monitor, that famous naval wonder
but the guns at Drewry's Bluff gave them speedily enough
the loudest sort of regular Rebel thunder
the Galena was astonished and the Monitor admonished
our patent shot and shell were mocked at
while the dreadful Naugatuck, by the hardest kind of luck
was knocked into an ugly cocked hat
for James River is a hard road to travel
the gun-boats gave it up in terror and despair
for Richmond is a hard road to travel, I declare !
to try the Peninsular approaches
but one and all agreed that his best rate of speed
was no faster than the slowest of 'slow coaches'
instead of easy ground, at Williamsburg, he found
a Longstreet indeed, and nothing shorter
and it put him in the dumps, that spades wasn't trumps
and the Hills he couldn't level as ordered
for Longstreet is a hard road to travel
lay down the shovel, and throw away the spade
for Richmond is a hard road to travel, I'm afraid !
'You can make the trip, I hope
I will save the Universal Yankee nation
to make sure of no defeat, I'll leave no lines of retreat
and issue a famous proclamation'
but that same dreaded Jackson, this fellow laid his whacks
and made him, by compulsion, a seceder
and Pope took rapid flight from Manassas' second fight
'twas his very last appearance as a leader
for Stonewall is a hard road to travel
Pope did his very best, but was evidently sold
for Richmond is a hard road to travel, I am told !
a road no one had thought of before him
with two hundred thousand men for the Rebel slaughter pen
and the blessed Union flag waving over him
but he met a fire like hell, of canister and shell
that mowed his men down with great slaughter
'twas a shocking sight to view, that second Waterloo
and the river ran with more blood than water
Rappahannock is a hard road to travel
Burnside got in a trap, which caused him for to grieve
for Richmond is a hard road to travel, I believe !
to command the new Richmond expedition
for the Capital must blaze, and that in ninety days
and Jeff and his men be sent to perdition
we'll take the cursed town, and then we'll burn it down
and plunder and hang up each cursed Rebel
yet the contraband was right when he told us they would fight
'Oh, yes, massa, they fight like the devil !'
for Richmond is a hard road to travel
then pull off your coat and roll up your sleeve
For Richmond is a hard road to travel, I believe !