The song The Battle of New Orleans was written in 1936, but did not become a hit song until 1959.
The songwriter, Jimmy Driftwood (née James Corbitt Morris), was the Thomas Edison of songwriters. As Edison amassed over 1,000 patents (1,093 to be exact, almost enough for one per day for three years), Driftwood ended up writing more than 6,000 songs, 300 of which ended up being recorded by others. So “only” 5% of the songs he wrote were recorded by others, but it’s still 300 more songs than I’ve written that were covered by another artist.
Driftwood’s two most well-known compositions were Tennessee Stud (recorded by Doc Watson, Johnny Cash, Eddy Arnold, Hank Williams, Jr., Chet Atkins with Jerry Reed (instrumental version), and "Country" Joe McDonald (of Country Joe and the Fish) -- and then Doc Watson again, along with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their Will The Circle Be Unbroken compilation, among others) and, of course, the song under discussion, The Battle of New Orleans.
So why was there a twenty-three year gap between the writing of The Battle of New Orleans (1936) and when it became a hit record? When Driftwood (then known as Mr. Morris to his High School students) wrote it, it was in an attempt to interest those students in the War of 1812 (which lasted from the middle of 1812 to early 1815), of which the Battle of New Orleans was a significant part (in fact, the Battle of New Orleans was fought after the War had ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, but the parties involved had not yet been informed about the cessation of hostilities in those pre-telegraph days).
Although the song may have been a “hit” with his students, Morris/Driftwood didn’t pursue a career in music until much later.
After James Morris changed his name to Jimmy Driftwood in the 1950s, he was “discovered” and recorded an album in 1959 entitled Jimmy Driftwood Sings Newly Discovered Early American Folk Songs, which included his song The Battle of New Orleans.
Wasting no time, country singer Johnny Horton heard it, recorded it, and turned it into a big hit that same year.
Driftwood won the 1960 Song of the Year Grammy for The Battle of New Orleans.
NOTE (Interesting Trivia): There is a connection between the most famous version of the song and one of the other artists who covered a Driftwood song: In 1953, Johnny Horton married Billie Jean Jones, the widow of Hank Williams, the father of Hank Williams Jr., who recorded a cover of one of Driftwood’s other songs, Tennessee Stud.
Horton died at the age of 35 in a 1960 auto accident. Another person who recorded Tennessee Stud (as mentioned above) was Johnny Cash, who was a good friend of Horton’s.
Here are the best-known lyrics (Johnny Horton’s version) of The Battle of New Orleans:
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 caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans
CHORUS:
We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
There wasn't 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 a river and we see'd 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
(CHORUS)
Compare that with the longer, original lyrics by Jimmy Driftwood, which exhibit more swagger, “attitude,” and trash-talking:
Well, in 18 and 14, we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Missisip
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we met the bloody British in the town of New Orleans
CHORUS:
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 a running
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Well, I seed Mars Jackson come a-walkin' down the street
And 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.
(Chorus)
Well the French told Andrew, "You had better run
For Packenham's a-comin' with a bullet in his gun."
Old Hickory said he didn't give a damn
He's a-gonna whup the britches off of Colonel Packenham.
(Chorus)
Well, we looked down the river and we seed the British come
And there must have been a hundred of them beating on the drum
They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring
While we stood behind our cotton bales and didn't say a thing
(Chorus)
Old Hickory said we could take em by surprise
If we didn't fire a musket till we looked em in the eyes
We held our fire till we seed their face well
Then we opened up our squirrel guns and really gave em well..
(Chorus)
Well 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 the hounds couldn't catch em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
(Chorus)
Well we fired our cannons till the barrels melted down
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round
We filled his head with minie balls and powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off, the 'gator lost his mind
(Chorus)
They lost their pants and their pretty shiny coats
And their tails was all a-showin' like a bunch of billy goats.
They ran down the river with their tongues a-hanging out
And they said they got a lickin', which there wasn't any doubt.
(Chorus)
Well we marched back to town in our dirty ragged pants
And we danced all night with the pretty girls from France;
We couldn't understand 'em, but they had the sweetest charms
And we understood 'em better when we got 'em in our arms.
(Chorus)
Well, the guide who brung the British from the sea
Come a-limping into camp just as sick as he could be,
He said the dying words of Colonel Packenham
Was, "You better quit your foolin' with your cousin Uncle Sam."
(Chorus)
Well, we'll march back home, but we'll never be content
Till we make Old Hick'ry 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)
The two principal versions of The Battle of New Orleans (the original by Driftwood, and the cover by Horton) are linked to below.
Jimmy Driftwood’s Original Version
Johnny Horton’s Cover
Albums with the Versions linked to above
Jimmy Driftwood Sings Newly Discovered Early American Folk Songs
https://www.amazon.com/Sings-Newly-Discovered-Early-American/dp/B00E9E4GOO/garrphotgall-20
Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits
https://www.amazon.com/Johnny-Hortons-Greatest-Hits-Horton/dp/B00E8NBH4S/garrphotgall-20
Johnny Horton Makes History
CD:
https://www.amazon.com/Johnny-Horton-Makes-History/dp/B00006AGDC/garrphotgall-20
Vinyl:
https://www.amazon.com/Johnny-Horton-Makes-History/dp/B001D30YCW/garrphotgall-20
Previous installments of the series “The Name of That Tune” are:
#1: The End of the World: https://ramblingnotesofageezer.substack.com/p/the-end-of-the-world
#2: City of New Orleans: https://ramblingnotesofageezer.substack.com/p/city-of-new-orleans
#3: Hobo’s Lullaby: https://ramblingnotesofageezer.substack.com/p/hobos-lullaby
#4: Ghost Riders in the Sky: https://ramblingnotesofageezer.substack.com/p/ghost-riders-in-the-sky-a-cowboy
#5: Sixteen Tons: https://ramblingnotesofageezer.substack.com/p/sixteen-tons