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The
Battle of New Orleans (The
Eighth of January)
A well known
song written by Jimmy Driftwood and sung to this
old fiddle tune called "The Eighth of
January" about the
battle of New Orleans which commenced on the
eighth of Jan 1815. Being English I remember this
tune sung by Lonnie Donegan I think it was also
recorded by Pete Seeger.
There are many versions of this song/tune this is
the basic one and it is played slowly here. I
think it is a good practice tune for the whistle.
There are some suggested breath marks, a breath
can be taken in place of a note as in bar five.
There are flow direction signs in this tune which
are useful to know if learning to sight read. In
this tune you will see the following: Start the tune and
proceed to
 then go
back to 
and play the tune again from there, when you reach
 skip to
the last sign
 carry on
like that ad-infinitum or until all the verses are
sung. Underneath are all the words to the tune.
| D Whistle |
The Eighth of
January |
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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
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 Marse 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.
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.
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
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..
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
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
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.
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.
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."
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.
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