Johnny Horton – The Battle Of New Orleans

“The Battle of New Orleans” is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood. The song describes the War of 1812 Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier; the song tells the tale of the battle with a light tone and provides a rather comical version of what actually happened at the battle. It has been recorded by many artists, but the singer most often associated with this song is Johnny Horton. His version scored number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959 (see 1959 in music). Billboard ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1959, it was very popular with teenagers in the late 50’s/early 60’s in an era mostly dominated by rock and roll music.

In Billboard magazine’s rankings of the top songs in the first 50 years of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, “The Battle of New Orleans” was ranked as the 28th song overall,and the number-one country music song to appear on the chart.

B-side “All for the Love of a Girl”
Released April 6, 1959
Recorded 1959
Genre Country
Length 2:33
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Jimmy Driftwood
Producer(s) Don Law

Johnny Horton – The Battle Of New Orleans lyrics

[Verse 1]
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 a town near 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 begin to runnin’
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

[Verse 2]
We looked down a river
(Hut-two)
And we see’d the British come
(Three-four)
And there must have been a hundred of’em
(Hut-two)
Beatin’ on the drums
(Three-four)
They stepped so high
(Hut-two)
And they made their bugles ring
(Three-four)
We stood beside our cotton bales
(Hut-two)
And didn’t say a thing
(Two-three-four)
[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 begin to runnin’
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

[Verse 3]
Old Hickory said we could take ’em by surprise
(One-hut, two-three-four)
If we didn’t fire our muskets
(One-hut, two-three-four)
‘Till we looked ’em in the eye
(One-hut, two-three-four)
We held our fire
(Hut, two-three-four)
‘Till we see their faces well
Then we opened up our squirrel guns
And really gave ’em – well we

[Chorus]
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 begin to runnin’
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

[Verse 4]
Yeah, they ran through the briars
(One-hup-two)
And they ran through the brambles
(Hup-two-three-four)
And they ran through the bushes
(Hup-two)
Where the rabbit couldn’t go
(Hup-two-three-four)
They ran so fast
(Hup-two)
That the hounds couldn’t catch ’em
(One-two-three-four)
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
(One-two, hup-two-three-four)

[Verse 5]
We fired our cannon ’til the barrel melted down
So we grabbed an alligator and we fired another round
We filled his head with cannon balls, and powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off the gator lost his mind

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

[Verse 4]
Yeah, they ran through the briars
(Hup-one-two)
And they ran through the brambles
(One-two-three-four)
And they ran through the bushes
(Hup-two)
Where the rabbit couldn’t go
(Hup-two-three-four)
They ran so fast
(Hup-two)
That the hounds couldn’t catch ’em
(One-two-three-four)
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
I owe my soul to the company store