Battle of New Orleans (midi)

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1. Well, in 1814, we took a little trip,

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along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississipp.

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We took a little bacon and we took a little beans,

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and we met the bloody British in the town of New Orleans

We fired our guns and the British kept a comin',

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there wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.

We fired once more and they began a running,

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down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

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2. Well, I seed Marse Jackson come a-walkin' down the street,

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and a-talkin' to a pirate by the name of Jean Lafitte.

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He gave Jean a drink that he brung from Tennessee,

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and the pirate said he'd help us drive the British to the sea.

Well the French told Andrew, "You had better run,

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for Packenham's a-comin' with a bullet in his gun."

Old Hickory said he didn't give a damn,

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he's a-gonna whup the britches off of Colonel Packenham.

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3. Well, we looked down the river and we seed the British come,

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and there must have been a hundred of them beating on the drum.

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They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring,

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While we stood behind our cotton bales and didn't say a thin

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Old Hickory said we could take em by surprise,

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if we didn't fire a musket till we looked `em in the eyes.

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We held our fire till we seed their face well,

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then we opened up our squirrel guns and really gave em well.

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4. Well they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles,

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and they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.

They ran so fast the hounds couldn't catch em,

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down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

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Well we fired our cannons till the barrels melted down,

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so we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.

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We filled his head with minie balls and powdered his behind,

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and when we touched the powder off, the 'gator lost his mind.

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They lost their pants and their pretty shiny coats,

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and their tails was all a-showin' like a bunch of billy goats.

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They ran down the river with their tongues a-hanging out,

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and they said they got a lickin', which there wasn't any doubt.

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5. Well we marched back to town in our dirty ragged pants,

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and we danced all night with the pretty girls from France.

We couldn't understand 'em, but they had the sweetest charms,

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and we understood 'em better when we got 'em in our arms.

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Well, the guide who brung the British from the sea,

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come a-limping into camp just as sick as he could be.

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He said the dying words of Colonel Packenham

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was, "You better quit your foolin' with your cousin Uncle Sam."

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6. Well, we'll march back home, but we'll never be content,

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till we make Old Hickery the people's president.

And every time we think about the bacon and the beans,

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we'll think about the fun we had way down in New Orleans.

(Pete Seeger)