Who knew? Reg sure didn't.

“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
to fight the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.” –The Battle of New Orleans, as sung by my roommate

Every time my roommate begins to sing, I cringe—usually because he chooses children’s songs that I happen to know all the words to. Today’s selection: “Do your ears hang low” and “Battle of New Orleans.”(I actually didn’t know the title of the second piece, due to having always called it “In 1814.”)

I know “Battle of New Orleans” because my gram sang it to me as a child. What I didn’t know was its origin, until I googled it (just prior to writing this post—I am that bored.)  I had realized after 4 or so years of U.S. History, that the song was about Andrew Jackson and the end of the War of 1812 (trivia: they fought  the Battle of New Orleans after the Treaty of Ghent was signed, so it was completely unnecessary)

The song was written in the 1940s and is based upon a well known fiddle tune. The tune became very popular in the U.S. during the 1960s and achieved marginal success globally (the lyrics were changed from “British” to “Rebels” in these versions.)

Mostly, I have fond memories of the song due to this verse:

“We fired our cannon till the barrel melted down.
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.
We filled his head with cannon balls and powdered his behind
and when we touched the powder off, the gator blew his mind.”

Now that I think about it, I’m unsure if I will teach my children a song about killing British soldiers with alligators. Though admittedly, it’s the only reason I remember anything about the War of 1812.

Now you know something completely useless too.

Your butterfly,

Reg