'We fired our cannons till the barrels melted down . . . '
In 1864 we took a little trip
Along with General Sherman near the mighty Mississippi
We took a little hardtack and we took a lotta beans
And we caught the Confederacy in Savannah – there were a lot of screams.
We fired our guns and Johnny Reb kept coming
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a Civil War ago
We fired once more and they began to running
On down the Mississippi to parts unknown.
We looked down the river and we saw the Confederacy coming
There must have been a thousand of them beating on the drum
They stepped so high and they made their muskets ring
We stood behind our cotton bales and didn't say a thing.
Old Tecumseh said we could take them by surprise
We didn't fire our muskets till we looked them in the eyes
We held our fire till we saw their weathered faces well
Then we opened up our squirrel guns and gave them hell.
Yes they ran through the burning houses and they ran through the corn
They ran through the bushes where a Yankee wouldn't go
They ran so fast that the rounds couldn't catch them
On down the Mississippi to parts unknown.
We fired our cannons till the barrels melted down
We grabbed more powder and we fought another round
We tried to fill his head with Northern wisdom
But they would never give up their homeland way down South.
'2008' RLS
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Reviews of "Sherman’s March to the Sea"
Reviewed by Malcolm Watts (Reader)
Reviewed on December 12, 2008
Johnny Horton would be pleased to see his song adapted to America's other big war of the 19th century. Well done. Malcolm
Another bleak and black mark against the unwillingness of mankind to change and to do away with such a way of "solving" things. Thank you, Lance. Love and peace to you,
Fantastic rhythm/rhyme throughout and I too heard the battle of N.O. in the background as I read this!you really do a great job of putting this type genre together!
I recognize the parallel with Johnny Horton's "Battle of New Orleans" and can hear the music in my head as I read your work. It is a proven way to get a point across and remember the lesson in the story.
Though a northerner, I agree with Southern Comfort - all things being equal the South probably would have won. But Sherman's March to the Sea did help to bring the War to an end and hopefully saved more lives than it took.
Well Sugar, You have to admit Johnny Reb did a powerful lot of fightin, with very little money and hardly any supplies. We done all right with what we had. You done good with this here write also. HUGS! SC
The Borderline Anti-Memory PastBook asks questions a diary does not ask and raises the questions to dialectics and answers them in a way a memory work does not answer questions.
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Such a clever way to put this into a song. I've heard that song many, many times..almost know it by heart. Brilliant, Lance!
Blessings and Huggss,
~Linda
Regis
Eileen
Though a northerner, I agree with Southern Comfort - all things being equal the South probably would have won. But Sherman's March to the Sea did help to bring the War to an end and hopefully saved more lives than it took.