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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

White House Music! Make a Note of It: Andrew Jackson Kicked Some Ass

Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, Jan 26, 2011 at 4:59 PM

(This is part of an ongoing series rating presidential campaign songs, in rough chronological order. You can find all the previous entries here..)

"The Hunters of Kentucky" was written about Andrew Jackson's victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans. It was apparently wildly popular. Four years after the song was first performed, Jackson, who was from Tennessee, used it as a campaign song (he recycled it for his second run in 1828, too, where Wikipedia points out that he campaigned against someone who was actually from Kentucky, which must've been kind of awkward). It's an epic, Irish lilt of a song:

But Jackson he was wide awake,
And was not scar’d at trifles,
For well he knew what aim we take,
With our Kentucky rifles:
So he led us down by Cypress swamp,
The ground was low and mucky;
There stood John Bull in martial pomp,
And here was old Kentucky.

As far as campaign songs go, it doesn't make any promises about Jackson except for his bravery in battle. It's not catchy, it's not especially fun. But it's a great illustration of his character, and it probably educated a lot of people about the candidate.

Lyrics: 9.5
Enthusiasm: 7.5
Infectiousness: 2.5
Total Score: 6.5