Uke-Song: "THE PRATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS" -- reprise of the War of 1812

PARODY-LYRICS

ORIGINAL SONG: "The Battle of New Orleans" Jimmy Driftwood 1958; popular cover by Johnny Horton, 1959

The United States 1812-1815

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, February, 2013.

PARODY-LYRICS LINK: To return to the corresponding post on "Daily Illustrated Nonsense" (and to see the lyrics without the chord-chart indications) click HERE. 
(You can also view the lyrics and commentary (without images or chords, at the  parody-lyrics site where they were originally posted online)  at  AmIRight.com Post "The Prattle of New Orleans"

Jimmy Driftwood with 
his signature home-made guitar

The original recording

Battle-site map

Andrew Jackson (Old Hickory)
 leading troops to victory

THE PRATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS

(to the tune of "The Battle of New Orleans")

As a hist’ry buff, I thought that I should delve,

Into some stated details ‘bout the War of 1812.

’Cause before the BP oil-spill and the Storm they called Katrin’,

Was a diff’rent kind of battle near the Town of New Orleans.

Hup 2,3,4; Hup 2,3,4

I’d heard of Laura Secord, and the White House getting torched,

And a bit of British Caribbean forces getting zorched.

I checked it with my Southern spouse, her knowledge too was pale,

But we both knew Jimmy Driftwood’s folksy song could tell the tale.

We knew by heart the Johnny Horton version,

With the poor alligator that got used as cannon-bore:

It topped the charts over here as well as Britain,

Though it clearly smudged the history and magnified the lore.

Was Old Hick’ry drinkin’ buds with Jean Laffitte?

And why’d the British bring along so many drums to beat?

And who’d believe the dyin’ words of General Pakenham

Were “you better quit a-foolin’ with your cousin Uncle Sam”?

Did seasoned soldiers turn and do the rabbit-run,

When confronted with militia who were firing squirrel-guns?

So I took a couple Beanos, then I snarfed on nacho-chips,

And I googled “Town of New Orleans and British fighting ships”.

 It seems…

The Brits had occupied the west bank Mississip’,

Fog lifted, they got blasted sneakin’ over in their ships,

More leaders killed and wounded as they tried to storm the Town,

So their troops were not a-runnin’, they just stood and got mowed down.

Weeks thence, per Wikiped’ in Feb’ 1815,

The English, reassembled, sailed out east from New Orleans,

They targeted more mischief ’long the coast of Alabam’

(In the hold the rum-packed body of their Gen’ral Pakenham).

They left Mobile standing when the orders finally reached ’em,

“No territory changing, just return to status quo”,

On Christmas Eve belligerents had penned the Ghent treaty,

So the Indies Fleet sailed home across the Gulf of Mexico.

This strange War that began with maritime embargoes

Seemed a drawn-out pointless offshoot of Napoleonic woes;

If “agreed on as a triumph” on the two sides of the border,

It’s the writing and the citing and the singing makes it so !

Hup 2,3,4 x2. Sound off 3,4 x2.....

Enjoy chord-charts and lyrics at the Corktown Ukulele Jam songbook (Parody section at end): Corktunes: The Prattle of New Orleans


To play the original song- The Battle of New Orleans, Johnny Horton version, check out Corktunes, the songbook of the Corktown Ukulele Jam here

HOTLINKS TO OTHER CANADIAN-THEMED SONG-POSTINGS

An Alien Heading South

Big Rob Rehab Clinic

Canadian Reunion

Canoeing Lesson

I've Got Anagrams, Eh?

Flight of the Loonie

FOP-Shop Wine

Mergerwocky

Off-Patent Drug #19

Prattle of New Orleans (see below)

Suburbs' Guy

The Maple Leaf Ad Infinitum 

This Land Has Anagrams 

TTC Voices

Vancouver's Isle

..AND A FEW LIMERICK-BASED SONGS

Shania Twain's "Verse": An anthem for limericists

Canada Day 2015 (singable limericks)
Limericks About Chemainus, B.C.


UKULELE-FRIENDLY FORMAT
(Click on any chord-chart slide to move to 'song-presentation mode'; then navigate through thumbnails at bottom of page.)

Byzantine Uke-Song: "CONSTANTINOPOLIS"

SONG with UKULELE CHORDS

ORIGINAL SONG: "Moscow Nights"(Подмосковные вечера,  Podmoskovnie vechera), Chad Mitchell Trio, 1963. You can listen to the Trio's well-known  version on YouTube HERE, or a version with English translation HERE.
The original was created as "Leningrad Nights" by composer Solovyov-Sedoi and poet Matusovsky in 1955, but changed at the request of the Ministry of Culture for use in a documentary about a national athletic competition. The tune was subsequently popularized in the West, in the middle of the Cold War era, by Van Cliburn in 1958, and recorded with commercial success by Kenny Ball and the Jazzmen, and the Chad Mitchell Trio in the early 60s. 

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, August 2018.  To return to the corresponding post on "Daily Illustrated Nonsense" (and to see the lyrics without the chord-chart indications) click HERE.  You will also find further discussion of the history of Constantinople and other matters.

SONGLINKS: This post deals with Graeco-Roman history during the Byzantine period. Another song dealing with Greek history, culture and travels is found in an earlier blogpost as  "Singable Limerick Medley #15: Travels in Greece". This entire effort was inspired by "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", a swing-era hit with a very catchy tune whose lyrics are a bit truncated re history.

CONSTANTINOPOLIS

(to the tune of "Moscow Nights")

UKULELE-FRIENDLY FORMAT (also banjo, mandolin, guitar etc.!)

(Click on any chord-chart slide to move to 'song-presentation mode'; then navigate through thumbnails at bottom of page.)

Specifics for C-tuned ukulele:
Am7 = 0000, or 0030;  Dm7 = 2213;  E7 = 1202;  B7 = 2322 

. 
  

*  the prediction was made by the Seer early in the fourth century A.D.
Byzántion (Greek), later known as Byzantium (Latin) was at that time a moderate-sized Greek colony-city on the Bosporus. It was chosen by the Roman Emperor Constantine to become the eastern capital of his empire.
As capital of the Roman Empire (also called Romania), the grand city was known as Constantinopolis, or Konstantinoupolis, for most of its history, i.e. until 1453 A.D. (later as Istanbul by the Turks). The term 'Byzantine Empire' has only been in use by Western historians since that time.

ORIGINAL SONG-LYRICS
(click on any song-chart to enlarge and proceed to thumbnail mode) 

Uke-Song: "SUBURBS' GUY" -- theme for a mayoral procession

Hallowe'en reveller, 2013
at a Toronto tavern

PARODY-LYRICS 

ORIGINAL SONG: "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" , Hank Williams

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, October 2013. Click HERE to see a photo of the song being performed at a ukulele jam.


PARODY-LYRICS LINK: To return to the corresponding post on "Daily Illustrated Nonsense" (and to see the lyrics without the chord-chart indications) click HERE. 
(You can also view the lyrics and commentary (without images or chords, at the  parody-lyrics site where they were originally posted online)  at AmIRight.com Post ""

Sunday Radio Show, in progress

 SUBURBS' GUY

(to the tune of "Jambalaya")

Yo T.O! radio show! - it’s your Mayor.
I’m on air with Councillor-frère and some taxpayers,
Pitching woo to voters who live near the ‘9-0-’,
Itch to stretch pet subway ditch out to Scarborough.

Fairly large, fun bein’ in charge, no burden heavy;
While I’m munching, number-crunchers hunt out ‘Gravy’;
Cancel fees, tax-rate freeze, void ‘Commie’ ‘s surplus,
Small ‘c’ - conserve, big ‘C’ – condemn essential service.

Drill end-runs, petty funds, coach team-students;
Ref-provincial thinks ethical imprudence.
Parents miffed, poor kids dissed, sidelined Mayor,
Nearly burned – overturned!! (coach on waivers)

Yo T.O ! back on board, Ford Nation's Mayor,
Still on air with Dougie there and fake taxpayers;
Ombudsman’s ‘Nay’ ? – friends’ job-favors my nature,
Threat’n her post, thumb my nose at Legislature.

Comic Walsh caused a splash with TV crew,
Invade 'Burbs, parked by curb, attack-interview;
9-1-1, hoped fuzz come and gonn’ snatch her,
Speech bit slurred, hurled f-word at dispatcher.

Public-stoned, driving-phoned, don’t want chauffeur,
Fracas with a bad-ass streetcar operator.
Retinue, there’s a few drug-scene players,
They’re indebted, ref’rence letters: Office - Mayor’s.

Star, Post, Globe spy and probe – Canadian capers,
‘Let them sue me’ – I’m abused by nati’nal Papers;
Just deny damning DUI in Miami -oh
Pressing prob’ - probably some slob shot a video.

But…… Hello Folks, mellow with tokes or martini,
Nay-sayers can’t so easily outsmart me –
Gawker outbid, world got rid of what’s hid -eeoh
Bright son-of-a-gun might’ve connived to buy the video.

Suburbs’ Guy, stuffed with pie, shirt-size jumbo,
Bigger-’n-life, spare no strife, mode crafty-dumb -oh
Sometimes high out o’ camera’s eye, sitting pretty -oh
Might’ve connived and tried t’ hide that crack-pipe video
Someone my size likely devised t’ buy that video.

HOTLINKS TO CANADIAN-THEMED SONG-POSTINGS

An Alien Heading South

Big Rob Rehab Clinic

Canadian Reunion

Canoeing Lesson

I've Got Anagrams, Eh?

Flight of the Loonie

FOP-Shop Wine

Mergerwocky

Off-Patent Drug #19

Prattle of New Orleans

Suburbs' Guy (see below)

The Maple Leaf Ad Infinitum 

This Land Has Anagrams 

TTC Voices

Vancouver's Isle

..AND A FEW LIMERICK-BASED SONGS

Shania Twain's "Verse": An anthem for limericists

Canada Day 2015 (singable limericks)

Limericks About Chemainus, B.C.

UKULELE-FRIENDLY FORMAT
(Click on any chord-chart slide to move to 'song-presentation mode'; then navigate through thumbnails at bottom of page.)

To play the original song Jambalaya, check out Corktunes, the songbook of the Corktown Ukulele Jam here. 
A highly recommended parody-song on this topic is found at: video of B.MacC.'s Rob Ford parody

Related Palindromes


Now Roy, am I mayor won. 

Call - I'd a Cadillac.

Toronto - got no rot.

Dr. of trams - smart Ford !

Yaw, Bus Civic  - Subway !

Dr. of Borrow, or Rob Ford ? 

Rise to vote, sir.

Elect, Cele

Not so, Boston.

No Rob on ten-alp planet No-Boron.