Civil War Songs for Rebs

 by Minnie Apolis

The music of the Civil War era was rich in melody, history and lyrics that evoke another era. There were songs for Northerners, songs for Rebs, songs for slaves, and some songs that transcended the tastes of any one group. Let us look at some of the songs that the rebels knew and sang during this era. 
 
1) Dixie's Land, aka Dixie (D D Emmett, tho several sets of lyrics exist)
Dixie is first on any list of rebel songs. This has to be the most popular song ever penned by the minstrel performer Daniel Decatur Emmett.

Ironically, he was a Northerner. Emmett worked with a New York troupe called Bryant's Minstrels. The song was later introduced to the South at a revue in New Orleans in a Rockette-type number with 40 female dancers.

As you can imagine, it went over big. It was notably played at both Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln inaugurals, and after the surrender by General Lee. The followiung lyrics are attributed to General Albert Pike of the Confederate Army.

Southrons, hear your country call you, Up, lest worse than death befall you!
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Lo! all the beacon-fires are lighted, Let all hearts be now united!
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Advance the flag of Dixie! Hurrah! Hurrah!
In Dixie's land we take our stand, and live or die for Dixie!
To arms! To arms! And conquer peace for Dixie!
To arms! To arms! And conquer peace for Dixie
Hear the Northern thunders mutter! Northern flags in South winds flutter!
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Send them back your fierce defiance! Stamp upon the cursed alliance!
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Chorus:
Fear no danger! Shun no labor! Lift up rifle, pike, and saber!
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Shoulder pressing close to shoulder, Let the odds make each heart bolder!
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
How the South's great heart rejoices At your cannon's ringing voices!
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
For faith betrayed and pledges broken, Wrongs inflicted, insults spoken,
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Strong as lions, swift as eagles, Back to their kennels hunt these beagles!
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Cut the unequal bonds asunder! Let them hence each other plunder!To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Swear upon your country's altar, Never to submit or falter--
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Till the spoilers are defeated, Till the Lord's work is completed!
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Halt not till our Federation, Secures among earth's powers its station!
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Then at peace and crowned with glory, Hear your children tell the story!
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
If the loved ones weep in sadness, Victory soon shall bring them gladness.
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Exultant pride soon vanish sorrow; Smiles chase tears away to-morrow!
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!

2) Aura Lee (George Poulton)
This 1861 song was happily resurrected as the Elvis Presley hit Love Me Tender. There are at least three sets of lyrics for Aura Lee, but because it was apparently first introduced by Hooley & Campbell's Minstrels, it may have undergone revisions to adapt to local audiences.

As the blackbird in the spring 'neath the willow tree,
Sat and piped I heard him sing, praising Aura Lee.
Aura Lee! Aura Lee! Maid of golden hair,
Sunshine came along with thee and swall-ows in the air.
Take my heart and take my ring, I give my all to thee.
Take me for eternity, dearest Aura Lee!
Aura Lee! Aura Lee! Maid of golden hair,
Sunshine came along with thee and swall-ows in the air.
In her blush the rose was born, 'twas music when she spoke.
In her eyes the light of morn, sparkling seemed to break.
Aura Lee! Aura Lee . . .
Aura Lee, the bird may flee the willow' golden hair,
Then the wintry winds may be blowing ev'rywhere.
Yet if thy blue eyes I see, gloom will soon depart
For to me, sweet Aura Lee, is sunshine to the heart.

3) Rebel Soldier (traditional)
A reb sings to Polly, his love he left behind, on a battlefield covvered with the fallen. There are hardly enough blankets for shrouds, he sings. This song really brings home how desperate were the straits that the Southern troops found themselves in.

Oh Polly, oh Polly, it's for your sake alone,
I've left my old father, my country, my home,
I've left my old mother, to weep and to mourn,
I am a rebel soldier, and far from my home.
The grapeshot and musket, and the cannons lumber loud,
It's many a mangled body, the blanket for the shroud,It's many a mangled body left on the fields alone,
I am a rebel soldier, and far from my home.
Here's a good old cup of brandy, and a glass of wine,
You can drink to your true love, and I'll lament and moan,
I am a rebel soldier, and far from my home.

4) Yellow Rose of Texas (anonymous)
This song was originally sung by a slave singing about his girl. The song then entered the collection of songs performed in minstrel shows, where a white preformer smeared burnt cork on his face and adopted the mannerisms and speech of a black person. This was done totally un-selfconsciously, similar to the way that Bill Dana adopted a Hispanic accent to play his comic character, Jose Jimenez.

At any rate, Rebel soldiers later adopted it and then added another verse at the end; the Texas Brigade was led to defeat under Confederate General Hood in Nashville in 1864. The retreating troops, led by General "Uncle Joe" Johnston, taunted Hood for his loss. So it a song known by Southerners, and by Northerners, too, who chanced to hear it at a minstrel show.

There's a yellow rose in Texas, That I am going to see,
No other soldier knows her, No soldier only me.
She cried so when I left her, It like to broke my heart,
And if I ever find her, We never more will part.
She's the sweetest rose of color, This soldier ever knew,
Her eyes are bright as diamonds, They sparkle like the dew,
You can talk about your dearest Mae and sing of Rosalee,
But the Yellow Rose of Texas is the only one for me.
Now I'm going southward, For my heart is full of woe,
I'm going back to Georgia, To find my Uncle Joe,
You may talk about your Beauregard, Sing of General Lee,
But the gallant Hood of Texas played hell in Tennessee,
But the gallant Hood of Texas played hell in Tennessee.

5) The Secesh aka Shiloh (unknown)
At the battle of Shiloh, 24,000 soldiers died out of 100,000 who took part. And at Gettysburg, 50,000 soldiers fell. The sea of injured and dying in the film Gone with the Wind was not made up for dramatic effect; this was a pretty fair portrayal of how the ground was watered with blood in the Civil War. The Secessionists were known as the Secesh in Tennessee.

I'll put my knapsack on my back, my rifle on my shoulder,
I'm going away to Shiloh, and there I'll be a soldier.
I'll put my knapsack on my back, my rifle on my shoulder,
I'm going away to Shiloh, and there I'll be a soldier.
I'll put my knapsack on my back, my rifle on my shoulder,
I'm going away to Shiloh, and there I'll be a soldier.

6) An Old Unreconstructed (traditional)
The South lacked factories to make enough guns and shot and other supplies to fight a war for as long as they did, but the soldiers got by on little food and resorted to fighting with swords when necessary.

I rode with old Jeb Stuart, and his band of Southern horse,
And there never were no Yankees, who could meet us force to force.
No they never did defeat us, but we never could evade,
Their dirty foreign politics, and cowardly blockade.
Well we hadn't any powder, and we hadn't any shot,
And we hadn't any money to buy what we ain't got.
So we rode our worn-out horses, and we ate on plain cornmeal,
And we licked em where we caught em, with Southern guts and steel.
We sunk the ship at Sumter, and we broke her plumb in two.
We showed them bully Yankees, just what we aimed to do.
At a little creek called Bull Run, we took their starry rag,
To wipe our horses down with, and I ain't here to brag.
There aren't as many left of us, who rode out at the start,
And then there are the weary, weak in body, sad of heart.
We fought a fight to be proud of and I am here to say,
I'll climb my horse and follow Morse, come hell, come any day. 
 
7) Lorena (Pastor Henry De Lafayette Webster to a melody by Joseph Philbrick Webster)
This song's lyrics had nothing to do with the war, but it was a favorite tune of Southern soldiers. It is said that many girls born after the war were named Lorena -- just like Michelle became a popular name after the Beatles recorded a song by that title.

Oh the years creep slowly by, Lorena, the snow is on the ground again.
The sun's low down in the sky, Lorena, the frost gleams where the flowers have been.
But the heart beats on us as warmly now, as when the summer days here nigh,
Oh the sun can never dip so low, to be down in Affection's sloudless sky.
A hundred months have passed, Lorena, since last I held that hand in mine.
And felt the pulse beat fast, Lorena, tho mine beat faster far than thine.
A hundred months twas flowery May, when up the hilly slope we'd climb,
To watch the dying of the day, and hear the distant church bells chime.
We loved each other then, Lorena, far more than we ever dared to tell.
And what might have been, Lorena, had our lovings prospered well.
Then tis part the years roll on, I'll not call up their shadowy form,
I'll say to them, lost years sleep on! Sleep on, heed life's pelting storms. 
 
8) The Southern Soldier Boy (Capt. G. W. Alexander)
This song was first performed in a Richmond theater in a production of The Virginia Cavalier. The soldiers in attendance carried the song back to the front with them.

Bob Roebuck is my sweetheart's name, he's off to the wars and gone.
He's fighting for his Nannie dear, his sword is buckled on.
He's fighting fo rhis own true love, his ofoes he does defy.
He is the darling of my heart, my Southern soldier boy.
Oh if in battle he was slain, I'm sure that I should die.
But I'm sure he'll come again, and cheer my weeping eye.
But should he fall, in this our glorious cause, he still would be my joy,
For many a sweetheart mourns the loss of a Southern soldier boy.
I hope for the best, and so do all Whose hopes are in the field.
I know that we shall win the day, for Southerners never yield.
And when we think, of those who are away, We'll look above for joy,
And I'm mighty glad, that my Bobby is a Southern soldier boy. 
 
9) Somebody's Darling (Marie Ravenal de la Coste and John Hill Hewitt)
The lyrics were written by le la Coste after witnessing the many wounded in the military hospitals. She sent her poem to a Savannah music publisher which sent it to a well-known Southern composer, John Hill Hewitt. He fashioned a melody for it. Too maudlin, even macabre, for modern tastes, but it was in keeping with Victorian sentiments of the time. Trivia: the song was used in the film Gone With The Wind.

Into the ward of the clean whitewashed walls, where the dead slept and the dying lay,
Wounded by bayonets, sabres and balls, Somebody's darling was borne one day.
Somebody's darling, so young and so brave, wearing still on his sweet yet pale face,
Soon to be hid in the dust of the grave, the lingering light of his boyhood grace.
CHORUS: Somebody's darling, somebody's pride,
Who'll tell her mother, where her boy died?
Matted and damp are his tresses of gold, kissing the snow of that fair young brow,
Pale are the lips of most delicate mould, somebody's darlin is dying now.
Back from his beautiful purple veined brow, brush off the wandering waves of gold,
Cross his white hands on his broad bosom now, Somebody's darling is still and cold.
Somebody's watching and waiting for him, yearning to hold him again to her breast.
Yet there he lies with his blue eyes so dim, and purple childlike lips apart.
Tenderly bury the fair, unknown dead, pausing to drop on his grave a tear,
Carve on the wooden slap over his head, somebody's darling is slumbering here. 
 
10) Bonnie Blue Flag
We are a band of brothers And native to the soil,
Fighting for the property We gained by honest toil;
And when our rights were threatened, The cry rose near and far --
"Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star!" 
 
CHORUS: Hurrah! Hurrah! For Southern rights hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star. 
 
As long as the Union was faithful to her trust,
Like friends and like brothers, Both kind were we and just;
But now, when Northern treachery, Attempts our rights to mar,
We hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag, That bears a single star.

First gallant South Carolina, Nobly made the stand,
Then came Alabama, Who took her by the hand.
Next quickly Mississippi, Georgia and Florida
All raised on high the Bonnie Blue Flag, That bears a single star.

Ye men of valor, gather round The banner of the right;
Texas and fair Louisiana, Join us in the fight.
Davis, our loved president, And Stephens statesman are;
Now rally round the Bonnie Blue Flag, That bears a single star.

And here's to old Virginia, The Old Dominion State,
Who with the young Confederacy At length has linked her fate;
Impelled by her example, Now other states prepare
To hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag, That bears a single star.

Then cheer, boys, cheer; Raise the joyous shout,
For Arkansas and North Carolina Now have both gone out;
And let another rousing cheer For Tennessee be given,
The single star of the Bonnie Blue Flag Has grown to be eleven.

Then here's to our Confederacy, Strong are we and brave;
Like patriots of old we'll fight Our heritage to save.
And rather than submit to shame, To die we would prefer;
So cheer for the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star.

11) Goober Peas (goober peas are peanuts)
Finally a bit of levity about the humble food rations that reb troops relied on to get them through. Sometimes they had nothing but cornmeal, sometimes coffee, plus the protein of goober peas aka peanuts. Complaining about the food is something that is typical of every war and every soldier.

Sittin' by the roadside on a summer's day,
Chattin' with my messmates, passing time away,
Lying in the shadows, underneath the trees --
Goodness, how delicious, eating goober peas! 
 
CHORUS: Peas! Peas! Peas! Peas! Eating goober peas!
Goodness, how delicious, eating goober peas! 
 
When a horseman passes, the soldiers have a rule
To cry out at their loudest "Mister, here's your mule!"
But still another pleasure enchantinger than these
Is wearing out your grinders, eating goober peas! 
 
Just before the battle, the General hears a row;
He says "The Yanks are coming, I hear their rifles now"!
He turns around in wonder, and what do you think he sees?
The Georgia Militia, eating goober peas!

12) Oh I'm A Good Old Rebel (Major Innes Randolph)
Some think that this lyric was intended as a parody, but nevertheless it expresses the no-regrets stance
of many Southerners long after the war ended.

I hates the Yankee nation, and everything they do,
I hates the Declaration of Independence, too.
I hates the glorious Union, tis dripping with our blood,
I hates their strip'ed banner, I fit it all I could.

I rode with Robert E. Lee, for three years, thereabout.
Got wounded in four places, and I starved at Point Lookout.
I catched the rheumatism a-campin in the snow,
But a killed a chance of Yankees, and I'd like to kill some mo.

Three hundred thousand Yankees is a-stiff in Southern dust.
We got three hundred thousand, before they conquered us.
They died of Southern fever, and Southern steel and shot.
I wish they were three million, instead of what we got.

I can't take up my musket, and fight em now mo more.But I ain't gonna love em, now that is certain sure.
And I don't want no pardon for what I was and am.
I won't be reconstructed, and I do not give a damn. 
 
CHORUS: Oh I'm a good old rebel, now that's just what I am.
And for this Yankee nation I do not give a damn.
I'm glad I fought agin her, I only wish we'd won.
N I don't ask any pardon for anything I've done.

13) Southron's Chaunt of Defiance (Written by Mrs. Catherine Anne Warfield. Music by A.E. Blackmar)
My, my, those rebs just never give it up. PS - Mrs. Warfield was a Kentucky lady. Kentucky was a border state and for a time had two state governments, one Union and one reb. However, the Union troops occupied the state and the reb government was defunct by about 1863. According to one source, after 1863, the Confederate government existed only on paper.

You can never win us back; Never! Never! Tho' we perish in the track of your endeavor;
Tho' our corpses strew the earth, Smiling now on our birth, And tho' blood pollute each hearth, Now and ever! 
 
(CHORUS) You can never win us back; Never! Never! Tho' we perish in the track, Of your endeavor; 

Tho' our corpses strew the earth, 
Smiling now on our birth, 
And tho blood pollute each hearth, 
Now and ever! 
 
We have risen to a man, Stern and fearless; 
Of your curses, of your ban, We are careless.
Ev'ry hand is on its knife, Ev'ry gun is primed for strife. 
Ev'ry palm contains a Life, High and peerless. 
 
You have no such blood as ours For the shedding; 
In the veins of Cavaliers Was its heading!
You have no such stately men In you abolition den 
Marching through foe and fen, Nothing dreading! 
 
We may fall before the fire Of your legions, 
Paid with gold for murderous hire,
Bought allegiance; But for every drop you shed,
You shall have a mound of dead,
So that vultures may be fed In our regions! 
 
But the battle to the strong Is not given,
While the Judge of right and wrong Sits in Heaven
And the God of David still Guides the pebble in His will,
There are giants yet to kill, Wrongs unshriven! 
 
14) Stonewall Jackson's Way (John Williamson Palmer?)
There is a dispute about who wrote this song, which goes as follows. This poem was found in the coat of a dead soldier of the Stonewall Brigade after a battle in the Shenandoah Valley. Palmer says he wrote the poem in September, 1862, but a music publisher says the song was found on the body of a Confederate sergeant after the first battle of Winchester on May 25, 1862. The author is officially listed as anonymous.

Come, stack arms, men. Pile on the rails, 
Stir up the campfire bright; No matter if the canteen fails,
We'll make a roaring night. Here Shenandoah brawls along, 
There burly Blue Ridge echoes strong
To swell the brigade's rousing song Of "Stonewall Jackson's way." 
 
We see him now--the old slouched hat Cocked o'er his eye askew--
The shrewd, dry smile--the speech so pat, So calm, so blunt, so true.
That "Blue-Light Elder" knows 'em well. Says he, "That's Banks; he's fond of shell--
Lord save his soul! We'll give him"...well, That's "Stonewall Jackson's way." 
 
Silence! ground arms! kneel all! caps off! Old Blue Light's going to pray;
Strangle the fool that dares to scoff; Attention; it's his way!
Appealing from his native sod, In forma pauperis to God.
"Lay bare thine arm; stretch forth thy rod; Amen." That's "Stonewall's way." 
 
He's in the saddle now! Fall in! Steady, the whole brigade!
Hill's at the ford, cut off! He'll win, His way out, ball and blade.
What matter if our shoes are worn? What matter if our feet are torn?
"Quick step--we're with him ere the dawn!" That's "Stonewall Jackson's way." 
 
The sun's bright glances rout the mists Of morning, and, by George!
There's Longstreet struggling in the lists, Hemmed in an ugly gorge,
Pope and his Yankees whipped before. "Bayonet and grape!" hear Stonewall roar,
"Charge, Stuart! Pay off Ashby's score In Stonewall Jackson's way." 
 
Ah, maiden! wait and watch and yearn, For news of Stonewall's band!
Ah, widow! read with eyes that burn, That ring upon thy hand!
Ah, wife! sew on, pray on, hope on, Thy life shall not be all forlorn--
The foe had better ne'er been born, That gets in Stonewall's way.

[See also: Twelve Slave Songs From the Civil War at http://minnieapolis.newsvine.com/_news/2009/01/19/2331360-twelve-slave-songs-from-the-civil-war?last=1232498556&threadId=475279&commentId=4933357 ]