The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-01-22
Old CAMPAIGN SONGS.
Difficulties Of Rhymsters
in the 'Forty-four Presi-
Dental Contest.
FRELlNGHUYsEN AND CLAY
Difficult Names 10 Enshrine in
Verse Clever
Parodies.
FRELlNGHUYSEN AND CLAY

New Jersey now has the honor of see
ing one of its sons Vice President OF the
United States, says the Newark sunday
Call Many years ago, over half a CEN
fury, in fact. a Jerseyman strove nara
to secure this position. but failed after
one of the most exciting canvasses IN
the nations history. This wac Theo-
dore Fr~elinghuysen, who lived, although
defeated, to see the principles for wnlcn
he had striven prevail. He was on the
ticket with the famous American, Henry
Clay. and the whole country rang with
his name. Just as it did with that OF Ho-
bart not so very long ago.
Rev. DR.. Mott. of Morristown, who IS
now temporary librarian of the New Jer-
sew Society. has made several Interesting
discoveries since the house-cleaning
which the society's rooms in the State
Bank building have just undergone. Every
day or SO he comes upon some volume or
other which no one apparently has known
Of. The library has been for so many
years in a seemingly hopeless confusion
that it has been impossible for anyone
to tell what the institution actually pos
sessed. One of DR.. Motifs latest finds
is a small volume of campaign ballads
lSSQGQ III loif, Qulln6 lnS -
huysen campaign against Polk and Dai-
las. The collection comprises several
campaign pamphlets, bound together ana
labeled on the outside. Political Poems
| The pamphlets are six in number, with
tba following titles: 1.-The Democratic
Lutte and Polk and Dallas Minstrel,
THE National Clay Minstrel and Freling-
huysen Methodist Polk and Dallas
e,.-.-..,, ssvr1.;o conas,, s.Thp Coon
| Songster.', The National Clay Min
| ~strel.'' The songs are highly interesting,
as they show how hot the campaign was
and they, moreover, Civ the young poll
| tician of today a fair idea of what the
! methods of attack and defense were in an
| exciting political campaign in those brave
| old days. They were just as disrespectful
of the chief officers of the nation in those
lays as they are now. The retiring Presi-
dent. Martin Van Buren,. was continually
| called .'Matty Van,s the "Old Fox etc,
| The opposition candidates were, of course,
villified with all the ehemenc possible.
The rhymes of these old campaign bal
| lads are woeful samples of the poetical
art. usually. The songs were a mere
hodge-podge, thrown together almost ex-
! temporaneously and made to fit the popu-
| IdF SODSS u Lie udy. "a Souh i1NS' 49,
| is to be had of what songs were thought
| most popular. The desire was, of course,
| to fit the words to something that every
| body knew and could sing. So the IA
vorite airs would seem to have been "Old
| Dan Tucker Lucy Neal" DANDY Jim
of Caroline and the Same Old Coon"
| The political rhymesters had no trouble
in finding something to jingle with Clay,
| 1-,+ ,,,1,o, ( = a,a n hn- Tlrcau rhnTpEpn-
| tative on the ticket they had a problem.
One of the favorite songs of the Wings in
this campaign was one entitled CLAY and
Fr~elinghuysen," set to the air "Old Dan
Tucker and SUNG so a note printed
lust before the verse announces, by the
| Philadelphia Clay Minstrels with un-
bounded success at the great saattrrr ati n ion
chorus of this celebrated song
Hurrahl Hurrah! the nations risin'
For Henry Clay and Frelinghuysen.
Pretty bad, but it might have been
worse. The third verse of this ditty. how
ever, deals directly with New Jersey.
Here it is:-
o Frelinghuysen's a Jersey Blue,
A noble Wing, and honest, too,
And he will make New Jersey feel
Wing pays respect to her Brave Seal.
Then came the rousing chorus. which
afterward was sung by men and women
and shouted by the newsboys on the
streets. The next verse has a Jersey end
to it, and it is as follows
Now let the Locos speak in candor.
His fame cen Kendall dare not SANDER,
And when we all get in the fight.
Lord, how the Jersey coon will bitei
Hurrahi Hurrahi the nations risini
For Henry Clay and Fr~elinghuysen.
Another popular song of the Wings at
tina time was entitled the Kilkenny
1 Cats and SING TO the ever faithful 'Old
Dan Tucker The chorus vas
Hurrah for Clay and Fr~elinghuysen.
The days our own, past all surmisin'.
Rather clumsy this, but ingenious. 1t
was hard work to find anything to rhyme
with Fre~linghuysen, so his name was,
whenever possible, put in the middle of
the verse by these amateur poets. 1t
would not do to put it ahead of that of
Clay, since Clay was at the head of the
ticket, SO if the twin names were used
together a rhyme for the name of the
Jerseyman had to be searched out. 1t
was about as difficult a job as wedding
rhymes to Popocatapetl or TiInbuctoo.
Clay was called sOur Harry" the "Mil
Boy of the Slashes,'' Harry of the
West etc. Frelinghuysen was known as
"Our Theodore" or New Jerseys Theo-
dore." Polk, the opposing and successful
candidate for the Presidency, was called
by the Wings .tJim Polk" or, very often,
Jimmy Polk
"Old Rosin the Beau was also fire.
Quentfy maze use OF by JneSe Spur-0I-tne-
moment poets. They often attempted the
woodenest sort of jokes, which would not
be tolerated anywhere on the face of the
earth outside of a campaign song. To
the tune Just mentioned the Wings set
the following collection of words
Though Polk tea some think is rank
poison.
Well stop it's effects in a day
It's antidote is Fre~linghuysen,
When taken in doses of Clay;
When taken in doses of Clay.
Another sample of the campaign joke
popular in the 'forties was set to the Their
widely popular tune of Dandy Jim, OF
Caroline and called for the occasion,
Jimmy Polk, OF Tennessee Polk
can't polk it into Clay" was one of the
favorite lines, and one of the verses is
as follows:-
Now choke and Polk will always rhyme,
And Dallas and gallows is very sublime,
They dose the Fox on Polk root poison,
Huzza for Clay and Frelinghuysen.
The Fox, it should be remembered, was
the lofty title given to Martin Van Blu
rem, the retiring President. The Pennsyl-
vanians seem to have been a tri1e slow in
getting warmed up to this canvass, but
finally they became aroused, as will APP
pear from the following. set to the tune
of Lucky NeaF':-
The Keystone's waking up at last,
She's right for Forty-four;
The silent vote will tell the tale.
For Clay and Theodore,
For Clay and Theodore.
-.-4,A ~ o.-.aa:~1 ,h.s.a