The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1912-05-23
Songs Of the Campaign.
Ditties Of Today and Those of Former
Political Battles.

1910, gave US our first considerable body
of really popular political songs, and not
one of these rank as true lyric. Some
of them, however, had great spirit, and
set to catchy popular airs they helped to
swell the bewildering excitement of that
period, and to give the Wings their
barren victory. Bryant's youthful sa-
tire, "The Embargo" was in effect a
campaign poem, but not one available as
a song.
To about the same period belong ribald
rhymes aimed by Federalists at Demo-
Gratis and by Democrats at Federalists,
when as yet the very term "Democrat"
was bestowed as one Of reproach, and
used rather cautiously by Jefferson's fol-
lowers as qualifying adjective to the
party name Republican. A Federalist
rhyme of the period runs:
Dead cats, and picked rats
Are good enough for Democrats.
To this poor rubbish the Democratic
Republicans replied with an ill-rhymed
couplet too coarse to be reproduced here.
Such utterances were a direct inherit
ance from the political savagery of our
eighteenth century politics, when even
so good poet as Philip Freneau descend
ed to bitter rhymed satire in the interest
of his party. The brilliant ferocities of
Dryden's pitiless Absalom and Achi-
tophel, and the mordant acid of Swift's
party rhymes were the natural FORE
runners of our far feebler native politi-
cal satire aimed at the leaders of che
party or the other in the early years of
the Constitution. Lowell's keener and
cleaner rhymed satires Of the Biglow Pa
pers delighted opponents of the Next
can War. but yielded no popular cam
paign song in1848.
Of piece with the Federalist couplet
already quoted is the old Wing rhyme:
General Jackson
Went to hi with satisfaction.
Hang jeff Davis on Sour Apple
Tree" was sung by Republicans through
out the war and as campaign song in
1864, and Copperheads replied by SUBJ
shutting Abe Lincoln for "Jeff Davis"
IN the burden of the song. Marching
Through Georgia. one of the most
spirited of the war lyrics, came little
too late for the campaign of 1864, but it
was heard four years later, and it still
has genuine popularity, though it no
longer serves political purpose. Tramp,
tramp, tramp, the boys are marching"
was the opening line of song placed in
the mouth of Union prisoner and de-
servedly popular for campaign purposes
by reason of its spirit and genuine
pathos. One stanza ran thus:
Tramp, tramp, the boys are marching,
Cheer up comrades, they will come, they will
come.
And beneath the starry flag, we shall breathe
the air again,
Of the freeland in our own beloved home
There were songs local to particular
States that had restricted popularity,
and are now hard to find. One such was
paign of Ohio in 1863, when C. L. VAL
iandigham, in Punishment beyond the
Canadian line. ran for governor and was
overwhelmed by 1oO,0 600 majority for
Brough the Republican candidate. Tom
Mcclellan. gambler, saloonkeeper and
all-round bad man. with shrewd native
wit, wrote campaign song for the Re-
publicans set to the tune of Lannigan's
Ball. One stanza purported to describe
the Democratic candidates interview
with Jefferson Davis during the exile's
short stay in the confederacy. It ran
thus:
Says jeff to Val, whats this about?"
Says Val to Jeff, They've found me OUT
Whack, fallack, falay, falladdady
Whack, fallack, for Vlannagan's ball.
1t was for Mcclellan, accused of muir
der, that the candidate in 1871 sacrificed
his own life In attempting to demonstrate
mis- theory that the victim had accident
ally committed suicide in drawing his
pistol to shoot his assailant. The death
OF the advocate so impressed the Jury
that the accused was cleared.
A popular song during and after the
war, serviceable in campaigns, was that
which celebrated Emancipation Day. 1t
told of Nicodemus, the slave, who twas
bought for bag full of gold" and had
given orders that he should be walked
from his sleep of death at the news of
freedom for his race. Part of one stanZa
runs.
Go run and tell Elijah to hurry up Pomp
10 meet me at the gum tree down in the
swamp,
To wake Nicodemus today.
The battle of Bull Run called forth on
both sides great many poems, some of
which were set to music, but hardly one
of which obtained popularity as cam
paign songs. Longfellow's brother
Samuel contributed to the Transcript
nymn for the war host, but it was not
suitable for campaign purposes, and even
Mrs. Howe's Battle Hymn of the Re-
public, inspired by the authors visit to
the army in the early days Of the war,
and sung for the next four years, with
its solemn and majestic language, was
hardly suited to the needs of campaign
singers.
Few songs of poetic merit, lyric charm,
81 even fairly accurate rhymes were pro-
duced for campaign purposes during our
first half-century under the Constitution.
The Harrison and Tyler campaign OF
1910, and the Clay campaign of four
years later produced many songs, but
neither the Harrison and Log Cabin
Song Book" nor the "Clay Minstrel or
National Songster" contains much of
real WORTH and few of the songs in either
attained wide popularity even during the
campaign. Both are full of cheap ap-
peals to a class feeling such as would
hardly find favor with the rank and file
of either party today. In the Harrison
songs Van Buren, was represented as a
foxy, INSCRIPTIONS politician living in
luxurious ease amid the palatial splen-
doris of the White House, while Harrison
was pictured as simple Cincinnatus &C.
,cupying log cabin and cultivating his
own acres. One song called "Gold Spoons
and Hard Cider" opens with this stanZa: