Daniel Decatur Emmett wrote “Dixie” for Bryant’s Minstrels, who first performed it in New York, probably in the late fall of 1859. The song soon reverberated through the land: people clapped their hands to it; soldiers in both the North and the South sang it merrily; Abraham Lincoln loved it. And many wrote lyrics for it. Albert Pike, a Southern poet, produced an “improved” version, eliminating the dialect and the “vulgarisms”; but it is Emmett’s version that is remembered. (Both versions are reprinted here.) During the war, “Dixie” became the favourite Confederate marching song. After Appomattox, President Lincoln was heard to remark that “the song is federal property now.”

Dixie

I wish I was in de land ob cotton,
Old times dar am not forgotten;
Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
In Dixie land whar I was born in,
Early on one frosty mornin’,
Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!


Chorus:
Den I wish I was in Dixie!
Hooray! hooray!
In Dixie’s land I’ll take my stand
To lib an’ die in Dixie,
Away, away, away down south in Dixie!
Away, away, away down south in Dixie!


Old missus marry Will de weaber,
Willium was a gay deceaber;
Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
When he put his arm around ’er,
He look as fierce as a forty-pounder,
Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!


His face was sharp as a butcher cleaber,
But dat did not seem to greab ’er;
Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
Will run away, missus took a decline, O,
Her face was the color of bacon rhine, O,
Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!


While missus lib, she lib in clover,
When she die, she die all over;
Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
How could she act de foolish part
An’ marry a man to break her heart?
Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!


Now here’s a health to de nex’ old missus,
An’ all de gals dat want to kiss us;
Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
An’ if you want to dribe away sorrow,
Come an’ hear dis song tomorrow,
Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!

Daniel Decatur Emmett

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!
For 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!
Send them back your fierce defiance!
Stamp upon the accursed alliance!


Fear no danger! Shun no labor!
Lift up rifle, pike, and saber!
Shoulder pressing close to shoulder,
Let the odds make each heart bolder!


How the South’s great heart rejoices
At your cannons’ ringing voices!
For faith betrayed and pledges broken,
Wrongs inflicted, insults spoken.


Strong as lions, swift as eagles,
Back to their kennels hunt these beagles!
Cut the unequal bonds asunder!
Let them hence each other plunder!


Swear upon your country’s altar
Never to submit or falter,
Till the spoilers are defeated,
Till the Lord’s work is completed.


Halt not till our Federation
Secures among earth’s powers its station!
Then at peace, and crowned with glory,
Hear your children tell the story!


If the loved ones weep in sadness,
Victory soon shall bring them gladness—
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Exultant pride soon banish sorrow,
Smiles chase tears away tomorrow.
To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
Advance the flag of Dixie!
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For 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!

Albert Pike

Source: Heart Songs, Cleveland, 1909. War Songs and Poems of the Southern Confederacy 1861–1865, H.M. Wharton, ed., n.p., 1904.

George Frederick Root: “The Battle-Cry of Freedom”; and Harry McCarty: “The Bonnie Blue Flag”

Every war manifests its spirit in songs. One of the most popular songs of the North was “The Battle-Cry of Freedom,” composed by George Frederick Root, a professional songwriter. The song was written a few hours after Pres. Abraham Lincoln called for troops to put down the insurrection in Virginia. “The Bonnie Blue Flag” was one of the most popular Confederate songs, commemorating an early Confederate flag of solid blue with a white star. It was written by “the little Irishman,” Harry McCarty, who grew famous singing it all over the South. According to one compiler of Confederate war songs, the people “went wild with excitement” when they heard the first familiar strains.

The Battle-Cry of Freedom



Yes, we’ll rally round the flag, boys, we’ll rally once again,
Shouting the battle-cry of freedom,
We will rally from the hillside, we’ll gather from the plain,
Shouting the battle-cry of freedom.


Chorus:
The Union forever, hurrah! boys, hurrah!
Down with the traitor, up with the star,
While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again,
Shouting the battle-cry of freedom.


We are springing to the call of our brothers gone before,
Shouting the battle-cry of freedom,
And we’ll fill the vacant ranks with a million freemen more,
Shouting the battle-cry of freedom.


We will welcome to our numbers the loyal, true, and brave,
Shouting the battle-cry of freedom,
And although they may be poor, not a man shall be a slave,
Shouting the battle-cry of freedom.


So we’re springing to the call from the East and from the West,
Shouting the battle-cry of freedom,
And we’ll hurl the rebel crew from the land we love the best,
Shouting the battle-cry of freedom.

George Frederick Root

The 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 the single star!”


Chorus:
Hurrah! hurrah!
For Southern rights, hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears the 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 the 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 the single star.


And here’s to old Virginia—
The Old Dominion State—
With the young Confed’racy
At length has linked her fate.
Impelled by her example,
Now other states prepare
To hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears the single star.


Then here’s to our Confed’racy,
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 the 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.

Harry McCarty