Songs & Poems

A short time after the refusal of the Massachusetts Legislature to rescind the Circular Letter of February 11, 1768, relating to the imposition of duties and taxes on the American…

The success of the Americans at King’s Mountain,* over the forces of Ferguson and Depuyster, has been the subject of numerous ballads. The one subjoined was written a short time…

The author of these verses, Colonel David Humphreys,* “the soldier-poet of the revolution,” was born at Derby, Connecticut, in the year 1752, and graduated at Yale College in 1771. On…

This ballad, by Robert Burns, is familiar to every one. Chambers, in his Life and Works of the Poet, says, the production “is curious, as an example of that brief…

The following composition was originally intended to be sung on the Thanksgiving Day, appointed in consequence of the peace between the United States and Great Britain in 1783, but was…

On Thursday night, the nineteenth of December, at 10 o’clock, off the Delaware, the British ships, Quebec, Diomede and Astrea, carrying ninety-eight guns, fell in with the American ship South…

Several songs were composed to commemorate the surrender of the royal army at Yorktown. The one subjoined was published a short time after the event, adapted to the air “Maggie…

This song, to the tune of Yankee Doodle, commemorating the campaign of Cornwallis in America, appeared soon after his surrender. The author is unknown. The Dance* CORNWALLIS led a country…

On the evening of the twenty-first of July, seventeen hundred and eighty-one, a party of Refugees embarked at Lloyd’s Neck, on Long Island, and landed on the Connecticut shore the…

The Soldier at Home FROM noise of camps once more I come, To snatch from care a short repose; All hail thou tranquil much lov’d home, That war nor dread…

This production was written in America, and published in a music sheet, entitled “New Year’s Day, 1781, to the tune “Get you gone, raw head and bloody bones.” It also…

This “address to the vile traitor” was published in the Pennsylvania Packet, October 24th, 1780. To the Traitor Arnold ARNOLD ! thy name, as heretofore, Shall now be Benedict no…

The adventure of this gallant officer, commemorated in the subjoined ballad, is connected with the conspiracy of Arnold. The authorship of the song is unknown, as is the case of…

The incidents connected with the capture and trial of Major Andre are well known. Many songs have been written, lamenting his unhappy fate. The one subjoined we copy from a…

This ballad was written by Major John Andre,* and first published in the Royal Gazette. It commemorates the attack of General Wayne, upon the Refugee’s Block House, situated on the…

These lines were addressed to the females of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, “who illustrated the nobility of their sentiment and virtue of their patriotism, by generous subscriptions to the suffering…

The author of these sprightly verses is not known. In the “New Hampshire Gazette” they appear, with the following note to the printer: “By inserting this in your next paper,…

The reduction of Charleston, South Carolina, by the British, in 1780, was the subject of numerous songs and poems. The subjoined specimen was written by an officer of the royal…

This song was transposed by a refugee, and intended for the loyalists without the lines, while D’Estaing was in Georgia; but it was not published until sometime after the French…

This is one of the best convivial songs produced during the war. Its authorship has been attributed to Henry Archer,* a native of England, who emigrated to America in 1778,…

This song was published in the Pennsylvania Packet, at Philadelphia, as “A song made by a Dutch lady at the Hague, for the sailors of the five American vessels at…

This satire first appeared at London, where it was written by “a true friend of the King and the Colonies.” It was reproduced in America, in 1779, on a music…

This ballad commemorates the attack upon Savannah. It appeared in Rivington’s Gazette, as “A new song to an old tune, written by a Yankee, and sung to the tune of…

Count D’Estaing, with his fleet of twenty sail, reached the coast of Georgia early in September, 1779. Soon after his arrival, a plan was concerted with General Lincoln, to make…

There are various versions of this sarcastic “English ballad.” The subjoined copy differs from the original, first published in the London Magazine, in 1778, in one particular only*. The writer…

This loyal song appeared originally in England. Rivington published it in the Royal Gazette, in November, 1779, and afterwards on a ballad sheet, with the chorus, “Derry Down.” A New…

“Sir Harry’s Invitation” was written by Philip Freneau. We have it in a ballad sheet, dated 1779. The Invitation COME, gentlemen tories, firm, loyal, and true, Here are axes and…

These verses were published in the Royal Gazette, in March, 1779, as “A Song, written by a refugee on reading the King’s speech, and sung at the Refugee Club, in…

These verses were composed by Philip Freneau, a native of the city of New York. Ile was born on the second of January, 1752, and died December 18, 1832. He…

The Old and the New WHAT though last year be past and gone, Why should we grieve or mourn about it? As good a year is now begun, And better…

“Lord North’s Recantation” was written by “a gentlemen of Chester,” England, and first appeared in the London Evening Post. The appendix to the “Political Duenna” contains it, as do many…

William Billings, the author of the subjoined hymn, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on the seventh of October, 1746. He is more celebrated, as the earliest native writer of music…

Rivington first published this production, in the Royal Gazette, as “A fable addressed to the Americans, upon their treaty with France.” It afterwards appeared as “A fable, in the way…

This humorous ballad commemorates the attempt made upon Rhode Island, by the combined forces of Count D’Estaing, with the French fleet, and General Sullivan, in command of the American forces,…

The author of this humorous ballad is unknown. It was written at Charleston, South Carolina, a short time after the event it commemorates, and published in the ministerial issues and…

GREAT Washington, thou mighty son of Mars, Thou thund’ring hero of the rebel wars ! Accept our thanks for all thy favors past; Our special thanks await thee for the…

The ministerial press in America embraced every opportunity to ridicule the motives of the most prominent patriots of the Revolution, and very often exceeded the bounds of truth, or even…

Early in January, 1778, David Bushnell, the inventor of the American Torpedo, and other submarine machinery, prepared a number of “infernals,” as the British termed them, and set them afloat…

The American women, daring the revolution, excelled their nature. Europe heard, with wonder and regret, of their constancy and devotion to the cause of liberty; and their spirit and firmness…

This song was published in the Royal Gazette, at New York, with the accompanying remarks: “Observing in a late paper a song written for the British Light Infantry, 1 introduced…

This satirical song, entitled, “The Halcyon Days of Old England, or the wisdom of administration demonstrated; adapted to the tune of ‘Ye Medley of Mortals,'” was written in England, and…

Capt. Smyth, the author of this bold and loyal song, was an in Simcoe’s Queen’s Rangers. Many of his compositions were published during the war. The present one first appeared…

The defeat of General Burgoyne caused great alarm and uneasiness in England. Parliament soon after that event sent commissioners to the Continental Congress, with proposals for a mutual adjustment of…

This poetical “array return” was first published in the “Iris;* (June, 1841,) from the original MS. in the possession of GEORGE H. MOORE, one of the editors of that periodical.…

A very few ballads were published during the year 1777. “For some reason the Muse is asleep,” says the editor of the New Jersey Journal, shortly after the defeat of…

This ballad was known during the revolution, as the “North Campaign,” “Gates’ Song,” and “A Song for the Red-Coats.” It has been attributed to a “private of Colonel Brook’s regiment,”1…

On the fourth of July, 1777, General Burgoyne issued a proclamation from his camp, near Ticonderoga, intended to spread terror among the Americans. But it was so pompous and bombastic,…

This song “was sung before General Sullivan and a few respectable gentlemen, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, after the battle of Trenton.” General Sullivan’s Song HARK, the loud drums, hark, the…

The following bold lines are taken from the “Craftsman, or Say’s British Journal.” The American newspapers, both loyal and whig, generally republished them. To Britain BLUSH Britain ! blush at…

The following lines appeared in the early part of 1777, with this introduction. “As the superstition and weakness of human nature is such, that sometimes the most trivial circumstance; or…

This parody on the “Watery God” was occasioned by the success of the Americans at Trenton and Princeton. It was published a short time after those victories, and soon became…

This song was probably written in England. There were several versions of it published in this country. We select the best. The Heads YE wrong heads, and strong heads attend…

Numerous songs, odes, epigrams and pasquinades, commemorating this battle, appeared during the war. We have several loyal productions upon this subject; but they are too profane and corrupt for publication…

To the Tune of Smile Britannia: RISE, rise, bright genius rise, Conduct thy sons to war; Thy spear pois’d to the skies, Whirl, whirl, thy rapid car; Fire each firm…

The defiance and devotion expressed in these verses, are an excellent illustration of the spirit of the times, in which they were written. The author, Dr. Jonathan Mitchell Sewall,1 of…

This song was written in England, and first published in the Middlesex Journal, over the signature of M. On a broadside, dated 1777, the author says: “My efforts were so…

This bold song appeared in the “Freeman’s Journal,”1 about one mouth previous to the declaration of independence, as a “Parody on an ode published in the Town and Country Magazine,”…

This ironical, and burlesque old song, was composed in the early part of 1777. The author treats of the unsuccessful attack on Sullivan’s Island, by the British, in the summer…

The particulars known, concerning the capture, trial, and execution of this gallant, and much lamented young officer, are few. Washington, after the retreat of his army from Long Island, in…

This song must have been very popular with the loyalists, as four different editions were published in broadsides, during the two years following its first appearance, in the “Halifax Journal,”…

The origin of this specimen of the “Yankee Psalms and Prayers ” is unknown. There are numerous versions of it, but this is the only one that is above mediocrity,…

These congratulatory verses were sung by the soldiers of the Continental Army, after the evacuation of Boston. It appeared under various names, but was generally known by its present title,…

This song appeared in the Connecticut Gazette, while the British troops held possession of Boston. It was afterwards published in ballad-sheet, and recently reproduced in Buckingham’s Memoirs, sentiment being a…

It is supposed this song was first published in 1776. We have a music sheet containing it, and the “Liberty Song,” bearing the following impress: “Portsmouth; printed by Benjamin Dearborn,1…

Though this song has but slight pretensions to literary merit, its subject long made it popular among the colonists. It was first printed in the Pennsylvania Magazine, and occasionally reprinted…

Very many songs, bearing this title, were produced during the revolution. This spirited one was originally published as a broadside, early in 1776. At a later period, it appeared in…

A New Song to an Old Tune WHAT a court, hath old England, of folly and sin, Spite of Chatham and Camden, Barre, Burke, Wilkes and Glynn ! Not content…

J. W. Hewlings, the author of this ballad “on the present critical times,” was a native of Nansemond, Virginia, where he died, in the early part of the year 1793.…

Notwithstanding the prominent position in which General Washington was placed at the head of an undisciplined army, and the effect which that position produced upon the minds of the well…

During the battle, upon this hill, the village of Charlestown was destroyed. The subjoined lyric, commemorating the event, has been attributed to Joel Barlow. He composed various patriotic songs, many…

This happy production of “Paddy,” must have been very popular with “the rebels,” as there were four different editions of it published as broadsides, a short time after its first…

The author of this ballad is unknown. It appeared originally if the “Poet’s Corner” of Dunlap’s Packet, as the “Pennsylvania March,” to the tune of the Scots’ song, “I winna…

This production appeared in a ballad sheet in the early part of 1775, and was afterwards reprinted in the Constitutional Gazette, with a slight abridgment in the text. Alphabet Song…

The authorship of this chaste ballad has been assigned to one Jere. Sargent, of Philadelphia, a person of whom little is known; and also to Francis Hopkinson, the author of…

This excellent parody is attributed to Oliver Arnold,1 a native of Norwich, Connecticut, and a kinsman of the traitor. He wrote much doggerel during his time, some of which is…

This beautiful song was very popular, both in England and the colonies. It was composed by John Tait, a writer to the Signet and, for some time, a judge in…

About the middle of December, 1774, deputies appointed by the freemen of the province of Maryland, met at Annapolis, unanimously resolved to resist the authority of Parliament, taxing the colonies,…

In January, 1775, William Franklin, the governor of the colony of New Jersey, addressed the legislature, warning them not to sanction certain proceedings connected with the dispute existing between the…

Thomas Hutchinson was recalled to England early in 1774, and General Gage appointed as his successor in the office of governor of Massachusetts Bay. On his arrival at Boston, in…

This ballad first appeared in Fowler’s Gazette, on the twenty-second of July, 1774, but soon after was adapted to a sacred air, and published in a broadside. It has been…

Many urgent appeals to the people of the different colonies were made after the destruction of the tea at Boston, calling upon them to abstain from the use of all…

On the tenth day of May, 1773, the East India Company were authorized, by act of Parliament, to export their tea, free of duty, to England, but with a tax…

These verses appeared in a broadside, a short time after the “massacre of the fifth of March,” 1 1770, as a “new song much in vogue among the friends to…

In the year 1768, the people of Boston resolved that they would not import any tea, glass, paper, or other commodities commonly brought from Great Britain, until the act imposing…

This loyal song is much the best of those composed during the earliest struggles of the Colonists, and is forcibly illustrative of the nature and spirit of the times in…

This parody, upon the preceding song (The World Turned Upside Down), was first published in the Boston Gazette, on the twenty-sixth of September, 1768, with the subjoined brief notice. “Last…

The ballad entitled “The World Turned Upside Down, or, The Old Woman Taught Wisdom,” was published, originally, in the Gentleman’s Magazine, and afterwards on a music-sheet, set to the tune,…

THE incident which gave rise to the following satirical parody of Popes second pastoral, occurred during the debates in Parliament early in the year 1766, which took place on occasion…

The Stamp Act was passed on the tenth of January, 1765, and repealed on the twenty-second of February, of the next year. The news of its repeal was hailed with…

This beautiful ballad was written by Thomas Paine, the author of “The Age of Reason,” and published in the Pennsylvania Magazine of July, 1775, while he was editor of that…

Peter St. John, the author of the following excellent ballad, was a native of Norwalk, Connecticut. During the early struggles of the Revolution, he kept a school in his native…