The original version was written by Innes Randolph (1837-1887), a Virginia lawyer and a topographical officer on Gen. J. E. B. Stuart's staff. He'd graduated from law school in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

The self-conscious rural dialect (in contrast with Randolph's other verse) and crudely overt sentiments indicate that he intended the song as an affectionate satire of some of his less sophisticated wartime acquaintances rather than as some heart-felt cry of his own.

Of course, many people just don't "get" irony.