09 Feb 98 - 07:27 PM (#21079)
Subject: Song Add: Mormon folk song of 1857
From: Jon W.
Here is a song from a tape I got for Christmas.
X: 1
T:A Song of 1857
M:6/8
L:1/8
Q:110
C:Trad. Mormon Folksong
S:Nauvoo Brass Bands
K:C
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E2 E E2 G| D2 D D2 C | D2 D DD E|C3 C2 C|
F2 A c2 F | E2 E E2 C| F2 A c2 F| E3 E2 | C
F2 F A2 F | G2 E c2 A | F2 C D2 E | F3 F2
C| E2 E E2 G| D2 D D2 B,| C2 B, C2 E| G3 c2 C|
E2 E E2 G D2 D D2 C | D2 D D2 E|C3 C2
A song of 1857
Traditional Mormon Folksong
When Uncle Sam he first sent out his army to destroy us,
Says he "The Mormons we will rout, they shall no longer annoy us."
The force he sent was competent to "try and hang" for treason,
That is I mean, it would have been, but don't you know the reason?
Chorus:
There's great commotion in the east about the Mormon question,
The problem is to say the least, too much for their digestion.
As they were going up the Platte singing many a lusty ditty,
Saying we'll do this and we'll do that when we get to Salt Lake City;
And sure enough when they got there they made the Mormons stir, sir.
That is I mean they would have done, but oh, they didn't get there.
When they got within two hundred miles, the old boys they were saying,
"It will be but a little while 'til the Mormons we'll be slaying,
We'll hang each man who has two wives, we've plenty of rope quite handy."
That is, I mean, they would have had, but Smith burned it on Sandy.
Then they returned with awful tales, saying Mormons beat the devil,
They ride up hill and over rocks as fast as on the level.
And if by chance you shoot one down and surely think he's dead, sir,
The first you know he's on his horse and pushing on ahead, sir!
Then on Ham's Fork they camped a while saying "Wait a little longer,
'Til Johnston and his crew come up and make us a little stronger.
Then on we'll go, take Brigham Young, and Heber his companion."
That is I mean, they would have done, but for fear of Echo Canyon.
Now Uncle Sam, take my advice, you'd better stay at home, sir!
You'll need your money and your men to defend your rights at home, sir!
But if per chance you need some help, the Mormons will be kind, sir.
They helped you once and will again, that is, if they've a mind, sir!
Notes: The US government sent an army under the command of Col. Albert Sidney Johnston, in 1857, to suppress a rumored "Mormon Rebellion" in the territory of Utah. The Mormon forces under Capt. Lot Smith and others, harassed the Army, burning supply trains. They also resorted to subterfuge. While the troops were passing through Echo Canyon at night, a handful of Mormon men and boys kept pace with them on the mountainsides above, lighting campfires as they went so it appeared to the troops that the mountains were lined with armed camps. The whole affair was eventually resolved by diplomacy and without bloodshed. The last verse of the song is a reminder to the US Government of the loyalty of the Mormon Battalion in the decade-earlier war with Mexico.
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