Beating Them With a Stick

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HONEST FARMER HARRY.

Written for the National Clay Minstrel..
Tune—”My Old Aunt Sally.”

All country voters gather round, while your hearts I warm, sar,
I’ll gib you a true song about an ole Kentucky farmer,
He’s got de finest head and heart dat any man can carry,
And all de songs de people sing, is Honest Farmer Harry.
Harry, Harry, honest Farmer Harry!
And all de songs de people sing is honest Farmer Harry!
Harry, Harry, honest Farmer Harry,
Rally round and stan’ your ground,
For honest Farmer Harry!

Dey took him from his Kentuck home to fix de nation’s garden.
He water it with freedom’s juice an’ make it grow for sartin,
But Tyler boss disgust him ‘way, now tisent worth a farden.
But de people ax him back again, an’ grumblers ax his pardon —
His pardon, his pardon, de grumblers ax his pardon,
De people ax him back again an’ grumblers ax him pardon —
Oh Harry, Harry, honest Farmer Harry,
Rally round and stan’ your ground.
For honest Farmer Harry.

Boss Tyler cut de garden up, but soon he’ll cut his stick sir,
For Harry’ll put his fixens in, an’ put him in a fix sir,
He’ll have him an’ his diggers from de White House diggins swep, sir,
And send him to Virginny to de double veto step sir
De step, sir, de step, de double veto step, sir
He’ll send him to Virginny to de double veto step sir,
Harry, Harry, honest Farmer Harry,
Rally round and stan’ your ground,
For honest Farmer Harry!

Come folks as thick as forest trees, and round the polls all swarm, sar.
Sing Ballads round the Bal-lot box for the honest farmer,
He’ll sow de white house garden Clay with freedom’s fruitful seed, sar.
And fed Boss Tyler’s Foco swine upon de rotten weeds, sar,
Der weeds sar, der weeds sar,
Upon der rotten weeds sar.
He’ll feed Boss Tyler’s Foco swine upon der rotten weeds, sar,
Harry, Harry, honest Farmer Harry.
Rally round an’ stan’ your ground,
For honest Farmer Harry. s. s. s.

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NOTES:

“My Old Aunt Sally” is a blackface minstrel song (that came out in 1843).  This is another song in dialect.  It’s pretty darned racist.  But for real racism, you have to find “Frelinghuysen’s Amalgamation Song” (also to the tune of “My Old Aunt Sally”) from the Polk campaign.

“Honest Farmer Harry” is Henry Clay (of Kentucky).

Tisent = it isn’t.   Farden=farthing (a very small coin). “Cut his stick” = “depart hurriedly.” Swep = swept.

The double veto is a particular complaint of the Whigs: They passed a Bank Bill and Tyler  (of Virginia) vetoed it.  They passed another Bank Bill and Tyler vetoed that one too!  The Whigs were incensed.

The Foco swine were the Loco Focos (radical Democrats).

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Tomorrow: The Self-Made Man