The Red Bandana

 Our choice, Grover Cleveland, A.G. Thurman. Democratic nominees, for president for vice president
Our choice, Grover Cleveland, A.G. Thurman. Democratic nominees, for president for vice president

 


CAMPAIGN SONG.

Air — “Good-by, My Lover, Good-by.”

O Democrats, hear the trumpet blow,
Good-by, free traders, good-by!
Pack up your grips, its time to go,
Good-by, free traders, good-by!
Protection is the people’s wealth,
Good-by, free traders, good-by!
And we will guard the Nation’s health,
Good-by, free traders, good-by!

Chorus.

By, Cleveland, by, O!
By, Thurman, by, O!
Home and prosperity!
Old British free traders, good-by!

The flag is floating in the breeze,
Good-by, bandanna, Good-by!
The stars and stripes will better please,
Good-by, bandanna, good-by!
We’ll nail our banner to the mast,
Good-by, bandanna, good-by!
Your old red rag won’t stand the blast,
Good-by, bandanna, good-by!

Chorus.

By, Cleveland, by, O!
By, Thurman, by, O!
Wave, flag of loyalty!
Old red bandanna, good-by!

Old Indiana names the man,
Good by, dear Grover, good-by!
Come here and beat him if you can,
Good-by, dear Grover, good-by!
Ben Harrison is the man to win,
Good-by, dear Grover, good by !
Go home and watch our Benjamin!
Good-by, big Grover, good-by!

Chorus.

By, Cleveland, by, O!
By, Thurman, by, O!
Harrison and victory!
Four hundred pounder, good-by!

They brought poor Thurman out too late,
Good-by, Old Roman, good-by!
In Morton he will meet his fate,
Good-by, Old Roman, good-by!
Our soldier Ben the land will sweep,
Good-by, Old Roman, good by!
November leaves shall bury you deep !
Good-by, Old Roman, good-by!

Chorus.

By, Cleveland, by, O!
By, Thurman, by, O!
Union and purity!
Old foul bandanna, good-by!

— Richard Lew Dawson.


Notes:

.The Democrats (Cleveland and Thurman) stood for Free Trade, while the Republicans (Harrison and Morton) stood for Protective Tariffs.

“Grips” are small suitcases or overnight bags.

The suggestion is that the perfidious British supported Free Trade in order to destroy American manufacturing.

The red bandana is the handkerchief that Allen G. Thurman waved about to punctuate his points when speaking — when he wasn’t blowing his nose with it.  (Nose-blowings that were renowned for their length, volume, and frequency.)  Nevertheless, Thurman’s supporters showed their support by wearing red bandanas on their hats, or tied to their canes.

Benjamin Harrison was a senator from Indiana.

Four hundred pounder:  Grover Cleveland was quite a — large — fellow.

Thurman’s nickname in the senate was “The Old Roman.”  (He was the noblest Roman of them all.)

Levi Morton, of New York, was Harrison’s running-mate.

Soldier Ben:  Harrison had a distinguished career as an army officer in the Civil War.

November leaves:  the presidential election was held in November.


Tomorrow:  The People’s Song

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