The Ballad of Davy Crockett

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“The Ballad of Davy Crockett”

Ballad, Folk song
Writer	George Bruns music Tom W. Blackburn lyrics

"The Ballad of Davy Crockett" is a song with music by George Bruns and lyrics by Tom W. Blackburn.

The first recording of the song was made by Bill Hayes, quickly followed by versions by Fess Parker and Tennessee Ernie Ford (recorded February 7, 1955), all in 1955. All three versions made the Billboard charts: Hayes' version made #1 on the weekly chart (from March 26 through April 23, 1955) and #7 for the year, Parker's reached #6 on the weekly charts and #31 for the year, while Ford's peaked at #4 on the weekly country chart and #5 on the weekly pop chart and charted at #37 for the year. The song also reached #1 on the Cash Box charts, from March 26 through May 14, 1955. Over ten million copies of the song were sold.^[1]

It was introduced on the television series Disneyland in December, 1954. Fess Parker played the role of Davy Crockett on the series and continued in several movies made by Walt Disney's company.

1 The Crockett craze
2 Lyrics
3 Covers
4 Audio sample
5 References
6 External links

[edit] The Crockett craze

This section does not cite any references or sources. (August 2007)
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To publicise the 1954 film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, (released in Britain in 1956) Walt Disney Productions launched a massive marketing campaign in the UK in order to make the country's youth "Crockett conscious." Crockett merchandise was produced en masse, the most iconic item being the imitation coonskin cap. The craze became immensely popular amongst schoolchildren, and the ballad made its way across the Atlantic.

The Crockett phenomenon is referenced in books of the time such as Back in the Jug Agane, one of the Molesworth series by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle.

The craze was referenced in the film Back to the Future, which is set predominately in 1955. In the film, the Fess Parker version of the song is head on a jukebox and, in a later scene, one of Lorraine Baines' brothers appears wearing a coonskin cap.

[edit] Lyrics

Here are the full lyrics written by Tom W. Blackburn.

Born on a mountain top in Tennessee
The greenest state in the land of the free
Raised in the woods so's he knew ev'ry tree
Kilt him a b'ar when he was only three

Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier

Fought single-handed through many a war
Till the enemy was whipped and peace was in store
And while he was handlin' this risky chore
He made himself a legend forever more
Davy, Davy Crockett, the man who knew no fear

He went off to Congress and served a spell
Fixin' up the Government and the laws as well
Took over Washington, so I heard tell
And he patched up the crack in the Liberty Bell
Davy, Davy Crockett, seeing his duty clear

When he came home his politic'ing was done
And the western march had just begun
So he packed his gear and his trusty gun
And lit out a-grinnin' to follow the sun
Davy, Davy Crockett, leading the pioneer

The ballad contains one of the more popular mondegreens. The lyrics "Kilt him a b'ar when he was only three" are often misheard as "Killed in a bar when he was only three".^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Covers

A version of the song was recorded by Tim Curry, in a fashion similar to that of his famous role in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
A version was recorded and released on The Kentucky Headhunters' 1991 album Electric Barnyard, and was released as a single.
A 1967 version by The Supremes was recorded for the proposed album "Sing Disney Classics", but was shelved until rediscovered many years later.
The Country Bear Jamboree Audio-Animatronic show at various Disney theme parks includes a slightly bowdlerized version of the first verse ("tamed him a b'ar").