Level: 2/3
Tuning: G6 tuning: D G D G A D

Many people know this song as "The Battle of New Orleans", which was a hit in 1959 made famous by Johnny Horton. Jimmy Driftwood wrote the words in 1958, but the song started off as an instrumental called "The Eighth of January" written in 1815 presumably by a soldier who was fortunate enough to have survived the battle. The Eighth of January is considered a fiddle dance tune standard and has two sections - A & B - with their variations. I chose to frame my arrangement as a slow and solemn ballad. In this arrangement I focus on the use of diatonic and chromatic bass lines to support the melody and also use the right hand with a relaxed "two" feel, by playing half notes in the bass as opposed to quarter notes. This gives more room for the melody to stand out and helps develop your right-hand thumb's independence. It has been a favorite lesson for my students over the years. It is a good platform to explore dynamics in your playing as well as moving bass lines.