Oh, Santiana gained the day,
(Chorus: Away Santiana!)
Santiana gained the day,
(Chorus: All across the Plains of Mexico!)
He gained the day at Molley-del-rey [Monterey]
General Taylor ran away.
All of his men were brave an' true,
Every soldier brave an' true.
Oh, Santiana fought for fame,
An' Santiana gained a name.
An' Zacharias Taylor ran away,
He ran away at Molley-del-ray.
Santiana's men were brave,
Many found a soldier's [hero's] grave.
'Twas a fierce an' bitter strife,
Hand to hand they fought for life.
An' Santiana's name is known,
What a man can do was shown.
Oh, Santiana fought for his gold
What deeds he did have oft been told.
'Twas on the field of Molley-del-rey,
Santiana lost a leg that day.
Oh, Santiana's day is o'er,
Santiana will fight no more.
Oh, Santiana's gone away,
Far from the fields of Molley-del-rey.
Oh, Santiana's dead an' gone,
An' all the fightin' has bin done.
Santiana was a damn fine man,
Till he fouled hawse with Old Uncle Sam.
Now Santiana shovels his gold,
Around Cape Horn in the ice an' cold.
We'll dig his grave with a silver spade,
An' mark the spot where he was laid.
Oh, Santiana now we mourn,
We left him buried off Cape Horn.
We left him deep 'way off Cape Horn,
Close by the place where he was born.
abc | midi | pdf
Source: S Hugill, 1994, Shanties from the Seven Seas,Mystic Seaport Museum, Conn.
Notes:
Stan Hugill wrote:
Quite a number of British seamen deserted their ships to join Santa Ana's wild and ragged army - Britishers, it would appear, favoured the cause of the Mexicans. Many shanties seem to have been taken by cowboys and made use of as camp-fire songs if we are to believe the many instances given in American cowboy song collections. I doubt if sailors ever got them from cowboys! And this one - Santiana - appears to have been a great favourite with men of the Wild West! ... The refrains varied greatly from ship to ship ... The opening bars of this shanty are similar to those of Jamboree and the second refrain resembles Clear the Track. Miss Gilchrist (Journal of the Folk Song Society) seems to think that the tunes of Santiana and Clear the Track are based upon one of the many tunes of High Barbaree.
Roud: 207 (Search Roud index at VWML) Take Six
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