Loading…
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Born where the rivers run cold
In Carolina clay and pine
A boy with a hard-set jaw
And a fire you could not wind
The war took his kin too young
Left a scar he couldn't hide
He learned to stand his ground
With the storm on every side
[Pre-Chorus]
He packed up dust and law
And rode where the frontier roared
With a hand on the reins
And a name the people scored
[Chorus]
Ho, Old Hickory!
Hold the line, hold the line
Ho, Old Hickory!
He was steel in the pine
From the backwoods to the throne
He kept his path his own
Ho, Old Hickory!
Roll on, roll on
[Verse 2]
New Orleans woke to cannon smoke
On a January dawn
He raised the men by the river bank
Till the red-coats were gone
They said the city would fall that day
But the flags kept flapping high
And the old rough name of Jackson
Rang out across the sky
[Pre-Chorus]
The taverns talked, the papers spun
He wore the weight like lead
Every cheer came loud
Every foe went cold with dread
[Chorus]
Ho, Old Hickory!
Hold the line, hold the line
Ho, Old Hickory!
He was steel in the pine
From the backwoods to the throne
He kept his path his own
Ho, Old Hickory!
Roll on, roll on
[Verse 3]
He came to Washington
With a crowd behind his heel
A farmer’s shout, a soldier’s stare
A voice that felt like steel
But power is a rough black tide
And every helm cuts deep
He made the country bigger
And left some wounds to keep
[Bridge]
A captain can be cheered
And still leave wreckage in his wake
That same hard hand that built a road
Can also bend and break
So sing the man and cast the dice
And mark what history knows
He was flame, he was flood
And the harbor still shows
[Chorus]
Ho, Old Hickory!
Hold the line, hold the line
Ho, Old Hickory!
He was steel in the pine
From the backwoods to the throne
He kept his path his own
Ho, Old Hickory!
Roll on, roll on
[Outro]
Roll on, roll on
Across the foam
Old Hickory’s name
Still rides the home
Details
GeneratedAug 8, 2026
Duration3:32
LanguageEnglish
Style
Sea shanty, mid-tempo and stomping with call-and-response gang vocals, concertina, fiddle, and handclaps; verse rides a lone voice over sparse drum and salt-stained strum, pre-chorus opens with rising crew shouts, chorus hits with full unison chants and foot-stomp rhythm. Sea spray ad-libs in the margins, a creaking-ship transition into the bridge, and a bright, punchy mix with rough tavern-room grit., shanty
Credits
Prompt byDiscoStorm938
ModelAria v5.5
Prompt
A sea shanty song about Andrew Jackson’s life 
