"Hard Tack, Come Again No More" is an American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

-era parody

Parody

A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

 of the song "Hard Times, Come Again No More."

Hard Times Come Again No More

"Hard Times Come Again No More," is a parlor song by Stephen Foster. It was published in New York by Firth, Pond & Co. in 1854 as Foster's Melodies No. 28...

  First called "Hard Crackers, Come Again No More!", it is a sarcastic complaint about the quality of some of the provisions

Hardtack

Hardtack is a simple type of cracker or biscuit, made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Inexpensive and long-lasting, it was and is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages and military campaigns. The name derives from the British sailor slang...

 provided by military contractors. The authors of the many verses of the parody are unknown, although the first version is often attributed to Josiah Fowler of the First Iowa Infantry

1st Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 1st Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 1st Iowa Infantry was organized at Keokuk, Iowa and mustered into Federal forces on May 14, 1861 for ninety days' service under Abraham Lincoln's first call for...

 dating to just after the Battle of Boonville

Battle of Boonville

The First Battle of Boonville was a minor skirmish of the American Civil War, occurring on June 17, 1861, near Boonville in Cooper County, Missouri. Although casualties were extremely light, the battle's strategic impact was far greater than one might assume from its limited nature...

, June 1861.

Lyrics

Let us close our game of poker, take our tin cups in our hand

As we all stand by the cook’s tent door

As dried mummies of hard crackers are handed to each man.

O, hard tack, come again no more!

CHORUS:

‘Tis the song, the sigh of the hungry:

“Hard tack, hard tack, come again no more.”

Many days you have lingered upon our stomachs sore.

O, hard tack, come again no more!

‘Tis a hungry, thirsty soldier who wears his life away

In torn clothes—his better days are o’er.

And he’s sighing now for whiskey in a voice as dry as hay,

“O, hard tack, come again no more!”

— CHORUS

‘Tis the wail that is heard in camp both night and day,

‘Tis the murmur that’s mingled with each snore.

‘Tis the sighing of the soul for spring chickens far away,

“O, hard tack, come again no more!”

— CHORUS

But to all these cries and murmurs, there comes a sudden hush

As frail forms are fainting by the door,

For they feed us now on horse feed that the cooks call mush!

O, hard tack, come again once more!

FINAL CHORUS:

‘Tis the dying wail of the starving:

“O, hard tack, hard tack, come again once more!”

You were old and very wormy, but we pass your failings o’er.

O, hard tack, come again once more!

Having to consume less appetizing food for extended periods led to revisions wishing for the return of hard tack.

External links

• "Hard Tack, Come No More Again"—Songs of the Union.