“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: The song reached #1 on the Cash Box charts, from
March 26 through May 14, 1955. Over ten million copies of the song were sold. 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.
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