"Waterloo" was a number-one hit (country chart) for country singer

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...

in 1959. It was written by

John D. Loudermilk John Dee Loudermilk Jr. (March 31, 1934 – September 21, 2016) was an American singer and songwriter. Although he had his own recording career during the 1950s and 1960s, he was primarily known as a songwriter. His best-known songs include "I ...

and

Marijohn Wilkin Marijohn Wilkin ( Melson; July 14, 1920 – October 28, 2006) was an American songwriter, famous in country music for writing a number of hits. Wilkin won numerous awards over the years and was referred to as "The Den Mother of Music Row," a ...

Background

The song tells of three famous people who, because of their actions, "met their Waterloo" –

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

(who ate the "apple"),

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

(at the namesake

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

), and Tom Dooley (who was hanged for murder).

Chart performance

The single was the most successful of Jackson's career, spending five weeks at number one on the U.S. country music chart. The B-side of "Waterloo", "Smoke Along the Track", reached number 24 on the country chart. "Waterloo" was also Jackson's only top 40 hit, where it stayed on the chart for 16 weeks, peaking at number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop chart.Billboard Top 100 online
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References

Columbia Records singles 1959 singles Stonewall Jackson (musician) songs Songs written by John D. Loudermilk Songs written by Marijohn Wilkin 1959 songs Songs about Napoleon Songs about soldiers Songs about criminals Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve Song recordings produced by Don Law {{1950s-country-song-stub