"Bonaparte's Retreat" is the title of several related songs. Although there are several different

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

tunes titled "Bonaparte's Retreat," the one that is most common is an American old-time tune dating back to at least the late 1800s and probably well before that. In 1950, American country music artist

Pee Wee King Julius Frank Anthony Kuczynski (February 18, 1914 – March 7, 2000), known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "Tennessee Waltz". Pee Wee King is credited with ...

recorded a modified version of that tune, with lyrics added, which he also called "Bonaparte's Retreat". King's version has since been covered by many country artists.

Traditional versions

"Bonaparte's Retreat" (sometimes called "Boneyparte's Retreat" or "Boney's Retreat") is the name of several fiddle tunes, most of them found in the old-time tradition (the Traditional Tune Archive at tunearch.org lists 8 separate tunes under the name "Bonaparte's Retreat"). The title "Bonaparte's Retreat" is a reference to

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's disastrous retreat from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in 1812, which cost the French ruler most of his '' Grand Armée'' and eventually led to his downfall. Some 19th-century British folk songs celebrated the event, since it ended the longtime danger that Napoleon would try to invade England. The first audio recording of Bonaparte's Retreat was made by Georgia fiddler A. A. Gray in 1924. In 1937, American ethnomusicologist

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music during the 20th century. He was a musician, folklorist, archivist, writer, scholar, political activ ...

, while travelling through

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, recorded fiddler William Hamilton Stepp playing "Bonaparte's Retreat". This recording became a touchstone in American culture, and was inducted in 2016 into the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation ...

Ruth Crawford Seeger Ruth Crawford Seeger (born Ruth Porter Crawford; July 3, 1901 – November 18, 1953) was an American composer and musicologist. Her music heralded the emerging modernist aesthetic, and she became a central member of a group of American composers ...

transcribed it for John and Alan Lomax’s book ''Our Singing Country'' in 1941, and most fiddlers in the modern day who play Bonaparte's Retreat play the version recorded by W.H. Stepp. Stepp's version of the song was used as a major component of

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...

's orchestral composition "Hoe-Down" from the ballet ''

Rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

''. Copland most likely learned it from the transcription found in the Lomaxes' book ''Our Singing Country''. "Hoe-Down" has in turn been covered by various artists, including

Emerson, Lake and Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of The Nice, Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitars, producer) of King Crimson, ...

on their 1972 album ''

Trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

''. It has also received use in television and film, including the American TV ad campaign "

Beef. It's What's For Dinner "Beef. It's What's for Dinner" is an American advertising slogan and advertising campaign, campaign aimed at promoting the consumption of beef. The ad campaign was launched in 1992 by the National Livestock and Meat Board and is funded by the commo ...

". Famous versions of "Bonaparte's Retreat" include several recordings by

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. He won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His ...

(often with others), a recording by

Ola Belle Reed Ola Belle Reed (August 18, 1916 – August 16, 2002) was an American Appalachian folk singer, songwriter and banjo player. Early life Reed was born Ola Wave Campbell in the unincorporated town of Grassy Creek, Ashe County, North Carolina. Sh ...

(off her album ''Rising Sun Melodies''), and more recently, a recording by

Tyler Childers Timothy Tyler Childers ( ; born June 21, 1991) is an American country singer and songwriter. His music has been described as a mix of neotraditional country, bluegrass, folk, and honky-tonk. His breakthrough studio album, ''Purgatory'' (2017) ...

(off his album '' Long Violent History'').

"Bonaparte's Retreat" (Pee Wee King song)

In 1950,

released a single entitled "Bonaparte's Retreat." This version slowed down the traditional melody (the one recorded from W.H. Stepp) and added lyrics, about dancing with and wooing a girl. King's lyrics refer to the original song in the chorus: "I kissed her while the guitars played the 'Bonaparte's Retreat'". King's song peaked at number 10 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart.

Kay Starr Kay Starr (born Catherine Laverne Starks; July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016) was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multiple genres, such as p ...

recorded the song later in 1950. Her version peaked at number 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Billy Grammer Billy Wayne Grammer (August 28, 1925 – August 10, 2011) was an American country music singer and accomplished guitar player. He recorded the million-selling "Gotta Travel On", which made it onto both the Hot Country Songs, country and Billboar ...

recorded and charted (#50) in 1959 with a crossover pop and country version. Carl Smith issued a country version of the song on his August 1970 LP "Carl Smith and the Tunesmiths" (Columbia C-32015) including a prominent steel guitar and drums, in a semi-fast rolling beat. In Smith's version, the chorus went "I kissed her while the fiddles played the 'Bonaparte's Retreat'".

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

then covered the song for his 1974 album '' Houston (I'm Comin' to See You)''. It was released in July 1974 as the album's second single. Campbell's slightly more rocking version peaked at number 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached number 1 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Country Tracks chart in Canada.

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

also covered the song as a bonus track on the reissue of his 1975 concept album ''

Red Headed Stranger ''Red Headed Stranger'' is the eighteenth studio album by American outlaw country singer Willie Nelson, released in 1975. Following the success of his recordings with Atlantic Records, coupled with the negotiating skills of his manager, Neil Re ...

''. In addition, the song was covered by

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the Monkees and co-star of their The Monkees (TV series), TV series of the same name (1966–1968) ...

and the Second National Band's 1972 album '' Tantamount to Treason Vol. 1''.

Chart performance

Pee Wee King

Kay Starr

Glen Campbell

References

{{authority control 1950 singles 1974 singles Pee Wee King songs Kay Starr songs Glen Campbell songs Songs written by Pee Wee King Song recordings produced by Jimmy Bowen Capitol Records singles 1950 songs United States National Recording Registry recordings Songs about Napoleon Songs about Russia Songs based on actual events