Song Name: Goober Peas
Year of Release: Unknown, though the first sheet music was published in 1866
Written By: Unknown
Released by: Recorded by multiple artists, including Burl Ives, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Rusty Draper, and the Kingston Trio
Key Lyrics: "Sitting by the roadside, on a summer's day/Chatting with my messmates, passing time away/Lying in the shadow, underneath the trees/Goodness how delicious, eating goober peas!"
"Just before the battle, the general hears a row/He says, 'The Yanks are coming, I hear their rifles now'/He turns around in wonder, and what d'ya think he sees?/The 15th Alabama, eating goober peas."
Description: The song was written about the daily life of Southerners and what they ate. The song reflects times later in the Civil War, when people in the South were frequently cut off from farmland and train tracks and had little to eat. The "goober peas" mentioned in the song are likely boiled peanuts designed to serve as emergency rations. The soldiers' appreciation for Goober Peas is cemented by the line about the 15th Alabama eating goober peas in the middle of an imminent Union assault. The verse likely implies that the 15th Alabama enjoyed goober peas so much that they prioritized finishing them over a battle.
Why It Was Important: This song was not a marching tune, nor was it designed to mock the Union. Instead, the song reflects on daily life, camaraderie between Southerners, and the fixation on goober peas that swept through the Confederate ranks. It has a lighthearted tone, mentions soldiers passing time with their messmates, and includes a rather humorous mention about soldiers eating right before they have to fight for their lives. Overall, the song's lyrics gave Southerners a way to lighten the mood in the midst of the conflict and reflected experiences that many Southerners could relate to.
Recordings:
Goober Peas (studio version, Tennessee Ernie Ford version)