Aide-toi et Dieu t’aidera

When the Alabama’s keel was laid
Roll, Alabama, roll
Twas laid in the yard of Jonathan Laird
O Roll, Alabama, roll

‘Twas laid in the yard of Jonathan Laird
Roll, Alabama, roll
‘Twas laid in the town of Birkenhead
O Roll, Alabama, roll

Down the Mersey way she rolled then
Roll, Alabama, roll
Liverpool fitted her with guns and men
O Roll, Alabama, roll

From the Western Isle she sailed forth
Roll, Alabama, roll
To destroy the commerce of the North
O Roll, Alabama, roll

To Cherbourg port she sailed one day
Roll, Alabama, roll
To take her count of prize money
O Roll, Alabama, roll

Many a sailor lad he met his doom
Roll, Alabama, roll
When the Kearsarge it hove in view
O Roll, Alabama, roll

‘Til a ball from the forward pivot that day
Roll, Alabama, roll
Shot the Alabama’s stern away
O Roll, Alabama, roll

Off the three mile limit in sixty-five*
Roll, Alabama, roll
The Alabama went to her grave
O Roll, Alabama, roll

• The CSS Alabama was sunk by the USS Kearsarge on 19 June 1864.

— Roll, Alabama, Roll!

Curator: Christian Clay Columba Campbell

Christian Clay Columba Campbell is a Roman Catholic of the Anglican Use. As Senior Warden of the Cathedral of the Incarnation (Orlando, FL), he organised the process by which the parish accepted the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, petitioning to join the Catholic Church. The Anglican Cathedral is now the Church of the Incarnation in the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. Personal queries should be directed to me at eccentricbliss dot com. View all posts by Christian Clay Columba Campbell