Charles Guiteau (song)
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"Charles Guiteau" (Roud 444, Laws E11) is a traditional folk song about the assassination of US President James A. Garfield by Charles J. Guiteau. It is based on another old ballad, "James A. Rogers".[1][2] The song is told from the point of view of the assassin himself.[3]
For a while, it was believed that Guiteau wrote the song himself, possibly because of the poem "I am Going to the Lordy", which Guiteau actually did write on the day of his execution.[4]
It is not to be confused with another ballad about the assassination, "Mr. Garfield," which was popularized by Johnny Cash.[3] Bascom Lamar Lunsford recorded both songs in 1949 for the Library of Congress.[3]
