Lessons Learned?

The poem below caught my eye as a very sweet tale about a country school boy who may have had more important things on his mind when his schoolmarm/master was teaching American history lessons. It raises the question though, "Did Johnny ever pass his 8th grade examination with THIS compendium of knowledge?"

Johnny's History Lesson
by Nixon Waterman

I think, of all the things at school
A boy has got to do,
That studyin' hist'ry, as a rule,
Is worst of all, don't you?
Of dates there are an awful sight,
An' though I study day an' night,
There's only one I've got just right -
That's 1492.

Columbus crossed the Delaware
In 1492.
We whipped the British, fair an' square,
In 1492.
At Concord an' at Lexington.
We kept the redcoats on the run,
While the band played Johnny Get Your Gun,
In 1492.

Pat Henry, with his dyin' breath -
In 1492
Said, "Gimme liberty or death!"
In 1492.

An' Barbara Frietchie, so 'tis said,
Cried, "Shoot if you must this old, gray head,
But I'd rather it be your own instead!"
In 1492.

The Pilgrims came to Plymouth Rock
In 1492.
An' the Indians standin' on the dock
Asked, "What are you goin' to do?"
An' they said, "We seek your harbor drear(y)
That our children's children's children dear,
May boast that their forefathers landed here
In 1492"

Miss Pocahontas saved the life,
In 1492.
Of one John Smith, an' became his wife
In 1492.
An' the Smith tribe started then an' there,
An' now, there are John Smiths everywhere,
But they didn't have any Smiths to spare
In 1492.

Kentucky was settled by Daniel Boone
In 1492.
An' I think the cow jumped over the moon
In 1492.
Ben Franklin flew his kite so high
He drew the lightnin' from the sky,
An' Washington couldn't tell a lie,
In 1492.

Note: This little poem was one of many written by Nixon Waterman (much more serious, of course) who was born in 1859 in Kendall County, IL, when it was part of Indian Territory. He died in September 1944 in Canton, Massachusetts. Waterman was a newspaperman, prolific poet, essayist, and creator of countless stories and anthems. He became a noted Chautauqua lecturer who rose to prominence in the 1890s. His life story is fascinating, a pioneer who lived the American Dream.
Here you'll find a link to an inspiring article about this very successful American  wordsmith.
​Click on the poem by Nixon Waterman or his portrait below: