Charles Guiteau (song)

"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". The song is told from the point of view of the assassin himself.

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.

It is not to be confused with another ballad about the assassination, "Mr. Garfield," which was popularized by Johnny Cash. Bascom Lamar Lunsford recorded both songs in 1949 for the Library of Congress.