I am Going to the Lordy grip on reality." Howard Kissel said that "The Ballad of Guiteau" was one of the oddest songs of "Assassins" due to the use of the poem. I am Going to the Lordy "I am Going to the Lordy" is a poem written by Charles J. Guiteau, the assassin of U.S. President James A. Garfield. He wrote it on June 30, 1882, the morning of his execution. He read it at the gallows. "I am Going to the Lordy" was used as a base for the song "The Ballad of Guiteau" in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Assassins", where Guiteau sings a
Charles J. Guiteau had committed and an account of his own trial, which was published as "The Truth and the Removal". To the end, Guiteau was making plans to start a lecture tour after his perceived imminent release and to run for president himself in 1884, while at the same time continuing to delight in the media circus surrounding his trial. He was found guilty on January 25, 1882. After the guilty verdict was read, Guiteau stepped forward, despite his lawyers' efforts to tell him to be quiet, and yelled at the jury saying "You are all low, consummate jackasses!" plus a further