Historical Children's Songs

Subject: RE: BS: Historical Childrens' Songs
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 17 Jul 02 - 05:03 PM

Snog made me think about Bundling. Don't know any songs about it, but there ought to be!

Subject: RE: BS: Historical Childrens' Songs
From: SharonA
Date: 17 Jul 02 - 04:55 PM

Wilco: It sounds as if you are looking specifically for songs that were written and were popular at (or immediately after) the time that these historical events occurred; is that correct?

The reason I ask is that there is a beautifully haunting song called "Kilkelly". It was copyrighted in 1983, but its lyrics are comprised of excerpts from letters written to the songwriter's great-great-grandfather in the US by his father in Ireland from the 1860s to the 1890s. It's a very personal glimpse into the pain of the families separated by that "mass exodus to the US" of which you speak, so even though it's not a song that has the "great historical significance" that a song of that period would have, I think it's still worth considering for your program.

Here's a link to the song "Kilkelly" (in Mudcat's "Digital Tradition" files): /@displaysong.cfm?SongID=3394

Subject: RE: BS: Historical Childrens' Songs
From: greg stephens
Date: 17 Jul 02 - 04:35 PM

History is bound up with economics and industry, and peoples attitudes and experiences can be found very accessibly in folksongs.I would really recommend:
Cotton: Roll the Cotton Down
Sugar: There ain't no more cane on the Brazos
Tobacco: Tobacco is an Indian Weed

Subject: RE: BS: Historical Childrens' Songs
From: Jacob B
Date: 17 Jul 02 - 03:54 PM

Check out this History In Song site.

Subject: RE: BS: Historical Childrens' Songs
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 17 Jul 02 - 03:39 PM

The David Crockett poem, "Farewell," also was posted in thread 46834, under Lyr. Add: CROCKETT'S FAREWELL.: Farewell

Subject: RE: BS: Historical Childrens' Songs
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 17 Jul 02 - 03:34 PM

David Crockett, known to almost every American child, wrote a poem, "Farewell To The Mountains," since set to music, that should be included in any historical program including poetry and music.
He wrote it after disappointment in politics and his re-election bid to Congress, and prior to his move westward to Texas to start a new life. His death at the Alamo, fighting alongside supporters of the Texas Republic, has been chronicled in movies as well as in the history books.

The haunting and beautiful poem was posted by Malcolm Douglas in thread 38359, 30 Aug. 2001. Farewell

The song is taken from Chapter 11 of Abbott's biography: Crockett

Strange it is that this important song is not in the DT.

Subject: RE: BS: Historical Childrens' Songs
From: Micca
Date: 17 Jul 02 - 02:34 PM

if you want to know what a snog is try here

Subject: RE: BS: Historical Childrens' Songs
From: masato sakurai
Date: 17 Jul 02 - 01:50 PM

There're some related threads on folk song and history:

Use of Folk Music in History Education

Fav. Historical Story-songs

Distortion of History in Folk Song

AMER. HISTORY IN SONG w/pix - nice site

Other link:

A History of Ireland in Song

~Masato the Link-Provider

Subject: RE: BS: Historical Childrens' Songs
From: GUEST,Desdemona at work
Date: 17 Jul 02 - 01:46 PM

Most Americans aren't familiar with the term "snog", but it's so wonderfully descriptive! The closest thing in the argot is "neck", which isn't really quite the same thing, you know?

Subject: RE: BS: Historical Childrens' Songs
From: greg stephens
Date: 17 Jul 02 - 01:32 PM

I'd like to experience some of those folk snogs popular in Colonial America.(Maybe that isnt funny in America, do you snog over there? Maybe its only an English custom).

Subject: RE: BS: Historical Childrens' Songs
From: greg stephens
Date: 17 Jul 02 - 01:26 PM

Do you know the Burl Ives number "What was your name in the States?". The background to that seems to explain a lot about one chunk of USA history.

Subject: Historical Childrens' Songs
From: GUEST,Wilco48
Date: 17 Jul 02 - 01:22 PM

I'm putting together a program for children, that I will take into their classrooms. I'm looking for old songs that have great historical significance. This would be for US History. Examples are: Abolitionist's song, Civil War Songs, folk snogs that would have been popular in Colonial USA, songs about the 1849 California Gold Rush, songs about Native Americans, etc. I need about fifty songs for kids age eight to fourteen. I hope to have program of about five weeks that I could do in period costume. I especially enjoy tying the history of the song into US history. Examples would be the Potatoe Famine in Ireland, and the mass exodus to the US that resulted from it. A story about the Potatoe famine would be great!! The idea is to show kids that songs are historical oral artifacts that they can "bring back to life" to better understand their ancestry. Ultimately, the idea is to show the US as the "great meltin pot" of cultures. I'm Irish, English, French, Spanish, Welsh, Scottish, Algonquin, and Cherokee. So, about anything works for me.

Thanks!!!!!!