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20 Mar 08 - 10:17 AM (#2293512) Subject: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST,Guest: Alex, Russian folklorist Dear all, Here in Russia we use to separate songs devoted/descibing real historic events i.e. wars, battles, peoples disturbances etc. from other folk songs (love, dance, play etc.). We call such songs 'historic'. Would anyone please say how they do this in America, and is there a chance to look at any online collection(s) of lyrics of such type of American folk songs? Any guidance is much appreciated. |
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20 Mar 08 - 11:41 AM (#2293612) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego I do not have a comprehensive list at hand, but there has been a long tradition here of composing songs in memory of disasters such as floods, fires and train wrecks ("The Wreck of the Old 97" for one), wars, infamous and not so famous murders and more. The Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C., has a huge archive of such material. I am certain others can contribute specific online sites or publications to guide you. Good hunting! |
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20 Mar 08 - 12:04 PM (#2293640) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego By the way, there is another thread on Mudcat that covers "Smithsonian - Folkways for download" and mentions associated sources. |
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20 Mar 08 - 12:50 PM (#2293690) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST,Jeff Of course, the historical accuracy of any folk song is another matter entirely. A song might be more-or-less right (Roll, Alabama roll) or more often complete historical rubbish (General Taylor). |
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20 Mar 08 - 01:49 PM (#2293775) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Bill D Yes, we have songs about battles, disasters (mining, train wrecks..etc.) politics, famous people, and 'topical' songs about events written soon after the event. In the database (see upper left corner) you can search for a specific 'keyword'...such as battle. |
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20 Mar 08 - 01:53 PM (#2293780) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Bill D where it says "Lyrics & Knowledge Search" you can enter a term...DT means search only in the song database. FORUM means search this discussion area, which has 11 years worth of discussions....some songs have long discussions. and welcome! |
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20 Mar 08 - 02:33 PM (#2293812) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST,Neil D Alex, When you say that in Russia you separate "historic" songs, do you mean separate for purposes of cataloguing, or is there a specific style of music and singing associated with historic song that is not used for other subjects? Are such songs usually heroic in nature? |
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20 Mar 08 - 03:09 PM (#2293842) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST,Guest: Alex, Russian folklorist Thanks all who responded, much appreciated. Neil D, yes, we separate such songs for purposes of cataloguing and scientific research. There is no certain specific manner of performance of historic songs separating them from other types but they are mostly heroic or 'sorrowful'. Sometimes, songs keep such details of well known events that are unknown to official history. This is area of my specific folklore interest to unveil such details. |
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20 Mar 08 - 03:17 PM (#2293849) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Mark Ross History is what happened, folklore is how people reacted. Mark Ross |
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20 Mar 08 - 03:36 PM (#2293876) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Joe Offer Hi, Alex - You'll find a dropdown QuickLinks menu on most Mudcat pages. One interesting feature there is the DT Keyword Search, which is a handy tool for searching the Digital Tradition Folk Song Database by keyword. Not all of the DT songs are indexed by keyword, but a good number are. If there are any particular historic events that interest you, just start a new thread and ask - somebody here will be happy to help you find things. You may also want to explore the Traditional Ballad Index and the Roud Folksong Index. -Joe- |
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20 Mar 08 - 03:41 PM (#2293885) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST,Guest: Alex, Russian folklorist Mark Ross, Yes, you're absolutely right. As for accuracy, first time I was really surprised about how precisely songs fix certain historic circumstances including exact dates, names etc. People use to memorize specific details and fix by songs. This is my area of interest to unveil such details that are known from songs and are unknown to official history. By this request, I tried to make some comparative analisys of Russian and American 'historic' songs. See what it turn out. By the way, I have translated some Siberian prisoners' songs into English. Would appreciate if someone have a look at the texts and just let me know is it understandable or not. You may find the texts here: http://russianfolkhistory.org/Arestantskie_Pesni_v_Sibiri/en/ Regards |
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20 Mar 08 - 03:59 PM (#2293901) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Uncle_DaveO Mark Ross came close to the mark (but no cigar) when he said: History is what happened, folklore is how people reacted. Actually, it is truer to say: The actual events are what happened; history is the way the events are remembered and interpreted by those who claim competency in such matters (which changes as time goes on); and folklore is the way the events are interpreted, remembered, and/or misremembered by the people. Dave Oesterreich |
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20 Mar 08 - 04:04 PM (#2293906) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: JedMarum I make a living at writing and singing such songs ... |
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20 Mar 08 - 04:23 PM (#2293927) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Uncle_DaveO I've looked at several of them, and they seem fairly understandable, though not what I'd consider idiomatic English, here and there seeming a little clumsy in terms of how a native English speaker would say the same thing. Which is not necessarily bad. In a few places I thought of what I considered a more idiomatic version of a line or two, but realized that what I might suggest would dramatically change the line length, and it may be that you wanted to stay more or less with the form of the original song. It's possible, of course, that my suggested changes would actually change the meaning because I had not fully understood what you presented. If you were a Mudcat member, I would go into this deeper, with suggestions, in what we on Mudcat call a PM, a Personal Message, but I don't know that you want to go into all that in a public thread. I would be glad to try to help in either of those ways. Dave Oesterreich |
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20 Mar 08 - 04:35 PM (#2293936) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Uncle_DaveO You might find this thread concerning American songs about the American Revolution and Civil War interesting. Click Here Dave Oesterreich |
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20 Mar 08 - 04:49 PM (#2293946) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST,Guest: Alex, Russian folklorist Dave, Received with thanks. Of course, I would much appreciate any suggestion regarding idiomatic English. Will try to become a Mudcat member, hope this won't require extra efforts. Will try to publish a joint book with a collection of Russian songs in English yeh? Joke. |
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21 Mar 08 - 07:48 AM (#2294350) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Susan of DT Alex Here are some keywords you might use to search the Digital Tradition (the database referred to above): history/historical (but most of the entries are British, rather than American), 1812, airplane, civil (as in civil war), confederate, disaster, flood, IWW, gold, mill, mine/mining, murder, NJ, NY, pirate, political, prohibition, railroad, rescue, revolution, WWI, WWII, wreck, train, submarine, shipwreck. Not all songs that come up from these searches will be what you are looking for, but some will be. Also, you can do regular, not keyword, searches for famous people, such as JFK* or Lincoln. |
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21 Mar 08 - 11:05 AM (#2294455) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Uncle_DaveO Alex, it's the easiest thing in the world to become a Mudcat member, and it's completely free of charge! Get out of the thread by hitting the BACK button twice, and go to the top of the Mudcat page. Near the top of the display you'll find a line with a series of choices. Click "membership", and there will appear a form to fill out. When you're done, click SUBMIT, and you're a member. Once you've done that, other members can send you Personal Messages, which are a more satisfactory way to discuss any questions or suggestions about your translations. Dave Oesterreich |
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21 Mar 08 - 11:45 AM (#2294498) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST,Guest: Alex, Russian folklorist Susan of DT, Thank you for suggestion, will try. |
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21 Mar 08 - 11:53 AM (#2294506) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Alex, Russian Folklorist Dave, I managed to become a member, PMs are welcome. Thanks. |
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21 Mar 08 - 01:18 PM (#2294570) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Art Thieme Alex, Hello! My entire folksinging career was devoted, mainly, to singing these American songs from history you are talking about. In schools I gave each student a map of the United States that had no place names on it! Instead of town names, there were a few hundred SONG TITLES from my repertoir superimposed over the general area where the individual song came from. HISTORY and geography topics could be enhanced considerably using these songs as documents to show the facts of history, and also, how the people worked their wishful thinking into these songs that, sometimes, reflected their fantasies and illusions as well as the realities involved. (As an aside: I might suggest Vladimir Posner's book called PARTING WITH ILLUSIONS as an example of this reality/fantasy dynamic. I'm pretty sure you might know Posner as the old link/spokesman between the U.S.S.R and the western world in the Gorbachev years.) There is a copy of my FOLKSONG MAP at my photo website at: http://rudegnu.com/art_thieme.html When asked for a user name and a password, use the word 'mudcat' for BOTH! That will allow you to get in. Go to the search feature there, and search with the word 'map' to find it easily. All the best to you, Art Thieme |
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21 Mar 08 - 01:41 PM (#2294589) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Art Thieme Alex, A search for the word 'map' at my site will also bring up a copy of great American folksinger SAM HINTON's folksong map with many of his songs on it. I had sent Sam my map and he liked the idea---so he made a map to highlight his own repertoire of folk-songs. Art Thieme |
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22 Mar 08 - 09:18 AM (#2295096) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Bob the Postman Art's map. |
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22 Mar 08 - 09:40 PM (#2295543) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Arkie Alex you are probably familiar with the myriad of folk song collections published in the USA. Many of those books have sections on historical songs so scholars and collectors do recognize historical songs as a specific category but it does not seem that we are as meticulous about that category as Russian scholars. You have received some good suggestions about how to pin down searches. You can also start a thread and just ask as you did with this one. Mudcat consists of members from all over the world and there are many knowledgeable and helpful people here, some with a vast general knowledge, some experts in specific fields, some who just might happen to have the information you seek, and some with an uncanny ability to find things. With such a large and diverse group of catters you don't always get agreement but you do have folk who try to get all the available information presented. You will be a valuable asset to this forum. Welcome aboard. |
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24 Mar 08 - 04:45 AM (#2296340) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Alex, Russian Folklorist Art, I managed to have a look at your map. Nice idea. I have never seen anyone did the same thing. Looks great! Alex |
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24 Mar 08 - 04:05 PM (#2296714) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Mrrzy All I know about this is that from all the Alamo songs I learned growing up, I thought it must have been a great victory! |
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24 Mar 08 - 05:17 PM (#2296782) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Snuffy A great victory like this one? |
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24 Mar 08 - 08:01 PM (#2296878) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST Sorry - clone problems tonight.
GOOD QUESTION Mr. ALEX Folklorist
YES WE DO!!
A special "call-out" to the id-jets that kept this thread open for more than 24 hours.
These Ballads Are in Tune With Disaster Los Angeles Times, Sunday February 23, 2008 - B2
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-then24feb24,0,6693919,full.story
Southern California has had its share of history recorded by balladeers. The songs have been inspired by events such as the 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake and the murder of Marion Parker in 1927.
Newspapers have always written about the nation's disasters -- but so have balladeers, enshrining death and heroism and crime in songs about virtually every newsworthy event: the 1889 Johnstown flood, the last train ride of engineer Casey Jones, the sinking of the Titanic. These songs were popularized in sheet music and phonograph records, and some of the mournful tunes later wound up on the radio.
Southern California has had banner-headline disasters and crimes aplenty -- and its own share of songs inspired by events here. Among them were the Santa Barbara earthquake of 1925, the murder of 12-year-old Marion Parker in 1927, the collapse of the St. Francis Dam in 1928, and the frantic efforts to free little Kathy Fiscus from an underground water pipe in 1949, a vain attempt broadcast live on local television, then a rarity.
Edward "Ted" English, 79, of Atascadero is a collector of such disaster songs. But he prefers the term "event ballads." "It's not such a negative term and sounds a lot nicer," English said in a recent interview.
English, who says he also has a passion for gospel music, has scores of records in a collection that spans decades of disaster headlines. One of the earliest in English's collection is the classic 1924 train song "The Wreck of the Southern Old 97."
"Train wrecks and people trapped underground were always news," said English, a Beverly Hills insurance broker who retired in 1997.
The attempted >rescue of Kentucky spelunker Floyd Collins from a cave in 1925 generated an early media frenzy, English said. It was memorialized in the ballad "The Death of Floyd Collins," which became a huge hit as a 78-rpm single that same year for singer Vernon Dalhart -- one of the first country performers to achieve national recognition.
"Dalhart recorded popular 78s under at least 100 different names," English said, including a ballad he recorded soon after the 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake, which claimed 11 lives and flattened much of the downtown area:
Way out in California
There were wives and children
The annals of child kidnapping are replete with heartbreaking tragedies, but probably none has been quite so bizarre as the 1927 killing of Marion Parker. The daughter of a Los Angeles banker, she was kidnapped for ransom by a psychopath named William "the Fox" Hickman, who collected the ransom, then, a few hundred feet away, shoved her body, with its arms and legs cut off, from his car, according to news accounts.
The following month, Dalhart recorded a song about the tragedy that included these lines:
They had a little daughter
She left her home one mornin'
On March 12, 1928, the St. Francis Dam -- a 200-foot-high concrete wall -- crumpled and collapsed, sending 12 billion gallons of water down San Francisquito Canyon, north of Saugus, and killing at least 450 people. The water flooded whole towns, and within a month, singer John McGhee recorded "The Breaking of the St. Francis Dam":
Night had fallen o'er the valley
When a tide of angry water
In the spring of 1949, 3 1/2 -year-old Kathy Fiscus went to play in a San Marino field near her home with her sister and a cousin. She fell through a 14-inch-wide hole and slipped nearly 100 feet down, into an abandoned water pipe. She disappeared at the dawn of the television era, and for 27 hours, KTLA preempted its regular programming to report live from the scene -- a first in local television.
Not long after rescue workers recovered her body, radio personality and singer Jimmie Osborne recorded "The Death of Little Kathy Fiscus," which sold more than 1 million copies, according to English. Osborne reportedly gave most of the profits to the Fiscus family, English said.
On April the 8th, the year forty-nine
Playmates with Kathy were all havin' fun
Disaster songs also cropped up in later decades.
The death of actress Marilyn Monroe in 1962 prompted "The Ballad of Marilyn Monroe." A major oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara in 1969 brought forth "ReUnion Oil Song," and the 1974 kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst led to "The Kidnapping of Patty Hearst."
And the storytelling tradition is alive and well in country music.
"Country records still tell a story," English said.
Edward "Ted" English, 79, of Atascadero is a collector of such disaster songs. But he prefers the term "event ballads."
Audio
Audio
Audio
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24 Mar 08 - 08:09 PM (#2296885) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST The above posting was from GARGOYLE
Naughty clones! Require desperate measures
Sincerely,
Mr. Alex - do they still have censorship in Russia? I would also suggest for examples (and would post Titles but it could prove futile> Burl Ives Song in America - Our Musical Heritage and also Carl Sandberg's Songs of America
Not much use contributing if clones are on the throne.
Sincerely, |
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24 Mar 08 - 08:14 PM (#2296889) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST Mr. ALEX -
If possible - could you share a favoirite "Historical Song" example?
Webpage of such songs - even if in Russian.
Sincerely,
Good Night Clones |
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25 Mar 08 - 05:08 AM (#2297077) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Alex, Russian Folklorist Dear Gargoyle, Many thanks for the article you have posted. It becomes much more clear what you call 'disasters/events ballads'. Just can say that here in Russia we have just a little such 'disasters songs'. What we call 'historic songs' is for 99 per cent inspired by wars/battles and state/government disturbances including rebellions. Songs devoted to 'individual disasters' are very rare. As for example of Russian historic song, I will select one ore more and give a weblink. And, finally, there is no censorship in Russia, as well as no bears on the streets :-)) Alex |
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25 Mar 08 - 06:51 AM (#2297108) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST,.gargoyle Mr. Alex -
The American process for selecting a president is frequently a bitter, vicious, what we call "mud slinging", event. And of course a form of "historical battle." It has been said that America does not have major revolutions because we have little ones every four years.
Parodies for hundreds of years have come into play.
In today's world, of course "You Tube" and the "DYI - Do It Yourself" opportunities have given voice to many rapidly evolving forms. The 4 minute video is available through hundreds of on-line sources.
In the current presidential contest there is a "no holds barred" attitude. For example, a current song and music video is a pointed racist attack on one of the Democratic Party contenders for the US Presidency - Barrack Obama. It uses a type of racial dialect associate with poor, blacks from our southern states.
Barack the Magic Negro(To The Tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon")
Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
Yeah the guy from the L.A. paper
See real black men like Snoop Dogg
Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
Some say barack's articulate and bright and new and clean the media sure love this guy a white interloper's dream
But when you vote for president watch out and dont be fooled dont vote the magic negro in cause...
(background singing the first 3 lines, while the singer is saying) Cause I wont have nothing after all these years of sacrifice and I wont get justice this is about justice this is about justice, buffet, i dont have no buffet there wont be any church contributions there'll be no cash in the collection plate, no cash money, no walkin around money...
Sincerely,
Farrakan = Black Muslem religious leader |
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25 Mar 08 - 07:35 AM (#2297122) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Susan of DT Alex You might also look at the songs Malcolm Laws indexed. He published two books, Native American Balladry and American Balladry from British Broadside. They are out of print, but the books index, but do not include, the songs. Examples of all of the songs he indexed are in the Digital Tradition (it took me a couple of years to find and enter them all). If you search for Laws, you will get a very long list of songs. Again, not all will be what you want, but a lot of them will be. What Laws did was to set up a series of categories and give each of them a letter designation and then a serial number within the category. Since I own only one of the two books, I can easily give you examples of the categories in the second book: J War Ballads 23 songs K Ballads of Sailors and the Sea 43 songs L Ballads of Crine and Criminals 22 songs M Ballads of Family Opposition to Lovers 39 songs N Ballads of Lovers Disguises and Tricks 43 songs O Ballads of Faithful Lovers 41 songs P Ballads of Unfaithful Lovers 40 songs Q Humorous and Miscellaneous Ballads 39 songs Hmm, that looks like more of the songs you want are in the first half. I don't have the formal designation of the categories, but I can guess from the lists of songs A War/Battles 26 songs B Cowboys 27 songs C Lumbering 28 songs D Shipwrecks 28 songs E Outlaws 26 songs F Murders 37 songs G Disasters 33 songs H (Not sure what they have in common) 31 songs I Negro Songs 20 songs Of course there was the problem of what is a song fit more than one category. Also check out the thread Basic Folk Library |
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26 Mar 08 - 02:37 AM (#2297787) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST From GARGOYLE
Mr. Alex - Folklorist
HUMOR/SATIRE/IRONY - are powerful tools - they engulf American Song however, many times the meaning is "lost" (even to a generation only a decade removed ...because language changes) ...even more difficult, like poetry it does not translate easily into another language.
Songs of War are very much a part of the U.S.A.
I believe most nations have them.
Maybe, there are a few countries with only a few such songs, perhaps, Canada or Iceland?
For USA examples here are some with links to Susan's and Dick's Digital Tradition
I know basic Russian history from Catherin the Great to Afganistan. I know, you know, basic US history but I have included a few explanations along the way. If something is unclear please ask.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR - AKA "War of Independence" 1775 - 1783
The Battle of the Kegs
Yankee Doodle
The Liberty Song
The Bostan Tea Tax
Cornwallis' Country Dance
WAR OF 1812 (USA vs British)
How Happy the Soldier
Hornet and the Peacock AKA The Wasp's Frolic
The Battle of Plattsburgh AKA The Banks of Champlain
The Battle of New Orleans
STAR SPANGLED BANNER AKA "National Anthem of USA"
Britain's naval force was poised to strike Fort McHenry and enter Baltimore Harbor. At 6:30 AM on September 13, 1814, Admiral Cochrane's ships began a 25-hour bombardment of the fort. Francis Scott Key was detained aboard a truce ship for the duration of the battle.
Moved by the sight of the dawn's early light of September 14, 1814, of the American flag above the fort, Key knew that Fort McHenry had not surrendered. He began to compose a poem on the back of a letter he was carrying.
Our official national anthem was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover in 1931.
TUNE = bar-room bawdy "Anacreon in Heaven."
CIVIL WAR (Key Issue = One Nation Indivisable "A House Divided")
Battle Hymn of the Republic
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
Marching Through Georgia
Dixie
(The Mudcat version is "cleaned-up" the original and still frequently sung today is like the Obama previous posting written in the African American Vernacular English)
(Mason and Dixon were surveyors - it took them four years to cover the 233 mile-long Mason-Dixon line by 1757 - HEAVY, rugged, mountainous forests - eventualy it became established as the boundary between the "slave states" of the South and the "free states" of the North in 1820. It is still a POWERFUL symbol of "State's Rights vs Federal Rights."
No Body Know De Truble Ah Seen http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=4266n
Goober Peas
SPANISH AMERICAN WAR aka "War with Mexico"
See Mudcat thread - discussion and sharing of ideas (good place to see MC "in action,"
Of course there are also:
VIETNAM WAR
Draft Dodger's Rag
I Got a Letter From LBJ
Ballad of the Green Berets
Sincerely,
Please ask questions from this thread to this thread...I will look for them....you will find many wonderful people here.
How did YOU? - Mr. Alex-Folklore discover Max's Mudcat Cafe??? (since the Brits stumbled in it has been more like a drunkard's pub....it would be nice to see it become more international like a "coffee house")
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26 Mar 08 - 02:44 AM (#2297790) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: GUEST For some inexplicable reason - my name has been removed from the GUEST LIST.
Sincerely,
It is bad enough to be exiled to the Gulag and have no cookie ... but this?
Max check your clones certification - and their abuse of power some would not pass muster with the HSA much less the KGB....I beleive there may be openings for their types in the south of Cuba. |
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26 Mar 08 - 05:33 AM (#2297833) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Alex, Russian Folklorist GARGOYLE, Thanks for impressive collection of battle/war songs. I will linger over it. |
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26 Mar 08 - 10:54 AM (#2297985) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: SouthernCelt GARGOYLE: I'm really confused on your Spanish-American War description. The war involved the US and Spain. The war began after the American demand for Spain's peacefully resolving the Cuban fight for independence was rejected, though strong expansionist sentiment in the United States may have motivated the government to target Spain's remaining overseas territories: Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Guam and the Caroline Islands. (see Wikipedia) Mexico had been independent from Spain since 1821. While Mexico has had it's share of internal struggles for power since then, the US has not been an overt ally to any groups. The US and Mexico fought their last war in 1847 which the US won, assuring US claim to portions of the North American southwest which allowed those areas to eventually apply for statehood in the US union. That war is not to be confused with the struggle some 12 years earlier by the Texans to oust Mexican control and briefly declare themselves the Republic of Texas. Because of the colorful figures of the Texas independence fight, such as Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, etc., that "war" gets more folk song attention than does the true war in the next decade. The US Mexican War in 1847 did indeed bring to the public eye a number of skilled soldiers who would later become either career military commanders or politicians, or both, Most of the West Point graduates who later commanded in the armies of the Union and Confederacy in 1861 cut their "war teeth" on the Mexican War. Others, such as Jefferson Davis, made names for themselves as military officers but moved into political circles afterward. Probably much more has been said (in song) on these due to their service in the War Between the States than anything they might have done in the Mexican War. SC |
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27 Apr 08 - 06:41 PM (#2327166) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Uncle_DaveO refresh |
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29 Apr 08 - 12:23 AM (#2328324) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: Susanne (skw) Alex, you may want to have a look at Henry's songbook. Not mainly American songs, but this was put together because quite often I wouldn't know about a song's background and started digging. You may find things of interest to you there. Have fun! |
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29 Apr 08 - 05:01 PM (#2329033) Subject: RE: Folklore: American songs about historic events From: topical tom Tom Paxton's song "The Bravest" located at this site |
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29 Apr 08 - 06:11 PM (#2329120) Subject: RE: American songs about historic events From: open mike The first song that comes to mind is the one which was mentioned in an earlier post on this thread. It was written by a high school teacher in order to get his students to remember some information about an historical event. (if the information travels through the ears into the right brain, instead of by reading history with the left side of the brain, perhaps it is remembered in a different way) The Battle of New Orleans starts out "In 1814 we took a little trip, along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Misiisipp'" the author, Jimmy Driftwood, used a song that was a traditional fiddle tune, which may have been familiar to the students, and put words to it. In this case the tune was "The 8th of January" and you can find more here: http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=9661#995482 This is often done by people writing protest songs that they might want people to sing. Such a song is "Union Maid" by Woodie Guthrie which might be sung by union workers, on a picket line, for instance. The familiar tune used for this one was a song about an Indian Maiden, "Redwing" This process, of adding new lyrics to old songs is often described as a "zipper" song, because you "zip" new lyrics into an existing "fabric". Here is a thread where this is discussed. http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=15637#141114 I have taught this song to children: Poost Vzegda Boodyet Solnseh -- sorry for mis spelling, but it is a song in Russian "May There Always Be Sunshine" it is said to have been written by a young child. Tom Paxton, whose song about firefighters on Sept. 11, 2001 (9-11) is posted above (The Bravest) has a term he uses to describe songs which deal with news, current events, or which chronicle political situations "Short Shelf Life songs" these are songs composed to tell a story or relate situations that may not be long-lasting classic songs that will stand the test of time, but they serve the purpose of commenting and informing the listener about today's happenings. Like the ancient method of passing along news, the travelling Bard or the town crier who let the people know what was going on. |