Songs of the Revolutionary War

11 Feb 99 - 10:47 PM (#58268)
Subject: Songs of the Revolutionary War
From: TonyK

What's a good way to find songs from this period in the database? TonyK

---

12 Feb 99 - 01:50 AM (#58279)
Subject: RE: Songs of the Revolutionary War
From: Gene

1. Check the data base for [@america @war]
Omit brackets

2. Click on the LINKS area at the TOP of the page

3 Use a search engine such as - *Yahoo.com*

4. If you find another good link - post it here.

---

12 Feb 99 - 02:10 AM (#58281)
Subject: RE: Songs of the Revolutionary War
From: Joe Offer

We don't have a category for the American Revolution, but there are lots of categories that may give you information. You can find the category list on our search page, or you can Click here.
-Joe Offer-

---

14 Feb 99 - 03:01 PM (#58568)
Subject: RE: Songs of the Revolutionary War
From: Philippa

Can anyone reliably say whether 'Buttermilk Hill' dates from the American Revolutionary War or from the American Civil War? The song, which is a variant of the Irish song 'Si£l a R£in' or 'Si£l a Ghr 'is in the database It has already been discussed on a thread and was the subject of some disagreement.

---

15 Feb 99 - 12:27 AM (#58637)
Subject: RE: Songs of the Revolutionary War
From: rich r

"Buttermilk Hill" aka "Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier" is derived from the Irish song "Shule Aroon" (and several other titles and spellings). Shule Aroon came out of the 1688 Irish rebellion against England that was broken by the English King William of Orange. According to the treaty of Limerick in 1691, Irish rebels could take an oath of allegiance to England or leave Ireland for exile. A majority of the leaders chose exile, many joining the French army to fight against the British, hoping one day to return victorious to Ireland. One of the early verses in Shule Aroon reflected this situation:

Now my love has gone to France
To try his fortune to advance
If he e'er comes back, 'tis but a chance...

Many of the you Irish men who stayed behind were drafted into the British army. Some were shipped to North America to fight in the French and Indian War in the 1700's. They brought the song with them and adapted it to fit the battles there. Other colonist picked up the plaintive tune and the words became more anglicized as a farewell song for soldiers off to fight for independence in America. The gaelic refrain became a set of nonsense syllables or disappeared entirely. The song was definitely common during the American Revolution, but has had surges of popularity at other times of national struggle, notably during the Americn Civil War.

Some sources for other Revolutionary era songs, check your area libraries:

The Early American Songbook by Lee Vinson (1974 Prentice-Hall)

The Ballad of America by John Anthony Scott (1966 Bantam Books, reprinted 1983 Southern Illiinois Univ. Press)

Songs of Independence by Irwin Silber (1973 Stackpole Books)

Music for Patriots, Politicians, and Presidents by Vera Brodsky Lawrence (1975 MacMillan Publishing)

rich r

---

31 Mar 09 - 10:29 AM (#2601270)
Subject: RE: Songs of the Revolutionary War
From: GUEST

i need facts for the revolutionary war song... "Johnny has gone for a soldier" Part Three if you have facts please send to [e-mail]
thanks

- Lizzy Dreft

---

31 Mar 09 - 10:17 PM (#2601813)
Subject: RE: Songs of the Revolutionary War
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

No evidence for "Johnny Is Gone for a Soldier" prior to the American Civil War.
An H. De Marsan song sheet in the Bodleian (Harding B18(326) is c. 1860. This and a songsheet published by Johnson, Philadelphia are at the Library of Congress, American Memory, where they are filed as Civil War Song Sheets.

No reliable evidence of the "Buttermilk Hill" variant prior to the 19th c.
This has been established in previous threads on these two songs.
-------------------------------------
See- Songs and Ballads of the American Revolution for lyrics of songs written at the time (Published 1856, Frank Moore).
American Revolution

"To the Ladies," 1769, is one I would like to see someone put to music.

The Folkways-Smithsonian album, "American Revolutionary War Songs to Cultivate the Sensations of Freedom," first released in 1976, has some good songs. They can be downloaded at:
http://www.emusic.com/album/Arthur-F-Schrader-American-Revolutionary-War-Songs-to-Cultivate-the-MP3-Download/11023857.html

Lists by 'Contemplator', and others have many inaccuracies as to dates.

---

22 Dec 15 - 12:38 PM (#3760309)
Subject: RE: Songs of the Revolutionary War
From: GUEST

An audio file of Address to the Ladies can be found here (http://www.shaysrebellion.stcc.edu/shaysapp/music.do?shortName=address) and a link to sheet music that someone arranged and wrote out by hand is here (http://www.carpentershall.org/edu/songs.htm). Direct link is http://www.carpentershall.org/edu/images/music_address.gif.

---