History in Music Activity

Songs 1-3

The recording artists of these three songs tried to accurately recreate music from a time in history just as European settlers reached the New World, and, of course, before any recording technology existed. They may have liked the music themselves or wanted to recreate it to better understand the past. Song 1 is what music would have been like in Europe at the time, while Songs 2 and 3 are reproductions of Native American music.

Song 4- Brave Wolfe by Mark O'Connor and Wynton Marsalis

This song was written in 1997 for the "Libery! The American Revolution" soundtrack. It is about folk and military hero Major-General James Wolfe, who was a key figure in securing Quebec for the British at the battle of the Heights of Abraham on September 13, 1759 during the Seven Years War. Many other folk songs exist under the same title and tell how he won the battle but died at the moment of victory. The song starts with a slow trumpet, which is often featured in military themed music, although it seems more lementful than other music of its genre, perhaps in reference to Wolfe's fate. Around half-way through the song, the tempo picks up into a section representing the battle. I'm indifferent to the song. I found the transition to be to abrupt and the ending to be rather unexciting. Usually military music will feature a crisip snare drum, which I think could've greatlyimproved the song. From this song I learned the story of Wolfe, a story I'm surprised I had not heard before.

Song 5- Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier by Mark O'Connor and James Taylor

Records of this song go back to the seventeenth century during the American Revolution. However, it is to the tune of the Irish song Shule Aroon which dates to earlier in the seventeenth century. While there are some small variations of lyrics in differents versions which changes the perspective of the singer, this version is from the perspective of an anonymous narrator who describes the misery, sacrifice, and faithfulness of a woman whose lover has gone off to war. The lyrics are sad and striaght-forward, while the music features a slow and lamentful violin that complements the lyrics. I did enjoy this song, mostly because of the nice violin part. This song and its origin show how music from different areas of the world, such as Ireland, had an influence on the development of American music.

Song 6- Hard Times Come Again No More

This song was written by famous American song writer Stephen C. Foster in 1854. It was popular among both sides during the American Civil War. The song is about people who are experiencing, of course, hard times. The song simply describes people in a deeply troubled state and was inspired by poverty and likely slavery. I did like this recording some. It was pretty standard singer, organ, and drums with overused dramatic windchimes and a nice, mellow guitar solo. I can't say there's a whole lot to learn from this song. THere will always be hard times.

Song 7- Paddy's Lament by Sinead O'Connor

This song was written in 2002. It tells of a man who poor man from Ireland who, likely due to the Great Famine, comes to America in hopes of making a fortune. Instead, he is drafted into the Civil War and is woefully forced to fight. This song is sung from the perspective of the man. I enjoyed listening to the story. This song helped me put occurances such as the potato famine and the Civil War together on my mental timelime, since I never thought of those two coinciding.

Song 8- Jesus Christ by Woody Guthrie

This song was written in 1940. The song suggests that if Jesus were to preach of selling all of one's possessions and giving them to the poor in modern capitalist America, he would suffer the same fate as 2000 years ago. The song for the first few verses tells how Jesus preached this message in his day and was killed for it. The very last verse delivers the powerful moral of the song. I liked this song, music and lyrics, and thought it had a create approach to giving the message. It teaches that even in times when America was doing okay financially, there were still people who argued against capitalism powerfully enough to suggest we'd kill Jesus again.

Song 9- Do Re Me (live) by Ani DiFranco

This song originally written in 1940 by Woody Guthrie. It describes the situation in California during the time of Dust Bowl migrants. The song is in the format of a warning that California already has too many people and not enough work. I really like the guitar in this song as well as its format. I knew little of the Dust Bowl migrants until I heard this.

Song 10- Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday

This song was originally a poem written in 1936 written by Abel Meeropol. It was inspired by a lynching he saw in Indiana. The song later went on to be greatly influencial in the Civil Rights Movement and Billie Holiday closed all her shows with it. Metaphors are used to describe hanging bodies as bloody and gruesome fruit. I found this song to be very powerful, especially in its imagery. I was surprised to learn that such violent murders and their public display was still going on in the 1930s.

Song 11- A Change in Gonna Come by Seal

This song was written in 1963 by Sam Cooke, inspired by Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind". The song speaks out against racism during the Civil Rights Movement. It is sung from the perspective of the singer, who has himself experienced the effects of racism and hopes for an end to it. I found the lyrics were good but not too powerful, but I greatly enjoyed music, especially the great horn part. This song was a good primary source on racism during the Civil Rights era.

Song 12- Youngstown by Bruce Springsteen

This song was written in 1995. It is about a steelmill worker who is fired after returning from Vietnam. It is told from the perspective of the worker, who gives a brief history of the blast furnace and his family's history working there. I enjoyed the guitar and other strings combination and the almost eerie tone of the song. The song describes how many working class faced hardships as they lost their factory jobs.

Song 13- The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan

This song was written in 1964. Dylan wanted the song to become an anthem of change, especially for the Civil Rights Movement. The song calls all people for a rapid revoltion thats purpose is never said, though many refrences are made to the oppressed overcoming their oppressors. Call it a sin, but I don't care for most Bob Dylan; I think it's because of his voice and the way he sings. This song is not quite historical but irather calls for history to be made.

Song 14- The Hands That Built America by U2

This song was originally written in 2002 for the movie "Gangs of New York". The song is praise for America the melting pot and for those who made it what it is. It does so by first telling of Irish emigrating due to the Potato Famine, then describing the American dream, followed by Bill Clinton's mediation of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and finally the events of September 11th, although none of these descriptions are directly stated to be what they are. The chorous describes different nationalities and religions that make up America. My feelings toward this song are mixed: I'm not a fan of the whipsering of nationalities and religions in the chorous, I find the events described in the song to be somewhat irrelevent to each other, and, being a hipster, I think U2 are sellouts without an original sound. However, I do like the xylophone in the chorous. Research on this song taught me about the mediation that Clinton did in Ireland.

Song 15- We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel

This song was written in 1989. It describes the frantic state that the world has always been in to put down criticisms of the Baby Boomers. The format it takes is a list of people and event that were from the time Joel was born to the time the song was made. When the song started, I was pretty indifferent to the tune. But then it continued. And continued. And not once did it a-change. So I'm not a fan. Well, there can be l lot of important terms to be learned from this song, but no details. I guess it could serve as a "things to look up list".
Things Joel forgot: my brother, Calvin and Hobbes, and Bloom County. Bill and Opus '88!