1.
The Lovely Ohio listen
lyrics
With the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the Revolution ended
and Great Britain legally recognized the independent existence of the
United States of America. Britain ceded claims not only on the thirteen
colonies, but also on the lands between the Appalachian Mountains and
the Mississippi River. Settlers poured into the Ohio River valley.
A
ballad is a particular type of secular song that was beloved in the
British Isles long before the first settlers set sail for the New World.
Generally, ballads tell a story or recount events that might include
romance, tragedy, violence, or acts of heroism. In the eighteenth century,
ballads that concerned themselves with the lives of common people and
began with the words "come all ye…" had become very
popular in Great Britain. In America, this type of ballad became the
basis for many new songs, including The Lovely Ohio. The song
optimistically celebrates life on the river at the end of the eighteenth
century.
2.
The Wisconsin Emigrant
listen
lyrics
After the War of 1812, immigrants flooded into the United States to
farm, work in the factories, and build roads and canals. Eastern seaboard
land in the United States became scarce and expensive as industrialization
advanced. Seeking new land and opportunity, many pioneers loaded their
wagons and headed west. But the decision whether to stay in the relatively
settled lands of New England or venture into lesser-known territory
was not an easy one to make.
The
lyrics to The Wisconsin Emigrant are representative of the
discussions that went on in thousands of households at the time.
3.
Shenandoah
listen
lyrics
Until the nineteenth century only adventurers who sought their fortunes
as trappers and traders of beaver fur ventured as far west as the Missouri
River. Most of these men were loners who became friendly with, and sometimes
married, Native Americans.
Shenandoah
is said to have originated with French voyageurs traveling down the
Missouri River. The lyrics tell the story of a trader who fell in love
with the daughter of an Algonquian chief, Shenandoah. American sailors
heading down the Mississippi River picked up the song and made it a
capstan shanty that they sang while hauling in the anchor.
4.
Once More a-Lumb'ring Go
listen
lyrics
The work of the lumberjack, or "shantyboy" as they were frequently
called, was crucial to the growth of America. Not only did cutting timber
clear the land for settlement, it provided lumber which was needed to
build houses, towns, and ships. Lumbering centers spread from Maine
to Pennsylvania and into the Great Lakes region, peaking in the mid-nineteenth
century.
Unlike
sailors who sang while they worked, lumberjacks generally sang at the
end of their twelve to fourteen-hour workday when they went back to
the shanty to sharpen their axes, eat, and sleep. The songs they sang
were based on Anglo-Irish ballads, but with new lyrics that reflected
the hardships and dangers of their work. Once More a-Lumb'ring Go,
another song from the "come all ye…" tradition, is somewhat
more flamboyant and boastful than most workers' ballads.
5.
Across the Western Ocean
listen
lyrics
video
Penniless in the wake of a potato famine in their homeland, one and
a half million Irish people immigrated to the United States between
1846 and 1850. Their passages were frequently paid by relatives who
had already settled in America. Crossing the Atlantic by packet ship
was inexpensive, especially for those who traveled from English ports,
due to trade competition between America and Britain. The journey took
at least six weeks on the overcrowded vessels. Famine, disease, and
shipwreck caused an estimated one of every five immigrants to die at
sea.
Across
the Western Ocean expresses the concerns of the people making the
transatlantic journey and their loved ones. It shares the same melody
as the sea shanty Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her. Which song
begot the other is not definitively known.
6.
Ho! For California!
listen
lyrics
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War
and added 1.2 million square miles to the United States (including California),
was signed on February 2, 1848. A few days earlier, a New Jersey-born
mechanic named James W. Marshall discovered gold on the American River
in California's Sacramento Valley. Gold fever swept the world as news
of the discovery and subsequent strikes traveled in letters carried
by ship from San Francisco to the Atlantic ports and England. The population
of California increased by 100,000 within two years.
Ho!
For California! was first sung that year at the send-off for a
band of fortune hunters from Massachusetts. Borrowing portions of a
Dan Emmett melody, Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. composed the song which was
sung by his popular group The Hutchinson Family Singers. The song became
an unofficial anthem for many bands of gold seekers.
7.
Sweet Betsy from Pike
listen
lyrics
The journey to California in the days of the Gold Rush wasn't easy by
sea or land. A clipper ship leaving New York took at least three months,
with all the usual dangers of traveling by sea, to round the bottom
of South America and reach San Francisco. The journey by land took six
months from the mid-West, with many coming from further away.
Sweet
Betsy from Pike comes from a songbook published in 1858 called
Put's Golden Songster. "Old Put" was the pseudonym of John
A. Stone, a San Francisco-based entertainer who wrote, performed, adapted,
collected, and published songs for and about gold miners. This one was
based on an Irish tune that was most likely brought to the New World
during the potato famine. There is a Pike County in both Missouri and
Illinois from where many California-bound gold seekers began their land
journeys.
8.
Old Settler's Song
listen
lyrics
Most people who sought their fortunes during the days of the Gold Rush
did not get rich. Many followed new strikes across the West and died
penniless and alone in the desert. Generally, those who did well, and
some did extremely well, were entrepreneurs who took advantage of the
law of supply and demand. They provided miners with necessities like
tools, food, water, and clothing at inflated prices. Saloons and music
halls became big in San Francisco, as miners were eager to spend their
money on alcohol, gambling, and entertainment.
Other
success stories from the days of '49 include the old settler in this
song and others like him who gave up their dreams of finding gold and
made stable lives for themselves in the new western states. Old
Settler's Song is based on an old Irish melody, Rosin the Beau,
that has supported more different sets of lyrics than nearly any other
folk tune.
9.
Many Thousand Gone
listen
lyrics
Between 1619, when the first slave ship arrived in North America, and
the 1860s when slavery was abolished, hundreds of thousands of Africans
were kidnapped from their homeland, sold on the open market in America,
and forced to live as slaves. Initially, slavery was introduced throughout
the nation, but it only took hold in the South where cheap labor was
needed to work the expansive plantations. After the American Revolution,
slavery ended within a generation in every state north of the Mason
Dixon line. Meanwhile, a pattern of society was emerging in the South,
which included wealthy plantation owners and slaves who were denied
the human freedoms guaranteed in America's Bill of Rights.
Enslaved
African Americans created a varied body of music that included work
songs, leisure songs, and spirituals. The sound was rooted in African
traditions and informed by the European American music to which they
were now being exposed. Likewise, African rhythms, harmonies, and vocal
styles had a great influence on the music of European Americans. The
words to the spiritual Many Thousand Gone conveyed various
messages depending on whether the singer was a slave, runaway slave,
African American Union soldier, or emancipated former slave.
10.
Southern Soldier
listen
lyrics
Throughout the nineteenth century, disagreements over slavery arose
between the free states of the North and the slave-holding states of
the South. The nation was divided and a strong anti-slavery movement
was building. One of the major points of contention was the issue of
whether or not slavery would be permitted in the new Western states
entering the Union. Compromises were attempted, but when the South seceded
from the United States and opened fire on Fort Sumter, a war between
the states could not be averted.
The
Civil War, as with the American Revolution and the War of 1812, produced
new songs that celebrated victories, taunted enemies, inspired soldiers,
attempted to sway public opinion, and provided solace. They were often
based on traditional folk melodies. Southern Soldier is one
such song that was popular among Confederate soldiers. It expresses
their point of view and determination to fight and die for their cause.
11.
Oh Freedom!
listen
lyrics
Even after the Emancipation Proclamation and the Union's victory in
the Civil War ended slavery in the 1860s, African Americans did not
have the freedoms enjoyed by other Americans. Especially in the southern
states, they were victims of prejudice, violence, and laws designed
to keep them segregated from white America and restrict their right
to vote. Not until Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was
there a national law that prohibited discrimination against African
Americans and other minorities in all the most important activities
of American life.
The
spiritual Oh Freedom! probably came into being soon after the
end of slavery. Like many African American spirituals, the song has
more than one meaning. Not only does it refer to freedom in the world
to come after death, as many slave spirituals do, but it celebrates
their new freedom in the here and now. In the 1950s and 1960s, the song
was commonly sung as part of the Civil Rights Movement.
12.
Rambling Gambler
listen
lyrics
When the Civil War was over, huge areas of the South lay in ruin. Millions
of Southerners, black and white, were now homeless and faced with the
reality of having to reconstruct their lives. In the face of this, some
packed their few belongings and headed west to see what may await them.
Among
the things they brought with them as they attempted to start their lives
anew were their beloved songs. Word clusters and entire verses from
Rambling Gambler can be found in many similar American and
British songs including The Wagoner's Lad, My Horses Ain't
Hungry, and The Texas Cowboy. This version retains a Gaelic
melody and was popular with the early American cowboys which some of
these drifting Southerners were soon to become.
13.
Old Chisholm Trail
listen
lyrics
Texas Confederate soldiers returning home from the Civil War found that
in their absence the herds of longhorn cattle they were raising before
the war had doubled in size and were now roaming the southern tip of
the state unbranded. They were so plentiful that they had little value
in Texas, but the industrial cities of the North were booming with immigrant
labor and hungry mouths to feed. So began the era of the American cowboy
and the great cattle drives, in which cattle were rounded up and herded
north into Kansas, Missouri, and Wyoming. There they met the new railroad
lines that could carry the meat to the East Coast.
The
first trail that was widely used for these long drives was called the
Chisholm Trail. By the time the trail fell into disuse in 1882, hundreds
of cowboys had driven tens of thousands of cattle up the trail, inventing
and singing countless verses to Old Chisholm Trail.
14.
Streets of Laredo
listen
lyrics
When cowboys finally reached town after months on the trail, they were
eager to shake off the dust and spend their pay. They would get haircuts,
take showers, polish their boots, put on fancy shirts, and head for
a saloon to drink, play billiards, and gamble. Generally, they were
just looking to have a good time in these railhead towns. The frequency
of gunfights and fatal shootings has been greatly exaggerated in books
and movies through the years. Although these occurrences did happen,
the dangers of the cattle drive took many more lives.
The
story of one unfortunate cowboy who met a violent end in one of these
towns is told in the song Streets of Laredo. Laredo is located
in Southern Texas and was not one a railhead, but there are over a hundred
different versions of this ballad set in almost as many different Western
towns. The song evolved from a seventeenth century British ballad about
a soldier who died of syphilis. It has been known by countless titles,
including The Bard of Armagh, The Sailor Cut Down in His
Prime, The Dying Cowboy, and The Cowboy's Lament.
The main character has had almost as many occupations as there are in
American life.
15.
Old Paint
listen
lyrics
Cowboys faced many dangers on the trail including lightning, crossing
of swift-flowing rivers, and hostile Native Americans. The greatest
danger of all was the stampede. When the cattle were lying peacefully
on the ground at night, some stray sound, flash of lightning, or instinct
would bring them all to their feet and send them charging into the darkness.
Static electricity from the hairy bodies rubbing together caused bluish
sparks to be emitted from their horns. Many cowboys' lives were lost
in attempts to get the herds back in control by riding to the front
and heading them off into a wide, but ever-narrowing circle.
To
discourage stampedes, not to mention cattle rustlers and Native American
attacks, each man would serve two-hour shifts of night duty. Two at
a time, all night long the cowboys would ride slowly in opposite directions
in a giant circle around the sleeping herd. They would usually sing
or whistle continuously to pass the time, to keep themselves awake,
to drown out the noises of the night, and so the cattle would know that
a friend was watching over them. Old Paint and Streets
of Laredo are among the many songs that were sung to sleeping cattle.
A paint is a spotted horse and the rider/narrator in this song is most
likely on his way to a Montana rodeo to wrestle steers. The word "dogie"
refers to cattle taken from their mothers and, forced to eat grass too
early, develop big doughy stomachs.
16.
Paddy Works on the Railway
listen
lyrics
Many Americans were skeptical that the "iron horse" was anything
more than a novelty when the first steam locomotive arrived from England
on May 13, 1829. By May 10, 1869 public opinion had changed considerably
as the first transcontinental railroad line was completed in Promontory,
Utah. For the first time, people and freight could move swiftly and
inexpensively across nearly 2,000 miles of western mountains, deserts,
and plains. At the end of the nineteenth century, five major transcontinental
railroads connected the East and West coasts, and thousands of miles
of tracks criss-crossed the country. Much of the work laying those tracks
was done by African-American, Chinese, and Irish laborers.
Many
of the principal singers in labor forces, from the lumber camps to the
canals and railroads, were Irish. Most of the songs they sang to accompany
their work have since been lost. Some were beloved songs from Ireland,
some were adaptations of those songs, and some were new songs born of
Irish singing traditions. Paddy Works on the Railway, sometimes
known as Paddy Works on the Erie, belongs in one of the latter
two categories.
17.
This Old Hammer
listen
lyrics
John Henry was a former slave who worked on the Chesapeake and Ohio
Railroad in the years following the Civil War. He was one of a thousand
or so men who spent nearly three years drilling a hole through Big Bend
Mountain in Talcott, West Virginia. An unrecorded number of predominantly
African-American men died working in the thick smoke and intense heat
of the tunnel. When his boss introduced a steam-drill that threatened
the jobs of the workers, John Henry engaged the machine in a contest
to prove that it was no match for man.
From
the moment these events occurred, the legend grew in story and song
as it moved about the country. Work songs that invoked the spirit of
John Henry came into prominence. These songs, sometimes referred to
as hammer songs, have only a few lyrics repeated with a strong rhythm
to facilitate hammering or other manual labor. Ballads that told the
whole story from John Henry's birth through his death were also widespread.
Matthew Sabatella combined lyrics from various ballads and hammer songs
and set them to his own melody to create This Old Hammer.
18.
Wanderin'
listen
lyrics
It is estimated that in the last decade of the nineteenth century approximately
60,000 hoboes, tramps, and bums were stealing rides around the country
on railroad cars without paying the fare. Their ranks steadily increased,
peaking during the Depression in the twentieth century when they numbered
approximately one million. The fortunate ones traveled in empty boxcars,
but often hoboes could be found on the catwalk on top of a freight car
or on the narrow steel ledge between cars. Sometimes they even hung
precariously below the cars, only inches above the track.
Many
people hopped trains because they couldn't find a job, were broke, and
wanted to start anew in another location. For some, however, riding
the rails became a way of life. Wanderin' grew out of an Irish
melody and the experiences of these wayfaring Americans at the turn
of the twentieth century.
