This blog will be our last on the topic of the Revolutionary War. This critical conflict was such a pivotal force in the creation of our country that it took three blogs to cover!
This week you will be examining some popular songs, on both sides of the war, during this time period. Visit this website, listen to the five songs listed on the left and read the lyrics as you listen. In the comment section choose two (2) lyrics to quote that really stood out to or that you thought were particularly insightful about this time period.
“My country 'tis of thee Sweet land of liberty Of thee I sing! Land where my fathers died, Land of thy pilgrim's pride From every mountain side Let freedom ring!” I think this whole section of “America” is insightful. It tells how the Americans felt when they won the war. They were happy and joyful and cheerful. “Their vet'rans flee before our youth And generals yield to beardless boys.” This piece stood out to me because the colonists really over exaggerated how the war went. The British veterans weren’t scared of the colonies’ men. The generals did not just give up. They fought. They didn’t “yield to beardless boys.” (109)
ReplyDelete“THE TWO SONGS I THOUGHT THAT WERE THE MOST INFLUENTIAL REVOLUTIONARY WAR WERE: DURING THE YANKEE DOODLE” AND “MY COUNTRY TIS OF THE”. YANKEE DOODLE WAS ORGINALLY MADE TO MAKE FUN OF THE COLONISTS, BUT THE COLONISTS SOON ADOPTED IT AS THEIR OWN TO MAKE FUN OF THE BRITISH SOLDIERS.
ReplyDeleteMY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE WAS ANOTHER SONG I THOUGHT TO BE INFLUENTIAL. THIS DECRIBED HOW WE FELT ABOUT OUR GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO LIBERTY AND FREEDOM. THIS SONG WAS ADOPTED FROM THE BRITISH SONG OF “GOD SAVE THE KING”. IT HAS ENDURED FOR MANY YEARS AND WILL CONTINUE AS LONG AS “FREEDOM RINGS”.
I think for me the two songs, 1 is America it is the best song on there probably. It talks about our freedom I like that because we are free the pilgrims pride and let freedom ring. The second song I like is a part of Yankee Doodle, the last part of the song which says there was a Captain Washington upon a slapping stallion a giving orders to his men I guess there was a million. I do not know what I like about that song it just stuck out to me because these men were all volenteers and George Washington was the best general so we won the war with them is amazing. (102)
ReplyDelete"America" and "Chester" were two that stuck out to me most. In America, it talks about how it is a "sweet land of liberty". After the war, America was glad they had liberty and freedom in their own land. It also says, "Land where my fathers died, Land of thy Pilgrim's pride." This talks about all of the men that died because of the war for our freedom, and that they were thankful for the first pilgrims that came to the new world to get freedom. Chester says, " We fear them not. We trust in God". This shows that they weren't scared of the British anymore because they obviously beat them in the war. They also showed that they put their trust in God and that he would give them all of their needs. Like the Bible says, "With God, all things are possible." These songs and others gave hope to everyone in America. (155)
ReplyDeleteThe first line that stuck out to me was in the song "British Grenadier" when it said "Those heroes of antiquity ne'er saw a cannon ball or knew the force of powder to slay their foes withal." Because earlier in the song it was talking about Hercules and Alexander who were known for being great fighters. But they were "antique", as the song said, because they were from so long ago. The soldiers fighting in the Revolutionary War were apparently braver because they were fighting against guns and cannons. The second phrase that stuck out to me was in "Yankee Doodle" when it said he "stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni." It's a bit odd when you think about it and it doesn't make much sense. (130)
ReplyDeleteIn "God Save the King" it says "God save the King! Send him victorious, happy and glorious, long to reign over us, God save the King!" The British really wanted their king to stay in control over the colonies. The British probably prayed to God about the king ruling over the colonies and winning the Revolutionary War so the king reign over the colonies for a long time. In "Good Old Colony Days" is says "In the good old colony days When we lived under the king" saying that when the people lived in the colonies they were ruled over by a king.
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“My country 'tis of thee Sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing!” from the song “America” I thought was insightful. It shows how the soldiers felt about America. The Words “My country” is like them telling the British that they don’t own them any more. From the song “Yankee Doodle” the lyrics, “stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni.” stood out to me because of its ridiculousness. It’s hilarious because a feather doesn’t resemble macaroni at all and no one was really concerned with feathers or macaroni at the time, they were all concerned with freedom from Britain. But that song was very popular with the soldiers then, because the British used it as a mockery of the Americans’ and we took it from the British and sang it with pride. It’s now most popular in daycare centers around the world.
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"Yankee Doodle came to town, for to buy a firelock, we will tar and feather him, and so will we John Hancock." I think that this verse from the British’s version of Yankee Doodle is showing how the humiliated people in the 18th century. It is also showing how the British did not like the colonists and had no respect for them. “Land where my fathers died, land of thy pilgrim's pride, from every mountain side let freedom ring!” The verse from America is talking about how much pride Americans have in our country. Winning our freedom from the strongest army in the world and we had no army at all. That is something to brag about and have pride in. (119)
ReplyDeleteI really did enjoy this blog in seeing the kinds of music the armies' bands played. There were many that I thought were interesting, but I'll only point out two. The song "Yankee Doodle" It said "There was Captain Washington Upon a slapping stallion A-giving orders to his men," and I thought that that quote showed what his men thought of him. They obviously thought that he was a great commanding general. "My Country Tis of Thee" was another that showed is saying" Land of thy pilgrim's pride From every mountain side Let freedom ring!". This is another great example of how inspired we were to win the war, and how much we loved our country.
ReplyDeleteMy first quote from one of the songs is, “The foe comes on with haughty stride.” This stood out to me because many of the British soldiers probably thought they were going to crush the patriots. They probably were boastful and cocky, or haughty. That was just interesting to me. My second one is, “We fear them not. We trust in God…” In the songs they mention God or the Lord a lot. They say they trust in him and stuff. I think that’s just cool in some ways. Also, I bet some of the stuff was not pleasing to God and them saying that was kind of hypocritical. Still I think it just shows how much more religious people were back then. (124)
ReplyDeleteThe miller still floats in his dam
ReplyDeleteThe weaver still hangs in his yarn
And the little tailor goes skipping through Hell
With the broadcloth under his arm
These are lyrics from the good old colony days. I do not see how that would be considered good. I guess they were so bitter that is considered goo for them, I can not quite figure it out. I think that the colonists had a very different point of view on what was considered good days. In another song it says how God inspired them to fight the war! I have always thought of God a someone who wants nothing but peace. I have never ever thought of him inspiring someone to go fight, and kill people. People in the "old days" seem very bitter and angry to me. I just do not understand how God inspired them to fight. I think that they may have lost their minds!(157)
God save the King! God save our gracious King! Long live our noble King! God save the King! Send him victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us, God save the King! This song stuck out to me because of how it says they need to save the king and how the king probably meant Britain and how Britain was in trouble because of the war the other song that stuck out to me was America My country 'tis of thee Sweet land of liberty Of thee I sing! Land where my fathers died, Land of thy pilgrim's pride from every mountain side, Let freedom ring! This stuck out to me because it says like what our country is. Both of these songs were fun to hear. This was probably my favorite blog because of the music.
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In the song Chester, these lyrics rang out in the first verse:
ReplyDeleteLet tyrants shake their iron rod
And slav'ry clang her galling chains;
We'll fear them not. We trust in God;
New England's God forever reigns.
This is saying that although we may not have everyone on our side and although England still has control over us, we will not be fazed because we have God on our side. This song gave the colonial soldiers the belief that they could do many things with the help of their God and their corage.
Those heroes of antiquity ne'er saw a cannon ball
Or knew the force of powder to slay their foes withal.
But our brave boys do know it, and banish all their fears,
Sing tow, row, row, row, row, row, for the British Grenadier.
In these lines of The British Grenadiers, it is showing how esteemed the British army is compared to all the other “heroes” people admired back in those days. They were basically exalting themselves to receive honor from everyone.
(174 words)
“Some talk of Alexander, and some of Hercules … and such great names as these. But of all the world's great heroes, there's none that can compare …to the British Grenadier.” This song shows how proud the british grenadiers were. They must have thought that hercules and alexander were lame heroes. They use guns and cannons to fight and they are much braver than the great heroes of the past. “What grateful offerings shall we bring, What shall we render to the Lord? Loud hallelujahs let us sing And praise his name on every chord.” This part stuck out to me because they are giving thanks to God for their victory. I like how they didn’t rely on themselves and say that they had won the war because they were good, but because God won it for them.
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