The Muse of Fire: Liberty and War Songs As a Source of American History

3 7^ A'£?/</ THE MUSE OF FIRE: LIBERTY AND WAR SONGS AS A SOURCE OF AMERICAN HISTORY DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Kent Adam Bowman, B.A., M.A Denton, Texas August, 1984 Bowman, Kent Adam, The Muse of Fire; Liberty and War Songs as a Source of American History. Doctor of Philosophy (History), August, 1984, 337 pp., bibliography, 135 titles. The development of American liberty and war songs from a few themes during the pre-Revolutionary period to a distinct form of American popular music in the Civil War period reflects the growth of many aspects of American culture and thought. This study therefore treats as historical documents the songs published in newspapers, broadsides, and songbooks during the period from 1765 to 1865. Chapter One briefly summarizes the development of American popular music before 1765 and provides other introductory material. Chapter Two examines the origin and development of the first liberty-song themes in the period from 1765 to 1775. Chapters Three and Four cover songs written during the American Revolution. Chapter Three describes battle songs, emphasizing the use of humor, and Chapter Four examines the figures treated in the war song. Chapter Five covers the War of 1812, concentrating on the naval song, and describes the first use of dialect in the American war song. Chapter Six covers the Mexican War (1846-1848) and includes discussion of the aggressive American attitude toward the war as evidenced in song. Chapter Six also examines the first antiwar songs. Chapters Seven and Eight deal with the Civil War. Chapter Seven treats derivative war songs, including "Dixie" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Chapter Eight treats prominent composers of popular war songs during the Civil War: Stephen F. Foster, George F. Root, and Henry Clay Work. Chapter Nine concludes the study with observations on the development of war songs from 1765 to 1865. American liberty and war songs began as derivations of European songs. Gradually, American composers initiated new songwriting techniques and experimented with new themes. During the Civil War, American songwriters created an original American patriotic music that inspired later composers such as John Philip Sousa and George M. Cohan. TABLE OF CONTENTS ' Page Chapter I. INTRODUCTION . 1 II. FAIR LIBERTY'S CALL 13 III. MELODIES OF BATTLE 49 IV. HEROES, VILLAINS AND DEMOCRATS . 80 V. STAR SPANGLED MELODIES 106 VI. ROUGH AND READY SINGERS . 148 VII. OLD TUNES FOR A NEW WAR 194 VIII. ORIGINAL SOUNDS . 256 IX. CONCLUSIONS AND OBSERVATIONS . 302 APPENDIX 307 BIBLIOGRAPHY 328 1X1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Liberty and war songs offer one of the most interesting subjects for study in American history. Some studies of liberty and martial music have been made, but all too often they consist of sketchy surveys of songs as curious and disjointed footnotes to American history. Most works on liberty and war songs are songbooks put together by song collectors; consequently no effort has been made to relate the songs to each other or to the larger historical context.^ A detailed and comprehensive study of liberty and martial songs from 1765 to 1865 with attention devoted almost exclusively to lyrics yields a clear picture of an aspect of evolving American culture in this hundred year period as well as revealing the thoughts and feelings of Americans during periods of crisis. American liberty and war songs written before the Civil War consist almost entirely of contemporary poems set to older European or American melodies. By the outset of the Civil War both lyrics and music were contemporary, but the process of setting a poem to music not originally composed for it was still the prevalent form. The outstanding example of contemporary variation is "Dixie;" numbers of patriotic pieces sprang from the original song which was written for a minstrel show. For the first time in the history of American music Civil War composers like George F. Root and Henry Clay Work began to write many original liberty and war songs. With these two composers American liberty and war music came of age. The emergence of an original American liberty and war music coincided with a similar development in American literature. Until the Civil War American songwriters primarily expanded their themes and experimented with techniques. This study is therefore organized thematically except for Chapter Eight which is organized around the most important Civil War composers. I have concentrated on developments in liberty and war songs with an emphasis on the similarities and differences in song themes, techniques, and styles in the period surveyed. This work deals with American songs only; European music is considered only where it offers insight into the development of American songs. Melodies, which are often absent from copies of liberty and war songs written before the Civil War, will be discussed only when they have a significant impact on the history of liberty and war music.^ For example, the melody "Yankee Doodle" is used in a number of ways and in a wide variety of circumstances between the Revolution and the Civil War; it is discussed in detail in Chapter Three and mentioned from time to time throughout the remainder of this work. Much liberty and war music, especially before the Civil War, was published in newspapers and broadsides? very little was printed in sheet music form. Since broadsides were a particularly perishable form, it is not possible to determine accurately how much liberty and war music has been lost. Having looked at approximately ten thousand songs from sources throughout the United States, I would estimate that roughly fifty percent of liberty and war songs written between 1765 and 1865 have survived. Furthermore, it is often difficult to tell which songs were widely performed before the Civil War. Generally songs like "Yankee Doodle," which was evidently popular, will be given more attention than songs printed only once or twice in newspapers or broadsides. The first American music was born from British and European tunes, primarily in the religious and folk traditions. Although the classical song retained an important place in musical, performance in America, it had almost no impact on the development of American liberty and war songs? the first signs of an American popular music appeared in the form of the liberty and war songs of colonial protest and rebellion. Much of the first martial and liberty music came to the contentious colonies directly from the British Isles. The first significant music to reach American shores was not the music of human war? rather, the cosmic battle for the salvation of the soul was the inspiration for most of the songs composed in the newly established colonies. Yet soon after the formation of the colonies, the rich British ballad tradition began to flourish. In the northern colonies this tradition followed the strong religious impulse; in the southern colonies a secular tradition was born, although they, too, fostered much religious music. It is certain that well within the first hundred years of English colonial life secular music was widely distributed throughout the colonies. Since the northern colonies dominated American music in the early years of colonial development, as most surviving songs are those that were sung in New England churches, much of what is known about the first American song is associated with the worship of a Calvinistic God. In the often hostile wilderness of an unexplored land, the first songs that broke the silence of the virgin forests were the solemn hymns of the Pilgrims and the Puritans. As might be expected, the songs of these early Americans mirrored the monumental concerns of men and women who for religious reasons had chosen to isolate themselves from their English brethern, many of whom shared their Biblical views and would later follow them to the new world. Because of the strictly disciplined lives of these early American immigrants, historians like Vernon Parrington and James Truslow Adams as well as the noted musicologist Fredric Ritter argue that the first New Englanders were disdainful of many pleasures, perhaps including those of secular music. While it is true that the Pilgrims and Puritans had little use for light and frivolous entertain- ment, they did employ, and enjoy, songs in praise and respect of God. As Ronald Davis notes in his recent work on American music, both groups enthusiastically used song in their religious services.-^ The first religious music heard in American churches owes much to the musical philosophy of Martin Luther, who contributed the basis for Protestant hymnody in Europe.^ Unlike Luther, although sharing in his utilitarian impulse toward music, the early New Englanders chose to use only the music that fit the words of the Bible as they translated them.5 Both Pilgrims and Puritans favored the Psalms when selecting lyrics. Each group used separate songbooks, and in 1640 the Puritans created their own songster, The Bay Psalm Book, which went through several editions.® Certainly the most popular of all New England pieces was a song from Ainsworth's collection derived from an undateable, but old French song with a lively melody, carefully adapted to fit Psalm One Hundred in the British Psalter. The music for Old One Hundred was used by the Huguenots as a battle hymn.? Today the music is used in many Protestant churches to accompany the doxology which usually reads, Praise God from whom all blessings flow? Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts; Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Elements of the folksong, which features informal and sometimes impromtu composition, began to creep into American religious music before 1700.

Load more