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The Story of the United States in 12 Songs a Ballad of America publication Songs 1. Young Ladies in Town 2. The Wisconsin Emigrant 3. Go Down, Moses 4. Worried Man Blues 5. The Battleship of Maine 6. The Suffrage Flag 7. I Don’t Want Your Millions, Mister 8. How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? 9. Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos) 10. If You Miss Me From the Back of the Bus 11. Little Boxes 12. Changes Click below for the playlists: Spotify Apple Music YouTube © 2020 Ballad of America, Inc. All Rights Reserved Ballad of America, Inc. is a nonprofit with tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) educational organization. [email protected] 305.753.1850 View and download a print-friendly, text-only version of this document. I was never particularly interested in history. In high school, I halfheartedly attempted to “memorize the important identifications” from the U.S. history textbook, as my teacher instructed me to do. That all began to change when I first heard "The Anthology of American Folk Music" from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. The story of the United States came alive for me as I began to understand people from the past through their music: early colonial settlers through the ancient ballads, religious songs, and dance tunes they carried from their homelands; people in slavery through the spirituals and work songs born out of their suffering. Blues music, Appalachian folk songs, songs of frontiersmen, factory workers, sailors, cowboys, soldiers, railroad workers, activists, and others are all ingredients in the great cultural stew that is the United States of America. Since this epiphany, I have been singular in my mission to share this rich musical heritage with others, both for the sheer love of the music and for its value in inspiring people to better understand each other and America’s past, present, and future. That is why my colleagues and I started the nonprofit Ballad of America, Inc. and created "The Story of the United States in 12 Songs." The music keeps us connected to the strength and beauty that have emerged from the often troubled history of the United States. We believe that it can do the same for you. Contributors Matthew Sabatella Matthew Sabatella John Ermer Founder and President Paula Kalakowski Ballad of America, Inc. Karen Feldner BalladofAmerica.org A Patriotic Young Woman, illustration published in Our Country: A Household History for All Readers (c. 1877) 1. Young Ladies in Town The origin of the United States of America is the story of three worlds - American, European, and African - meeting on one continent. As Spain, France, and England struggled for dominance of this New World, they subjugated, displaced, and reduced the Native American populations. By 1733, the last of thirteen British colonies was founded on the Atlantic coast of North America. To pay for the costly Seven Years’ War, and to provide funding for ongoing support and protection of their colonies, the British Parliament began levying taxes on the colonists. At first, the colonists resisted these taxes and organized protests against them. As Britain began to station ships and soldiers in America to enforce payment of the taxes, tensions escalated, and violence erupted. Representatives from each colony began to meet as a Continental Congress, eventually deciding that the only solution was to declare independence from Great Britain. Not all colonists supported separation. It is estimated that approximately one-third of the colonists favored independence, one-third remained loyal to the British crown, and one-third were neutral or undecided. Nevertheless, under General George Washington and with financial and military assistance from France, the Continental Army defeated Britain in the American Revolutionary War. The Lyrics United States of America, now an independent nation, wrote and Young ladies in town, and those that live ‘round ratified The Constitution to establish Wear none but your own country linen how the government would function, Of economy boast, let your pride be the most as well as the fundamental rights of To show clothes of your own make and spinning its citizens. What if homespun they say, be not quite so gay As brocades, be not in a passion During the time of the American For once it is known, ‘tis much worn in town Revolution, news traveled by a variety One and all will cry out, “‘tis the fashion!” of means, including newspapers, pamphlets, speeches, and songs. Many And, as one, agree, that you’ll not married be of these items were written from a To such as will wear London factory particular perspective designed to But at first sight refuse, tell ‘em such you will choose influence people to take their side or As encourage our own manufactory take action. The lyrics to “Young No more ribbons wear, nor in rich silks appear Ladies in Town” first appeared in Love your country much better than fine things newspapers in New England in 1767, Begin without passion, ‘twill soon be the fashion during the period of organized protests To grace your smooth locks with a twine string against British taxation. The song attempts to persuade women to spin Throw away your bohea, and your green hyson tea and weave their own clothing to And all things of a new fashioned duty support the “Don’t Buy British” boycott. Get in a good store of the choice Labrador As part of the Homespun Movement, There'll soon he enough here to suit ye groups such as the Daughters of Liberty These do without fear and to all you'll appear sponsored spinning bees in which Fair charming, true, lovely and clever colonial women convened to produce Though the times remain darkish homespun cloth. Young men will be sparkish And love you much stronger than ever 2. The Wisconsin Emigrant American Progress, painting by John Gast (1872) During British colonial rule, officials barred white settlement west of the Appalachian Mountain range in an effort to maintain peace with Native Americans. Reserving this land as “Indian Territory” offered the added benefit of creating a buffer between British North American colonies and French/Spanish Louisiana. At the start of the Revolutionary War, most Americans lived on the narrow strip of land several hundred miles wide between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. When the war ended in 1783, the Treaty of Paris granted the United States all of the land east of the Mississippi River as far north as the southern shores of the Great Lakes. As the population in the young United States increased due to immigration and a high birth rate, land in the East became more crowded and expensive. As a result, Americans set their sights on the West. By 1848, through purchase and conquest, the United States had acquired all of the land in North America west to the Pacific Ocean north of Mexico and south of Canada. Technological advances in water and land transportation, including canals, steamboats, and Lyrics railroads, provided means for more people to travel and inhabit Since times are so hard, I've thought, my true heart new western states and territories. Of leaving my oxen, my plough, and my cart Often, Native Americans already And away to Wisconsin, a journey we'd go occupied the land they sought. To double our fortune as other folks do Through broken treaties and violent While here I must labor each day in the field confrontations, the United And the winter consumes all the summer doth yield States government repeatedly forced Native Americans to resettle Oh husband, I've noticed with sorrowful heart on less desirable grounds. You've neglected your oxen, your plough, and your cart Your sheep are disordered; at random they run As with many folk songs, the exact And your new Sunday suit is now every day on origins of “The Wisconsin Emigrant” Oh, stay on the farm and you'll suffer no loss are unknown. It most likely For the stone that keeps rolling will gather no moss emerged in the first few decades of the nineteenth century. Many Oh wife, let's go; oh, don't let us wait families grappled with deciding Oh, I long to be there; oh, I long to be great whether to leave their home in the While you some rich lady - and who knows but I East for a possible better life in the Some governor may be before that I die? West. “The Wisconsin Emigrant” While here I must labor each day in the field documents one such conversation And the winter consumes all the summer doth yield between a husband and wife in New England as they debated this issue. Oh husband, remember that land is to clear Despite their concerns about the Which will cost you the labor of many a year uncertain conditions awaiting them, Where horses, sheep, cattle, and hogs are to buy pioneers swarmed westward to And you'll scarcely get settled before you must die occupy the land. The United States Oh, stay on the farm and you'll suffer no loss Congress created the Wisconsin For the stone that keeps rolling will gather no moss Territory on April 20, 1836, and shifted the ‘permanent Indian frontier’ further west. Oh wife, let's go; oh, don't let us stay I will buy me a farm that is cleared by the way Where horses, sheep, cattle, and hogs are not dear And we'll feast on fat buffalo half of the year While here I must labor each day in the field And the winter consumes all the summer doth yield Oh husband, remember that land of delight Is surrounded by Indians who murder by night Your house they will plunder and burn to the ground While your wife and your children lie murdered around Oh, stay on the farm, and you'll suffer no loss For the stone that keeps rolling will gather no moss Now wife, you've convinced me; I'll argue no more I never had thought of your dying before I love my dear children, although they are small But you, my dear wife, are more precious than all We'll stay on the farm, and suffer no loss For the stone that keeps rolling will gather no moss Slaves Waiting for Sale, painting by Eyre Crowe (1853) 3.

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