the best songs ever

[Eric the Green]

Despite terrible-marie's cynical efforts to ruin my wonderful thread (or at least *I* like it except when she interferes), I am waist deep in the big muddy and so far without brower's asked-for help, big fool that I am, I'm going to press on through 1942 and the forties. (how's that for tying in a song by Pete Seeger I forgot from 1967-1968!) (if you don't click on the song btw, it refers to 1942). So while Terror-marie would rather scold and argue over nothing, I'm going to keep posting songs and musics that lift the heart and the spirit. For those who have ears to hear, let them hear.

So this marvelous one from 1942-43 from "Rodeo" by Aaron Copland was based on a song by William Stepp, from 1937, which was a total reworking of an old Irish fiddle tune entitled "Bonaparte's Retreat." The resulting "Hoe Down" is an anthem of Americans in the days when they were pushing westward ho (or hoe).





It's what's for dinner!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodeo_(ballet)
https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2013/11/b...s-retreat/

Pete describes some other early American wartime songs in this Democracy Now clip.
https://youtu.be/L0ixuSMGKeI

Another Seeger clip; the full 1968 performance, including bits of other wartime songs
https://youtu.be/qHETC5qAnqo