Historical Songs?

[Erebus]

I've recently taken the arduous task of tutoring some high school kids in US History. To make the lessons more interesting, I've decided to take some popular songs and fit it into the curriculum. So far, I've got:

"We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel
"James K. Polk" by They Might be Giants
"Yankee Bayonet" by The Decembrists
"Still in Saigon" by The Charlie Daniels Band

I still need some songs on the Industrial Revolution, immigration, World War 1, Great Depression, Roaring 20s, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Try to keep the vague war protest songs limited. I'd also like a wide variety, from rap, rock, pop, jazz, etc. Much appreciated.

[Shellhead]

11 M.P.H, by Was (Not Was) is a sort of funny r&b song about the JFK assassination. Not actually popular, though.

There were several Schoolhouse Rock songs about historical stuff:

http://www.school-house-rock.com/AmericaRock.html

Telegraph Road, by Dire Straits, was about the westward expansion:

http://www.lyricsdomain.com/4/dire_straits/telegraph_road.html

I vaguely remember a song that I heard when I was a kid, about The Battle of New Orleans. Google indicates that it was a country/western song recorded by Johnny Horton. That was set during the War of 1812.

Woody Gutherie recorded an entire album about the Depression in 1940, called Dust Bowl Ballads.

Billie Holliday performed a famous song called Strange Fruit, about lynchings down South after the Civil War.

[mattx110]

I've recently taken the arduous task of tutoring some high school kids in US History. To make the lessons more interesting, I've decided to take some popular songs and fit it into the curriculum. So far, I've got:

"We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel
"James K. Polk" by They Might be Giants
"Yankee Bayonet" by The Decembrists
"Still in Saigon" by The Charlie Daniels Band

I still need some songs on the Industrial Revolution, immigration, World War 1, Great Depression, Roaring 20s, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Try to keep the vague war protest songs limited. I'd also like a wide variety, from rap, rock, pop, jazz, etc. Much appreciated.
Poli-sci teachers love Neil Young's "Ohio"... Joe Ely's "Me and billy the kid" is a witty response to the old west...Steve Earle has a few, but he has one specifically about American interventionism in Grenada and some less than legal military smuggling with "the gringo's tale". It takes a few minutes to get to the apt parts.
John Hiatt and the Little Village crew have a song "Do you want my job" about industrialization in Hawaii after it was taken by the US.
Relatedly, I've always though John Hiatt's "Fly Back Home" was kind of a response to the depression, migrant worker's and Grapes of wrath in particular. Of course, Woody Guthrie wrote a song that's a re-telling of the Grapes of Wrath, and Bruce Springsteen has his own "Ghost of Tom Joad".

If you get to the anti-apartheid movement Peter Gabriel can help you out... Phil Ochs' response to quite a few wars, more specific than most protest songs "I ain't marching anymore" is good.

Richard Thomspon has responses to American Imperialism, both gulf wars now, and the state of vets in a song that references a british crooner. Not sure how the last one would relate to kids. His "lotteryland" is about a post-industrial town thats been tapped and leveled by capitalism, but again referencing England more than the US, but events that hit the US too.

Merle Haggards written about the dustbowl, and his song "they're tearing the labor camps down" is about well, you know.

I'll try to keep an ear out for things more pertinent to what you need. Not sure how many songs about the Korean war there are, vietnam kinda blew it out of the water in terms of protest songs, although "ain't marching anymore" does reference it.

[DonC]

The Battle of Passchendaele (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Passchendaele)

Iron Maiden's "Paschendale (http://youtube.com/watch?v=YpgZajJ4Rog)

In a foreign field he lay. Lonely soldier unkown grave
On his dying words he prays. Tell the world of Paschendale

Relive all that he's been through. Last communioun of his soul
Rust your bullets with his tears. Let me tell you 'bout his years

Laying low in a blood filled trench. Kill time 'til my very own death
On my face I can feel the falling rain. Never see my friends again

In the smoke in the mud and lead. Smell the fear and the feeling of dread
Soon be time to go over the wall. Rapid fire and the end of us all


Whistles, shouts and more gun fire. Lifeless bodies hang on barbed wire
Battlefield nothing but a bloody tomb. Be reunited with my dead friends soon

Many soldiers eighteen years. Drown in mud no more tears
Surely a war no-one can win. Killing time about to begin

Home, far away. From the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away. But the war, no chance to live again

The bodies of ours and our foes. The sea of death it overflows
In no man's land god only knows. Into jaws of death we go


Crucified as if on a cross. Allied troops they mourn their loss
German war propaganda machine. Such before has never been seen

Swear I heard the angels cry. Pray to god no more may die
So that people know the truth. Tell the tale of Paschendale

Cruelty has a human heart. Everyman does play his part
Terror of the men we kill. The human heart is hungry still

I stand my ground for the very last time. Gun is ready as I stand in line
Nervous wait for the whistle to blow. Rush of blood and over we go

Blood is falling like the rain. It's crimson cloak unveils again
The sound of guns can't hid their shame. and so we die on Paschendale

Dodging shrapnel and barbed wire. Running straight at the cannon fire
Running blind as I hold my breath. Say a prayer symphony of death

As we charge the enemy lines. A burst of fire and we go down
I choke a cry but no-one hears. Fell the blood go down my throat

Home, far away. From the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away. But the war, no chance to live again

See my spirit on the wind. Across the lines beyond the hill
Friend and foe will meet again. Those who died at Paschendale

[DonC]

Iron Maiden - "The Longest Day"

In the gloom the gathering storm abates
In the ships gimlet eyes await
The call to arms to hammer at the gates
To blow them wide throw evil to its fate

All summers long the drills to build the machine
To turn man from flesh and blood to steel
From paper soldiers to bodies on the beach
From summer sends to Armageddon's reach

Overlord your master not your god
The enemy coast dawning grey with scud
These wretched souls puking shaking fear
To take a bullet for those who send them here

The world's all right the cliffs erupt in flame
No escape remorseless shrapnel rains
Drowning men no chance for a warrior's fate
A choking death enter hell's gates

Sliding we go only fear on our side
To the edge of the wire
And we rush with the tide
Oh the water is red
With the blood of the dead
But I'm still alive pray to God I survive

How long on this longest day
'Till we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Till we finally make it through

The rising dead faces bloated torn
They are relieved the living wait their turn
Your number's up the bullet's got your name
You still go on to hell and back again

Valhalla waits Valkyries rise and fall
The warrior tombs lie open for us all
A ghostly hand reaches through the wall
Blood and sand we will prevail

Sliding we go only fear on our side
To the edge of the wire
And we rush with the tide
Oh the water is red
With the blood of the dead
But I'm still alive pray to God I survive

How long on this longest day
'Till we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Till we finally make it through

How long on this longest day
'Till we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Till we finally make it through

Iron Maiden - "Aces High"

There goes the siren that warns off the air raid
Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak
Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne
Got to get up for the coming attack.

Jump in the cockpit and start up the engines
Remove all the wheel blocks
there's no time to waste
Gathering speed as we head down the runway
Gotta get airborne before it's too late

Running, scrambling, flying
Rolling, turning, diving, going in again
Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Run, live to fly, fly to live, Aces high

Move in to fire at the mainstream of bombers
Let off a sharp burst and then turn away
Roll over, spin round and come in behind them
Move to their blindsides and firing again

Bandits at 8 o'clock move in behind us
Ten ME-109's out of the sun
Ascending and turning out spitfires to face them
Heading straight for them I press my guns.

Rolling, turning, diving
Rolling, turning, diving, goin' again
Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Run, live to fly, fly to live, Aces high.

[DonC]

Iron Maiden - "Tailgunner"

Trace your way back 50 years
To the Glow of Dresden - blood and tears
In the black above by the cruel searchlight
Men will die and men will fight - yeah!
Who shot who and who fired first?
Dripping death to whet the blood thirst
No radar lock on - skin and bone
The bomber boys are going home

[Chorus]
Climb into the sky never wonder why - Tailgunner
You're a Tailgunner
[repeat]

Nail that Fokker kill that son,
Gonna blow your guts out with my gun,
The weather forecasts good for War
Cologne and Frankfurt? have some more!
Tail end Charlie in the boiling sky
The Enola Gay was my last try
Now that this Tailgunner's gone
No more Bombers (just one big bomb)

Covering the Doomsday Clock?

Iron Maiden - "2 Minutes to Midnight"

Kill for gain or shoot to maim
But we don't need a reason
To Golden Goose is on the loose
And never out of season
Some blackened pride still burns inside
This shell of bloody treason
Here's my gun for a barrel of fun
For the love of living death

The killer's breed or the Demon's seed,
The glamour, the fortune, the pain,
Go to war again, blood is freedom's stain
But don't you pray for my soul anymore.

2 minutes to midnight,
The hands that treaten doom.
2 minutes to midnight,
To kill the unborn in the womb.

The blind men shout "Let the creatures out
We'll show the unbelievers."
The napalm screams of human flames
Of a prime time Belsen feast ... yeah!
As the reasons for the carnage cut their meat and lick the gravy
We oil the jaws of the war machine and feed it with our babies.

The killer's breed or the Demon's seed,
The glamour, the fortune, the pain,
Go to war again, blood is freedom's stain
But don't you pray for my soul anymore.

2 minutes to midnight,
The hands that treaten doom.
2 minutes to midnight,
To kill the unborn in the womb.

The body bags and little rags of children torn in two
And the jellied brains of those who remain to put the finger right on you
As the madmen play on words and make us all dance to their song
To the tune of starving millions to make a better kind of gun.

The killer's breed or the Demon's seed,
The glamour, the fortune, the pain,
Go to war again, blood is freedom's stain
But don't you pray for my soul anymore.

2 minutes to midnight,
The hands that treaten doom.
2 minutes to midnight,
To kill the unborn in the womb.

Midnight
Midnight
Midnight
It's all night

Midnight
Midnight
Midnight
It's all night

[Fish Sauce]

Metallica's One is about a soldier in WWI.

[Weapon Ick]

Dear Mrs. Roosevelt by Woody Guthrie
Mr. Churchill Says by The Kinks

[Weapon Ick]

Louisiana 1927 by Randy Newman
and North Country Blues by Bob Dylan are some good dust bowl songs.
With God On Our Side by Bob Dylan gives a good historical rundown of America's wars but it might be too protesty for the kids.

[Spike-X]

How about some early Australian history?

A Tale They Won't Believe - Weddings Parties Anything

Well we left MacQuarie Harbour it was in the pouring rain
None of us quite sure if we would see England again
And some fool muttered death or liberty
There were six of us together, a jolly hungry crew
And as the days went by you know our hunger quickly grew
And some fool muttered death or liberty

So that night we made fires out of twigs and out of bark
And our stomachs they were rumbling all through the night so dark
Wonderin' trying to keep ourselves alive
But when the sun came up next morning well the six had turned to five

And I said, right there’s another one, don’t you frown,
Chew the meat and hold it down, It’s a tale they won’t believe,
When I get down to Hobart Town

Well the five of us were nervous and I'll tell you that’s a fact
But you should have seen the bastard who was carrying the axe
He was a sick man he had murder in his heart
And then we reached the Franklin River, and it took two days to cross
We were wet and almost starving and for food were at a loss
We were hungry men with murder on our minds

So that night we made fires out of twigs and out of bark
And our stomachs they were rumbling all through the night so dark,
And they were making noises that death could not ignore
And when the sun came up next morning, well the five had turned to four

And I said, right there’s another one, don’t you frown,
Chew the meat and hold it down, It’s a tale they won’t believe,
When I get down to Hobart Town

Well the four of us kept marching to a place called Western Teirs
A country full of tasty game for us it held no cheer
We had no guns, we were traveling without hope.
But the axe it loomed so ominous, God's hand was at play
For a sick man is a type of game which can not run away
So stay easy, my good man your time's at hand.

So that night we made fires out of twigs and out of bark
And our stomachs they were rumbling all through the night so dark
I can't say that I feel guilty, 'cause after all it wasn't me
But when the sun came up next morning the four had turned to three

And I said, right there’s another one, don’t you frown,
Chew the meat and hold it down, It’s a tale they won’t believe,
When I get down to Hobart Town

Well the three of us kept moving but one was fading fast
He had had been bitten by a snake and you could see he would not last
So stay easy my poor man your time's at hand
And when he could last no longer his time was there at last
We were far to weak to carry him subsistence it comes first
Stay easy my good man your time's at hand

So that night we made fires out of twigs and out of bark
And our stomachs they were rumbling all through the night so dark
It was a messy job but it was one we had to do
And when the sun came up next day, guess what? The three had turned to two

And I said, right there’s another one, don’t you frown,
Chew the meat and hold it down, It’s a tale they won’t believe,
When I get down to Hobart Town

Now he had been looking at me funny, sort of eyeing me for days,
And you would not need to be too bright to know that bastard’s ways
He was a sick man, he had murder in his heart.
But even bastards have to rest, and even bastards have to sleep,
And when he was in the land of Nod straight over I did creep,
And the axe that he had wielded now was mine.

So that night, I made the fire, out of twigs and out of bark,
And my stomach it kept rumbling all through the night so dark.
I can’t say that I enjoyed it, it wasn’t exactly fun
But when the sun came up next morning, well the two had turned to one!

And I said, right there’s another one, don’t you frown,
Chew the meat and hold it down, It’s a tale they won’t believe,
When I get down to Hobart Town

Well now history is a pack of lies, as any fool can tell,
So when I got down to Hobart Town I told my story well,
But do you think they would believe one word I said?
For they thought that I was covering for my mates still at large
Said they’d be roaming in the bush a'wild and free
Back to old MacQuarie Harbour they sent me

But I remember the fires made out of twigs and made of bark
And how my stomach it kept rumbling all through the night so dark
And this young fool he just said to me it's liberty or death
And he looks a rather tasty one, but this time I'll go north and I'm singing

Right there’s another one, don’t you frown,
Chew the meat and hold it down, It’s a tale they won’t believe
When I get down, when I get down, when I get down to Hobart Town!

[Deathstroke]

I think he just wants US history connected songs.

Of course if you ever want ancient history, you could check out Iron Maiden's "Alexander The Great".

[jesse_custer]

"The Rooster" by Alice in Chains is about Vietnam, specifically an account of Jerry Cantrell's father's service.

[Rob Allen]

Anyone remember the 1950s hit "The Battle of New Orleans"?

In 1814 we took a little trip
With Colonel Andy Jackson down the mighty Mississip'
We took along some bacon and we took along some beans
And we met the bloody British in the town of New Orleans...

[Shellhead]

Anyone remember the 1950s hit "The Battle of New Orleans"?

In 1814 we took a little trip
With Colonel Andy Jackson down the mighty Mississip'
We took along some bacon and we took along some beans
And we met the bloody British in the town of New Orleans...

Yup, I mentioned it post #2. It was one of my favorite songs when I was a little kid, after I figured out how to work my dad's record player.

[Erebus]

All great suggestions. Thanks a lot guys. Still looking for something on the industrial revolution, though.

[howyadoin]

I've recently taken the arduous task of tutoring some high school kids in US History. To make the lessons more interesting, I've decided to take some popular songs and fit it into the curriculum. So far, I've got:

"We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy JoelI'd be tempted to drop that one. I remember a magazine article years ago that dissected it, and it was about as historically accurate as 300.

[Spike-X]

I'd be tempted to drop that one. I remember a magazine article years ago that dissected it, and it was about as historically accurate as 300.
Was it racist as well?

[howyadoin]

Was it racist as well?If the white guy wins, it's automatically racist.

[mattx110]

All great suggestions. Thanks a lot guys. Still looking for something on the industrial revolution, though.
If only my Steam-Punk band were more famous, you could use our first album :D

[Shellhead]

All great suggestions. Thanks a lot guys. Still looking for something on the industrial revolution, though.

It's a bit of a stretch, but maybe you could use "Industrial Disease", by Dire Straits.