Songs 4 and 5

Brave Wolfe by Mark O' Connor & Wynton Marsalis

The songs Brave Wolfe was recorded in 1997 by Mark O' Connor and Wynton Marsalis for the album Liberty!. The song is an old traditional ballad that pays respect to the British General James Wolfe who died in 1759. Since, it is a song done completely through instruments without any vocals I think that the artists tried to interpret a story that was told through in an older version of this song. I personally really enjoyed this song, I thought that it sounded beautiful and that it was a very respectful way to honor somebody. I don't know that this song allowed me to learn anything specific about the history of the US because the song really isn't about the US. However, it makes you realize that there are people in the US who are interested in researching past events through music.

Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier by Mark O' Connor and James Taylor

Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier is an American folk song that dates to the American Revolution. The song tells about a guy (assuming him to be young) name Johnny that leaves his love to go fight as a soldier and how the young woman is heartbroken to see him go. In this version of Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier James Taylor sings it like he is telling a story. However, in other versions of the song it is song in first person, in which, it would be more like the singer is living through the situation. The is one of the songs that I really like on the CD, however I find extremely sad. To me it sounds like something you would see in a movie. I thought that the arrangement was very complimentary to the era and circumstance they were trying to represent. For me I learned about some of the things that people went through during a war time. In the song it says that his love had to sell her possessions to buy him a "sword of steel" so it was obviously a financial struggle for some people.