# Historical events most people only know of because a song was written about them **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 2, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882 "2010-08-02T13:35:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/21 "2010-08-02T18:32:54Z")
I learned that in the year of 1941, when the war had just begun, that the Germans had the biggest ships and they had the biggest guns. The Bismark was the fastest ship to ever sail the seas, with guns as big as steers and shells as big as trees. All thanks to Johnny Horton. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/22 "2010-08-02T18:34:36Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > > [@aceplace57](#): > > > > Marine Corp Hymn details several important battles. Tripoli. > > Also for that war - “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” ([Pogues version here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZqN1glz4JY)) Err..different Wars, right? Walting Matilda is the Battle of Gallipoli in WWI, the “shores of Tripoli” is the first Barbary War (and the Halls of Montezuma) is the Mexican American war. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/23 "2010-08-02T18:38:06Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > > [@An\_Arky](#): > > > > Also for that war - “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” ([Pogues version here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZqN1glz4JY)) > > Err..different Wars, right? Walting Matilda is the Battle of Gallipoli in WWI, the “shores of Tripoli” is the first Barbary War (and the Halls of Montezuma) is the Mexican American war. There you go again with your facts and all… 😃 Oops. My bad. :o Can’t get my 'poli’s straight. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/24 "2010-08-02T18:47:02Z")
I know little of Kiev, except they have chickens there and some pretty grand gates. Sticking with my American’s sense of geography, I would never have known there was a Brandenburg had its Grand Poobah not rung up that Bach fellow. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/25 "2010-08-02T18:54:52Z")
Although every American knows about the Civil War, I think “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” provided some enlightenment to Notherners about the devastation wrought on the South. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/26 "2010-08-02T19:00:15Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > - The assassin of Jean-Paul Marat is the subject of “Charlotte Corday”, from Famous Last Words. Which would also qualify as “historical events most people only know because of a painting about them”. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/27 "2010-08-02T19:18:45Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > > [@kopek](#): > > > > Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, we’re finally on our own. > > You think most people only know about the Kent State Massacre because of the Crosby Stills and Nash song? That seems pretty unlikely, there’s still a pretty large number of people who were alive during the actual incident. And amongst the rest of us, the famous photo has probably done at least as much as “Ohio” do put the event in public consciousness. I disagree; without the song \*Ohio \*Kent State is [Orangeburg](http://www.orangeburgmassacre1968.com/). ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/28 "2010-08-02T19:20:08Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I learned that in the year of 1941, when the war had just begun, that the Germans had the biggest ships and they had the biggest guns. The Bismark was the fastest ship to ever sail the seas, with guns as big as steers and shells as big as trees. > > All thanks to Johnny Horton. i was going to say horton for the battle of new orleans. that and him telling me about the alaskan gold rush. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/29 "2010-08-02T19:47:42Z")
People know about [Bloody Sunday](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1972)) mostly because of[U2](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_Bloody_Sunday). Outside the UK and Ireland that is. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/30 "2010-08-02T21:22:22Z")
Some people found out about Buddy Holly when Weezer did a song named for him. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/31 "2010-08-02T22:09:38Z")
I doubt too many people would remember [Casey Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Jones) if they didn’t have to sing that folksong in elementary school. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/32 "2010-08-02T22:14:27Z")
> [@GHO57](#): > > > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > > > Okay, hands up anyone who knows anything about the [Battle Of Borodino](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1812_overture) > > Here. > > Not that I have the orders of battle memorized or anything, but I could probably give a basic rundown of the fighting… it’s probably the most significant single battle in the 19th century. As much as 1812 always give me goosebumps, I know Borodino because Napoleon’s would’ve been better if he’d lost it. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/33 "2010-08-03T00:39:32Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > > [@RandMcnally](#): > > > > I learned that in the year of 1941, when the war had just begun, that the Germans had the biggest ships and they had the biggest guns. The Bismark was the fastest ship to ever sail the seas, with guns as big as steers and shells as big as trees. > > > > All thanks to Johnny Horton. > > i was going to say horton for the battle of new orleans. that and him telling me about the alaskan gold rush. My grandfather listened to him a lot while I was growing up. I learned a lot of history from him. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/34 "2010-08-03T01:13:49Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > I know about the Red Baron because of Snoopy. While I had heard of the Red Baron earlier than I read Snoopy (there was an old C64 game of the same name,) Snoopy edumacated me about a Sopwith Camel. I learned about the native peoples of the Americas from 7 Cities of Gold. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/35 "2010-08-03T03:20:57Z")
I wouldn’t have been aware (or as aware) of the Battle of Passchendaele had it not been for the Iron Maiden song ‘Paschendale’. I certainly would never have heard of the January 28, 1948 crash of a plane near Los Gatos Canyon had it not been for Woody Guthrie’s song ‘Deportee (Plane Wreck At Los Gatos)’, which I became familiar with through the versions by Dolly Parton and the Highwaymen. And yeah, I probably would have only a very, very vague idea of who Evita was if Madonna hadn’t starred in the movie version of the musical. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/36 "2010-08-03T03:42:35Z")
[The hanging of Tom Dula (Dooley)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Dooley_%28song%29). ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/37 "2010-08-03T06:00:57Z")
Just thinking back… I learned a lot from the one LP that I actually liked when I found it in my parents’ stacks of vinyl as a kid: a live Kingston Trio album. Which of course had the plodding-yet-somehow-popular _ **Tom Dooley** _… _“This time tomorrow, reckon where I’ll be. Hadn’t a-been for Grayson, I’d a-been in Tennessee.”_ The Trio did a lengthy spoken introduction explaining the Irish rebellion before a spirited _ **Roddy McCorley** _: \*“To Antrim town! To Antrim town, he led them to the fray, But young Roddy McCorley goes to die, on the bridge of Toome today.” \* Their intros were great. After explaining what life was like for Frank and _ **Jesse James** _ in the wild, rooting for rutabagas: “Put yourself in their place…you’da been mean too!” _“When Jesse James was a lad he killed many-a man. He robbed the Glendale train. And the people they did say for many miles away, it was robbed by Frank and Jesse James!”_ And of course, from _ **The Merry Minuet** _, I also learned that _they’re rioting in Africa. There’s strife in Iran. What nature doesn’t do to us, will be done by our fellow man._ ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/38 "2010-08-03T06:03:48Z")
I knew all about the Edmund Fitzgerald, because I remember when it happened. The newspaper we got in our town was The Times-News from Thunder Bay. That city, being a Great Lakes port, naturally had in-depth coverage whenever any big ship went missing on the Lakes. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/39 "2010-08-03T06:12:59Z")
Mark Knopfler and James Taylor did a song about Mason and Dixon and their surveying line in the States. I always thought it was drawn up during your civil war, but apparently not the case! I learned something indeed, or at least, was curious enough to look at it on wikipedia! [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OrLdKYRBOEE/hqdefault.jpg "Mark Knopfler & James Taylor - Sailing to Philadelphia") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrLdKYRBOEE) ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882/40 "2010-08-03T06:14:09Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I disagree; without the song \*Ohio \*Kent State is [Orangeburg](http://www.orangeburgmassacre1968.com/). No. The most critical difference between Kent State and Orangeburg is that the Kent State students were white. The famous photograph is another factor. The song comes in third place at best. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-events-most-people-only-know-of-because-a-song-was-written-about-them/548882.md?page=3)