July 4th Songs

Cafe Society
21

If you’re going general USA patriotic songs, you can’t go wrong with country music:

Arlington - Trace Adkins
Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton (note: he performed many songs about history)
Boston Boy - any bluegrass band worth their salt
Okie from Muskogee - Merle Haggard
Ballad of the Green Beret - Sgt. Barry Sadler
The Star Spangled Banner - The Statler Brothers (one of my favorite versions, anyway)
Proud to be an American - Lee Greenwood

These are just a few off the top of my head, but local radio has been playing them all day, with very few repeats and almost nothing else.

22

Steve Earle has moved to NYC but had a Nashville career for many years. He recorded *The Mountain *with the Del McCoury band–who play stone bluegrass. A few of the numbers are Irish in style; Earle has spent considerable time over there & Irish music is definitely in bluegrass’s family tree. Dixieland tells the tale of an Irish lad who got here in time to fight in the Civil War–for the Union.

As long as we’re talking about Country music that will probably be ignored by the Corporate Country Radio–I just bought Moneyland, by Del McCoury & friends. That’s Uncle Sam on the cover, sneaking off with a money bag. “Del” was named for Franklin Delano Roosevelt–whose Firesign chats show up on the record.

Again, you will never hear this stuff on Corporate Country Radio. Where you will also never hear the DJ’s mention that Merle Haggard always emphasized that he never smoked marijuana–in Muskogee.

23

Mark Knopfler seems to enjoy writing songs about small slices of American History.
“Boom Like That” is about Ray Kroc and the founding of McDonald’s
“Sailing to Philadelphia” is about Mason & Dixon - whose eponymous line became the separator between “North” and “South.”

If I was going to go Schoolhouse Rocks! I would definitely go “The Preamble Song” which puts the Preamble of the Constitution to music.

24

In addition to those already mentioned:

**Hail to the Chief ** James Sanderson (M) and Sir Walter Scott (L) - 1811

Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean David Taylor Shaw(?) (M/L) and/or Thomas A. Becket(?) (L) - 1843

**The Battle Hymn of The Republic ** Phillip Simonds (M) and Julia Ward Howe (L) - 1862

The Battle Cry of Freedom George Frederick Root - 1862

**When Johnny Comes Marching Home ** Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (as Louis Lambert) - 1863

**American Patrol ** Frank W. Meacham - 1885

The Washington Post John Philip Sousa - 1889

The Yankee Doodle Boy George M. Cohan - 1904

Give My Regards To Broadway George M. Cohan - 1904

You’re A Grand Old Flag George M. Cohan - 1906

National Emblem March * E. E. Bagley - 1907*

Over There George M. Cohan - 1917

The Field Artillery Song (As the Caissons Go Rolling Along) Major Edmund
Gruber - 1908

The Marine’s Hymn Music adapted from Jacqués Offenbach, Lyrics Traditional - c. 1890s

The U.S. Air Force (Army Air Corps) Song Captain Robert Crawford - 1939

Semper Paratus (The Coast Guard Hymn) Words and Music by Captain Francis Saltus Van Boskerck - 1927

Anchors Aweigh Lieutenant Charles A. Zimmermann (M) and Midshipman First Class Alfred Hart Miles (L)- 1906

MIDI files for each of the above are available here.

25

How about one by a Canadian?

Once in a while
In a big blue moon
There comes a night like this
Like some surrealist
Invented this 4th of July
Night ride home

Night Ride Home (YouTube), by Joni Mitchell

26

Of course, there’s Springsteen’s 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).