OT: - Songs that reference historical events | Page 5 | The Boneyard

OT: Songs that reference historical events

Ran across this one this morning. If you like the blues you should enjoy this one.

 
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My friend, Marty Axelrod is a great songwriter who is part of a songwriters group called The Tall Man Group who every month meet and share songs written to a "challenge" topic. The topic for this one was a Song about a Historical Event, he chose the discovery of fire! This is a performance with another friends band, Tracy Newman and the Reinforcements
 
Sacrificed Sons.
Dream Theater.
2005.
Octavarium.


9/11.


No clues
A complete surprise
Who'll be
Coming home tonight?

Heads all turning
Towards the sky
Towers crumble
Heroes die


 
Civil War.
Guns N Roses.
1991.
Use Your Illusion II album.


Lyrics include the following 2 separate sections.


And all these things are swept aside.
By bloody hands time can't deny.
And are washed away by your genocide.
And history hides the lies of our civil wars.


And in my first memories.
They shot Kennedy.
I went numb when I learned to see.
So I never fell for Vietnam.
We got the wall of D.C. to remind us all.


 
UHF said:
Sacrificed Sons.
Dream Theater.
2005.
Octavarium.


9/11.


No clues
A complete surprise
Who'll be
Coming home tonight?

Heads all turning
Towards the sky
Towers crumble
Heroes die


Expand ...

Lordy, that's powerful. I thought I'd heard most of Dream Theater's stuff, but I'd remember if I'd heard this. Absolutely stunning.
 
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I'm mildly surprised there hasn't been anything by Phil Ochs posted. But then I guess it's usually up to me. The first verse of this one is about the murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens in the early 60's.

 
Here's a song about a long-ago Irish victory over the English. My wife and I passed through Carlow on our "folk song" tour of Ireland 25 years ago. This is from Planxty's first album and is a really good example of their sound with the percussive mandolin and bouzouki, the pennywhistle, and a really good story and vocal.

 
San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair).
Scott McKenzie.
1967.


One of the anthems for the summer of love. John Phillips wrote the song to promote the Monterey International Pop Festival.

If you build it, they will come. If you promote it, they will come. ;)


 
This is about the Christmas-day truce and football game during WWI. I have it by a group called Aengus, who did a one-off Christmas album, but that’s not on YT. Here is is by the writer, hammered-dulcimer player Johm McCutcheon.

 
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We Are The World.

Helped to raise $60+ million for humanitarian aid in Africa and tUSoA.

 
Desert Angel.
Stevie Nicks.
1991.
Timespace: Best of Stevie Nicks album.


And then the wall came down.
Well we thought it was a great,...beginning.
People were free to cross the line.
But then something happened...in the desert.
Something broke the stars...into pieces.


They call us here, Operation Desert Angel.
In waiting.
Operation Desert Shield.
Operation Desert Storm.
Operation Desert Angel.


 
Bangla Desh.
George Harrison, Ravi Shankar, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, etc.
1971.
Concert for Bangladesh album.


Raise international awareness and fund relief for refugees from East Pakistan, following the Bangladesh Liberation war-related genocide.


 
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Jack Johnson, first Black heavyweight champion. This is music Miles wrote for a documentary. IMO some of Miles's best work; he put his heart into it.

 
Billy The Kid Suite.
Aaron Copland.
1938.


My dear Dad (RIP) played classical music for us kids growing up. Fell in love with classical music as a child, thanks to Aaron Copland.


 
Ghost Town.
Huns and Dr. Beeker.
2005.
The Middle Of Somewhere album.


Chernobyl.


The firemen were brave, they fought with honor.
But the blaze was more than it appeared to be.

And one by one they fell beside their comrades.
The victims of a foe they could not see.


 
Bob Dylan called this the best protest song he'd heard:

 
Here's a tearjerker from Steeleye Span about the Battle of Trafalgar, sung from a widow's point of view:

 
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