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Music & the Revolution
Give Me Liberty
Music was a powerful force during the American Revolution—spreading the word and hope of liberty, building a jaunty confidence in the rebellion’s leaders who Americans lauded in the lyrics. This burgeoning pop culture repertoire of songs also unified America’s wildly diverse populations—everyone was singing them. New England fishermen, frontier trappers, yeoman farmers, plantation estate owners, recent and often illiterate immigrants from Ireland or Germany or the Netherlands, and the Age of Reason English elite whose families had been in the colonies for generations.
Music became such an important thread in Nathaniel's story that I punctuate each section with popular songs. I begin with songs of lamentation, of oppression. Those give way quickly to witty satires of British politics and life to finally full-blown calls to arms. The sequence mirrors the patriots’ growing sense of righteous resolve and saucy comradery as well as Nathaniel’s evolution from beaten-down, frightened indentured servant to a young, resilient patriot fifer. One of my favorite patriot songs, BTW, was their turning a gloating celebration of British might, “the British Grenadiers,” into a defiant “Free America!” Same tune. Very different words. Quite cheeky! Humor as protest.
Music also became a way for Basil, a gifted violinist, to coax Nathaniel into opening up, daring to trust again, and finding his voice as he learns to play the flute. Music is magical that way! Offering the shy a dialogue of sound and emotions that can remain undefined, a wondrous self-expression and communion in its give and take between performers. A harmony between souls that is a sacred thing to be relished, says Basil.
And on the battlefield—music literally saved lives. Fifes and drums, always in pairs, not only boosted morale in encampments and lightened the continentals’ step during a long march, they sounded standardized phrases the soldiers would have also memorized the meaning of to call them to wake up, clean the privies, or collect wood for fires. During battles, drums and fifes—wooden piccolos with piercing high registers that could carry over the noise of fighting—were responsible for sounding life-or-death orders for flanking, for advancement, for cease fire, for retreat. Preteen boys.
For more on fifers please go to that section.
To see and hear fife and drum calls:
https://www.
To learn more and hear Colonial music:
https://www.americanrevolution.org/songs.php
https://www.
https://www.wrti.org/post/how-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://youtu.be/v-N0ckzU1mI?si=97ljv6B-i8l9iiz2
The power of music during the Revolution:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.varsitytutors.com/
