100th Anniversary of the Titanic

I wrote this story for a 4-H event, with the theme of the 100th anniversary of the RMS Titanic in mind.

I hope you enjoy!

Nearer, My God to Thee

Based on true lives and events on board the RMS Titanic

            “Come now, Lilli,” said Selma Asplund, as she leaned over her sweetly sleeping child. Her husband drew near and laid a heavy hand on her shoulder.

            “Let her sleep Love. I can carry her for now. There is no point in alarming the little ones. Third class is not yet being allowed up stairs.”

            “My dear, does it look as though there is truly something wrong?” Her beautiful eyes held a look of worry and fear.

            “I cannot tell for sure, but hurry, get Edvin and go to the boys. I’ll get Lillian and meet you there in a moment.”

            Selma hastily scooped up her little lad. His cheeks were rosy and his eyes closed peacefully in a serene sleep. As she looked at him, her mind filled with worry and fear for her little ones. The steward had said there was nothing to fear, but a mother’s heart is always cautious for her lambs. What if the ship were sinking? Would they all be able to escape?

            “Lord,” she whispered earnestly. “Protect my little ones. Let no harm befall them.”

She sighed, stroking the sleeping brow, “I leave them in your hands. Let Your will be done.”  As she lifted the toddler into her arms, peace flooded her like a huge wave. She closed her eyes and for a moment she was once again standing with her father, a young bride preparing to leave the land she had known her whole life.

            “Remember, Selma my dotter, da verds that God spoke to Joshua before they vent into da promised land,” her father had told her. “‘As I vas with Moses, so I vill be with thee: I vill not fail dee, nor forsake dee.’”

            She had been afraid of the unknown on that day, just as she was afraid of it now, but remembering that beloved verse gave her a new strength. God would be with her and her family this night.

            She hastened into the adjoining room where her three oldest sons were waiting.  Filip, Clarence and Carl were standing near the door, looking quite languid. Spotting his mother, Clarence rushed to her side.

            “Momma,” he asked. “Can I please go back to sleep like Lilli? I am so tired and Filip said I have to stay awake.”

            “No dear,” She replied. “Momma and Poppa’s hands are full. You must be a big strong man for Momma and stay awake.”

            “I’m so tired. Why can’t we go back to Grandmoder and Grandfoder’s house? I liked my bed by the fire.”

            “Clarence,” she said. “Please be Momma’s strong man and stay awake.”

            “Yes, Momma. I will stay awake and be a strong man for you. Besides, someone has to keep little Carl awake. He looks even more tired than me,” he said with a smile.     

            Mr. Asplund entered the room carrying little Lillian.

            “Come with me,” he said leading the way. The family filed out the door. The room they entered was quite crowded with anxious and fatigued passengers. The family huddled down together in a small corner of the room. By this time the noise had awaken Lillian and she was sitting contentedly on her father’s lap. Clarence looked over at his father and said, “Poppa, may we practice the Bible verses we were learning yesterday?”

            “Why yes, Clarence, I think that would be an excellent idea.” Then nodding to his wife, they began.

            “John chapter fifteen, verses twelve and thirteen. ‘This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’”

            Clarence sighed, “I like that verse Poppa. I hope I can be a man like Jesus who isn’t afraid to die for others.” Mr. Asplund turned his head as a tear came to his eye. He wondered if it would be just moments before his son would have to see this verse played out before his own eyes. He had been told that the lifeboats were being filled on deck with only the women and children. 

            Turning to his family he said, “I pray that all of my children will be willing to give of their lives for others.”  At that moment, crowds of third class passengers rushed out of the large room.

            “They must be letting third class up now,” observed Mr. Asplund. Suddenly a gruff looking man tapped Mr. Asplund’s shoulder.

            “Quickly, come with me if you want to make it to the top in time. There’s a steward leading people up.” The man lowered his voice to a whisper, “They say the ships sinking fast. You had better hurry with the youngins.”

            Mr. Asplund quickly picked up Lillian. “Come Selma. Come boys. We must go with this man.” They quickly obeyed and followed. He led them through the mass of people and down a hall, where they were met by a steward.

            “Why Poppa, the steward’s our friend Mr. Cox!” cried Filip. 

            “Yes son,” said Mr. Asplund. “Follow him. Don’t let him out of your sight.” Quickly the small group rushed through the maze of halls and stairs. The further up they got the louder the sound of screams and wailing became.  

            “Here!” yelled Mr. Cox, as he opened a side door. A blast of icy air hit Clarence’s face as he pushed through the door.

            “Filip!” yelled their father. “Hold on to Carl. Clarence! Here, take Lillian’s hand. I must find room on a boat for you all.” The ship was tilting quite far by this time and nearly all of the lifeboats had been launched. Selma looked around frantically trying to keep track of all the children through the mobs. She caught sight of her husband rushing towards her through the crowd.

            “You must come quickly!” he called. “The boats are nearly full.”  The family struggled through the crowd towards a boat.

            “Only two seats left!” called one of the sailors.

            “Please,” called out Mr. Asplund. “My wife and young ones!”

            “No,” cried Selma. “There must be enough room for my boys! I won’t leave without them; without you.”

            “No, my love,” said Mr. Asplund, taking her in his arms. “You, Edvin and Lillian must go. I love you my beloved bride.”

            “No!” she wailed. “I won’t go. Not without you! Please let me stay!”

            “Please love,” he said, as he pulled her towards the boat. She shook violently as she clung to the babe in her arms. Mr. Asplund took the baby and handed him down to a woman already in the boat. He turned back and embraced his wife for the last time. In that moment, Selma’s heart was torn in pieces. It felt as though she was being ripped apart.

            “God go with you my love,” he whispered in her ear. She gazed into his eyes and turned to the boat.

           

            As his father and mother embraced for the last time, Clarence looked at Lillian. She had always been his best friend. He didn’t want to leave her, but he stood tall and brave as he hugged her tightly. Even though he was scared, he must be momma’s strong man.

            “Good bye Lilli. I love you.”

            “I wuv you too,” she tearfully called as her father scooped her up and placed her into the boat. The three boys moved back with their father, away from the crowds. They watched, hearts pounding, as the last boats were launched and the faces of the ones they loved disappeared. The ship was leaning farther and farther every moment as Father and sons sought to push their way through the crowds. Suddenly, as if it were a soft breeze, a gentle tune floated past their ears. Mr. Asplund turned his head towards the band members who were standing only a few yards away, playing their last song. Recognizing the song, he lifted up his voice and began to sing the tender hymn. The boys, hearing their father’s voice turned and came to him. Little Clarence’s lower lip trembled as he looked up at his father. With a deep breath he too joined in the song, followed by Filip and Carl. The ship leaned farther. A piercing sound of crunching metal filled the air followed by a terrific explosion. Clarence closed his eyes and with his last breaths sang out:

“Still all my song shall be,

Nearer, my God, to Thee.
Nearer to Thee!”

T.R.

This is a quote from the book, "Presidential Praise," about Theodore Roosevelt's love for singing hymns.

Since the president enjoyed singing so boisterously in church during his era, this joke circulated:

"On T.R.'s first day in heaven, he told Saint Peter that the choir was quite weak and should be reorganized immediately. Saint Peter quickly assigned the task to T.R.

'Well,' said the former president. 'I need thousand sopranos, ten thousand altos, and ten thousand tenors.'

'But what about the basses?' inquired Saint Peter.

'Oh,' said T.R., 'I'll sing the bass.'"

Okay, so maybe it isn't a theologically sound joke....but, I thought it was pretty funny. :-) All you basses out there beware; Theodore Roosevelt just might give you a run for your money.

Are We the Greatest?

            Every generation has had its share of new inventions and advancements. Those that have gone before us have laid stones for us to build upon, and because of their achievements we are given the opportunity to achieve even more. Success even causes some to exalt themselves, believing that the world would be worse off without them, and that they have reached the height of knowledge. There are even those who would go so far as to say that we are the smartest generation. A verse that comes to mind is Ezekiel 28:17, “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.” Perhaps this is a warning for us. Just as generations before us, we have placed ourselves on a pedestal, but my fear is that just like men of old, we shall soon be knocked down and replaced with another god.

            On July 2, 1881, tragedy struck across the U.S. as President James Garfield was shot at a railroad station by the insane Charles Guiteau. In the moments that followed, some of the most horrendous acts of insanitation were committed. The doctors that examined Garfield in that station showed no hesitation as they plunged bare, unwashed fingers into the wound, inserting thousands of germs off the station floor into his back. Dr. Willard Bliss, the doctor that cared for the dying Garfield, performed other exploratory surgeries and such in search of the bullet all in the most unsanitary methods. It is a shame that five years earlier this same doctor had ignored a man named Dr. Joseph Lister and the World’s fair in New York. Lister had been a pioneer in the field of antiseptic surgery and had greatly reduced the infection rates in his hospital. Unfortunately, at the World’s Fair, many American doctors refused to believe in Lister’s methods. Due to their pride and ignorance, President Garfield and countless others, died from infection and blood poisoning. If he had been shot in the same way fifteen years later, he would have been nearly recovered within two weeks.

            Although doctors in the eighteen hundreds, such as Dr. Bliss, knew a lot about surgery and medicine, they did not know enough. Ultimately, when the time came for action they failed, because they would not believe that they were wrong. They had closed their minds to any new ideas that may be and in fact were right. Far too often this very same attitude is seen in the way scientists and doctors’ work. They decide that one way is the best and they close their minds to all others. There is so much more for us to learn just as there was so much for those doctors to learn. If we close our mind to new discoveries, because we have already reached the top we will quickly find ourselves at the bottom.

            Garfield’s life could have been saved if Dr. Bliss had headed Dr. Lister’s antiseptic advice. I can’t help but wonder how many lives today would be saved if people were willing to put their pride in a box and realize that they may be wrong. While this example is an example from the medical world, this same concept applies to everyone. When we allow our pride to get in the way, we miss out on the world of wisdom and knowledge that God has for us. We have learned a lot, much of it due to the stepping stones laid down by past generations, but we have not learned it all.

            Fifteen years after Garfield’s death he would have been fine. The doctors would have known how to find and remove the bullet in only a few hours and he would have been on his way to recovery. Fifteen years from now we will know so much more than we know now, that is, if we humble ourselves. If we continue in a state of pride and vanity with closed hearts and sealed minds, God will curse us as Ezekiel warned. We are not the greatest. No matter how much we discover and accomplish we will never know it all. Only God knows it all. He is the greatest.

Do Christian's Have A Roll In Politics?

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

John Adams

            These were the words of our second president, a founder of our country and a leader of our nation. Together with many others, he labored to form a more free government and give our young nation guidelines to go by. Although the men that formed our Constitution came from differing backgrounds and religious beliefs, one thing is certain; the United States was formed by religious men, meant for religious men. But today we see just the opposite happening. We see our Constitution being changed by an unmoral and nonreligious people. 

            With the sad deterioration of American’s morals, the question at hand becomes, “What are Christians supposed to do about it?” Unfortunately, most Christians don’t know the answer to this question. When election time comes around, many of them just end up choosing the “lesser of two evils,” which means still choosing an “evil.” What is even worse is that our morals have been so degraded that many acclaimed Christians do not consider Biblical morals in the ballot box at all. So what do we do? Should we simply pay, pray and obey, a philosophy followed by many of the Amish and Mennonites? Or should we step out and take a stand? According to author Rick Boyer, three of every four professing evangelical Christians do not even vote.[1]  It’s no wonder that a government created for a moral and religious people cannot stand, because the very people who still hold to those values cannot even cast their vote.

            Unfortunately, it’s a downward hill. If Christians cannot even cast their vote, then they cannot possibly help support a moral candidate, and heaven knows they couldn’t run for office themselves. The fact of the matter is, if Christians don’t do it, someone else will. And that someone else is probably going to be a candidate that goes against righteous morals. Then we get to listen to the complaints and whining of unhappy people, who didn’t have the decency to vote, but have no problem getting upset over the results.

            What Christians need to realize is that just because we are headed downhill does not mean that we cannot turn around and start heading back up. Yes, it is going to be a much harder trek, but that did not seem to frighten our founding fathers. They gave their very lives creating and protecting the freedoms that we have. What we need to do is start standing up for what is right and not choosing the less evil, but rather choosing candidates that have morals. Of course, for some of us, the words “independent” or “third-party” make us squirm, but if enough Christians started standing up for what is right, politicians might catch on, in fact some of them have already. 

            Matthew 5:13-16 says, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” This is a Christians roll in politics; to shine in a dark world, whether that means running for public office, helping and supporting Godly men or voting. We cannot be passive and let our nation fall into shambles. We must protect our freedoms and our Constitution. So to answer the question, "Do Christians have a roll in politics?" the answer is, "YES!" The only question remaining is, "Will Christians have the courage to take a stand in politics?"

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[1] Rick Boyer, “It’s Not Too Late For America” http://www.thelearningparentblog.com/2010/10/30/its-not-too-late-for-america/

Hymns: George Washington to James Monroe

From George Washington to James Monroe

            The United States of American is known for its rich heritage and the great men who founded it. These men are known for many of their attributes and accomplishments, but not often do people dig deeper to get a glimpse into the lesser parts of these men’s lives. While the music that these men listened to and enjoyed might seem like an unimportant detail, it gives us a fuller, clearer view of who these men were. This last month I have studied our first five founding Presidents; studying not just their presidency, but also studying the music (namely hymns) that they enjoyed.

            George Washington: This man who left probably the largest legacy on our Nation was not only a devout Christian, but also a lover of music. Known as his favorite hymn, the song "How Happy Is He Born" and Blessed is one of the best descriptions of Washington’s life that I have ever read. This humble, Virginian frontiersmen became a national hero during the French and Indian War which led to his entrance into politics. Known for his great honesty and humility, Washington understood his dependence on God. Providence protected him many times in his life against all odds.

 He had a love for good music and even though he himself may not have been very musical, he made a very large effort to ensure that his step-children and grand-children had proper musical education. Alexander Renigale, a popular composer at the time, performed and taught for the Washington household. Washington enjoyed different kinds of music including opera. Although, his favorite hymn may not be very well known now, it is a hymn the needs to be resurrected. The powerful truths of the song can be seen throughout his entire life and give us an even stronger idea of who Washington was and what he believed.

            John Adams: Being the second President and following in the footsteps of a man like Washington, Adams had his fair share of trials. At first glance, it does not appear that music played very much of a role in this President's life, but that is most likely because of his strong Puritan background. He did however write about some of the different denominational singing that he enjoyed and it was he who is responsible for first bringing the U.S. Marine Band to the White House. To this day the band is known as "the President's own band."

His favorite known hymn was "How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings Fair," by: John Milton, the author of “Paradise Lost,” and “Paradise Regained.” The tune used is more commonly used for Watts' song, "O God Our Help In Ages Past." This hymn must have greatly comforted Adams as he left office quite un-liked by most people. In times of depression and discouragement it must have given him hope in Christ.

            Thomas Jefferson: Extremely intelligent and heavily influenced by Enlightenment thinking, it is easy to see how Jefferson came to be the primary author of The Declaration of Independence. He worked very hard to separate church from state and ensure religious freedom for the American people. He was probably one of the most musical Presidents. He played several instruments and had violin duets with his friend Patrick Henry. He also made sure that his daughters were well trained in music.

Jefferson was not just a lover of music, but he was a lover of good music. His favorite hymn was “Hark the Glad Sound! The Savior Comes,” by: Phillip Doddridge. (By the way, of the songs that we have done so far, this one is my favorite musically, although I enjoy singing all of them.) At the age of 74 he said that music was “the favorite passion” of his soul.[1]

            James Madison: Father of the Constitution, James Madison definitely left his mark. Like Jefferson, he was not an evangelical but he fought hard for religious freedom. During his Presidency, the War of 1812 broke out, which did not make him very popular. (One very common theme I have noticed in studying our first few Presidents is men who were great men and did amazing things, but were not very popular during their terms as President.)

Madison and his wife were very hospitable while he was in office, which made music a vital part of their lives. They were the first couple to purchase a pianoforte for the White House. His favorite hymn was “O God My Strength and Fortitude,” by: Thomas Sternhold, the groom of robes to Henry VIII of England.  There is great solace in this song that must have uplifted Madison many times.

            James Monroe: Born in the oldest county of Virginia, serving in the Militia during the Revolutionary War, serving in Congress, being minister to France, becoming Governor of Virginia for 3 terms and eventually gaining the rank of President, James Monroe ranks high up with the men who served as President before him. His presidency was known as the “era of good feelings,” and it was he who gave the address before Congress we now know as “The Monroe Doctrine.” (The cornerstone for America’s foreign policy)

            Music wise, we know very little about him. He was the first President to have an inaugural concert. His favorite hymn was “O Lord, I Would Delight In Thee,” by: John Ryland, Jr., who is the Baptist minister that baptized William Carey. (Sorry, I just love learning about those kinds of connections!)  It’s a shame that we do not know more about the music he enjoyed, (if he even enjoyed itJ) but he did have a wonderful favorite hymn.

[1]  From the book, Presidential Praise, By: C. Edward Spann & Michael E. Williams, Sr.

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New and Old - What Does It Matter?

A couple of Sunday's ago, I was telling a dear friend about a musician I found out about recently. His name is David Garett, and he is an absolutely amazing violinist. But, he does a lot more than play the violin. In fact, he is the leader of a band/group that basically modernizes music ranging from the Baroque to the Beatles. I have seen video footage from one of his concerts and it is really quite interesting...although, in a disturbing sort of way. It is rather difficult to describe the music. Play Vivaldi and add drums, electric guitar and some other modern rythmns and sounds; that's what his music is like. I would put a link to his website...but, when I looked it up I was rather disturbed with it. (He looks....interesting and has rather worldly pictures up, we'll just put it that way.) Now I must in all fairness say that some of the movie music that he did sounded neat, but the "rock symphonies," didn't flow well with me. ("Rock Symphonies" was the name of his C.D. and concert.)
So I was thinking about this and I began to wonder why this mix of the old and modern bothered me. I mean, the violin part was so beautiful that I could almost ignore the rest, but it still bothered me. I had let the issue go for a while, but last night my Dad, Mom, brother and I watched a movie that took place in Rome during the time of the gladitorial games and the music in the movie was so modern that it drove me nuts. Most of the music did not fit the movie or the times at all! This mix of ancient times and modern music brought back to mind David Garett's music. What is so wrong with this mix of new and old? Here is the conclusion that I have come to. I may be wrong, but this is what I thought of.

In music history I see a downgrade of musical order. Let's say we start with Baroque; very orderly, technical and exceedingly beautiful. Then we get into Classical; still orderly and technical (although not as much so as Baroque), but more emotional. Then you get into the Romantic era where order begins to slip and although you have some composers trying to hang on to traditional ways, many composers are branching out with strange melodies and discombobulated sounds. Heading into more modern music, order has sliped and now you get repetitive, off-beats meant to stir inward feeling in unatural ways.

I know this may not be the greatest outline of the eras, but as I have studied different composers throughout the different eras this is what I notice overall. Now, I think the reason that I do not like David Garett's mix of the new and old is because it is a mix of order and disorder. Mixing Vivaldi with electirc off-beats seems to destroy the order and technicality of Vivaldi, at least to my ears.
This sort of mixing is becoming more and more popular, but I must add that it is not all bad. My teacher is splendid at mixing Baroque and Classical music with different hymn arrangements. She is acctually working on recording a C.D. of some of them. But, she is very careful at matching the proper sounds and emotions together, ultimetaly creating an even more beautiful work of order and complexity. She isn't trying to modernize the old, rather she is using the old to aid her in making "newer" sounds better. The order and beauty of the old is placed into the new (that is to say, newer songs that still maintain order and harmony). I personally am enjoying getting to learn this art of mixing from her and am greatly blessed to be gaining this knowledge. One of my favorites of hers is a mix of "Immortal, Invisible," and one of Bach's Minuets.

In all things, we must be working and creating for the glory of God. We can do this by using the order and harmony that others have used to glorify God, but we must be careful not to mix order with disorder and harmony with disharmony, because that destroys much of the music's potential beauty.

In Christ,
Kaila


P.S. On a side note to all of my friends who love dancing like I do, click here to read an article written by a friend on how dancing can help teach orderlieness and harmony in music, as well as other things. You have to scroll down a little bit past the pictures to get to te article.

American Music

Happy late 4th of July to all! I hope everyone had a great time celebrating our Nation's independence. I know I sure did. Our family went to Old World Wisconsin for the first half of the day. Old World is one of my favorite places to go. I just love it. The setting was 1876, the 100 year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I decided that since it was the 4th I could get away with dressing up colonial style. It was very hot, but I had so much fun... even if I was a century out of style. :-)

They had an old fashioned band that played; the Harmony Coronet Band. It sounded so 1800’s and set the mood for the whole day. Back during this time in history, most counties had a band. It was a very important part of the community. Nowadays, it seems that most of what we get is school bands. :-( Too bad.

They marched around playing "Yankee Doodle" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic," and a few other songs. I think they also played "Hail Columbia" and "The Star Spangled Banner." During the flag raising ceremony they played "Doxology" while everyone sang.

In the park they did a concert and later they marched in the parade. It was great fun to see all of the people picnicking in the center of the town, listening to the band play. It really gave you that old time community feel.

Now for the main point of this post. After lunch, they had a hymn sing at the old church. It sounded beautiful having so many people crammed into such a small building and all singing their hearts out to the Lord. It was breath taking. Well, after singing hymns for a while, the band leader came in and gave us an important musical lesson. I am going to try to quote what he said to the best of my ability. It will not be word perfect, but you will hopefully get the point. He said, "I hear some people ask, 'What is Northern music and what is Southern music?' I don't really know and here's why. One very popular Civil War song was premiered in New York, (sounds Northern right?) was written in Ohio, (still Northern,) and President Abraham Lincoln had this song played at his inauguration. Very Northern right?"

(Mind you, I knew exactly which song this was, and I kept guessing it to my Mom. Important detail)

"That song was "Dixie," one of the most popular Confederate songs of the Civil War."

At this point I blurted out, a little too loud, "Yes! That's Dixie, I got it right."

The guy started laughing and said, "I see we have a Southern lady among us."

I am quite sure I turned red as I replied, "Well not exactly, I just like singing 'Dixie'."

So that was my "moment." Go ahead, laugh at me.

Continuing with his history lesson, he said, "Another song of the Civil War started out as a Southern revival song, "Canaan’s Happy Shore." Some Northern soldiers heard the song and put some rather vulgar words to it. Words too vulgar for me to repeat in front of the ladies and children." (I hate to admit it, but I (a lady) knew the name of that vulgar song, "John Brown's Body." Hehe)

"President Abraham Lincoln did not like that the soldiers sang these words, and asked Miss Julia Ward Howe if she would write some new ones. Of course she did, and that song is now known as "Battle Hymn of the Republic." So you see, I don’t know what is Southern music and I don't know what is Northern music, but I do know what is American music."

And of course, as he said that last line, he looked right at me the whole way through. Please, just let me melt! I do not think that he realized that I really do agree with him.

It was a good point though and one that we need to remember. While it is wonderful to study history and great to discuss these things, we must not let ourselves lose the Patriotism that we ought to have for our Nation under God. We may not agree with all of our leaders, but if we lose our Patriotism for the Nation that our forefathers fought and died to secure, we may just lose our Nation. "In God We Trust," let us never forget it!

Rachel, Kendra and I were asked to be Liberty Girls, in the parade. It was fun, but hot as we had to wear white robes over our already warm outfits. But, we survived and enjoyed every bit of it.

I am sure my Mom will be putting more pictures up later. It was the most Patriotic 4th of July we have ever celebrated.

After Old World Wisconsin, we joined our church family for a continuation of the celebration. Some of us girls were even able to get a few people over to the barn where we had a barn dance. Since we did not have music we sang out loudly, (can you guess?) Dixie, which I had the greatest fun singing out loudly. We sang some others like Mari’s Wedding and Yankee Doodle as well.   What a day!

Happy 4th of July Everyone!!!!!

In Christ,



Kaila

At Last! I've Found One!

I don't know about you, but I'm one that loves to find out that I live in the same area, am related to, share a birthday with etc. famous people. I just find it to be quite fun... well most of the time... until I found out some of the people I share birthdays with. Anyways, we discovered that we live around the area of this composer named Joseph Philbrick Webster, better known by his two most popular songs, "In the Sweet By and By," and Civil War song "Lorena." We have been studying "In the Sweet By and By," as our hymn this month, which is fantastic because all of the history is local. What's even better is that most of the history is from the time of the Civil War, so we've been studying the war in our area. Very fascinating stuff!

Back to Webster; this guy wrote tons of songs, including many Civil War songs. Being that he was a composer, he mainly wrote the music and not the words, but there are a few where he wrote both.

Click here to see a website full (and I mean FULL) of songs that he composed and wrote. If you click on the title you can hear the music, and if you click on the authors name, you can read the words.
Some of my favorites, (how can you possibly pick a favorite out of all of them?) are "The Irish Volenteer," "Lorena," "We Are But Young," "New Star Spangled Banner," "Mother Can I Go?" I could list off tons more, but you get the idea. I really like alot of his songs. It takes a while to get through them all, but oh is it worth it!

It's propably easy to see that I am excited to have found a well known (somewhat) composer from my lovely state and county, and I am even more thrilled to have found one that writes such good songs.
I hope you enjoy them as I do!

In Christ,
Kaila

Music of the War of 1812

We've been studying the War of 1812 in school as of late. 'Tis very interesting! I have learned about it before, but never as in depth as this time. There is so much to learn. One thing I realized from this study is that Americans like to make themselves look good and the opposing side to look bad. I would have never guessed that we Americans ever did anything wrong after reading what some people write in books. I am so glad there are at least a few people out there who are willing to show our failures and wrongs, as well as our triumphs and glories!

Anyways, this is supposed to be about music... someday I have got to start a history blog! There are quite a few songs from the War of 1812. One in particular being our National Anthem, which Francis Scott Key began writing on my birthday! (Okay, so it was written a few years prior to my birth.) :-) One of the most important types of music of that time was the music of the fifers and drummers. The songs these brave lads played, signaled the soldiers to do different things, from getting up, to advancing on the enemy. One drummer boy named Jarvis Hanks enlisted at the age of fourteen as a drummer boy.  He wrote about the terrors of battle and the danger that the musicians faced.

Probably the most well known song of the War of 1812, is the Star Spangled Banner. Francis Scott Key wrote this song while on board a British war ship. He witnessed the attack made on Fort McHenry through the night of September 13th. He watched and waited till dawn, and then on the glorious morning of September 14th, through the smoke and the "rockets red glare" and "bombs bursting in air," he saw the "broad stripes and bright stars" that were "so gallantly streaming." And just think, all of that on the wonderful date of September fourteenth, my birthday! I like history, what can I say?

The War of 1812 also witnessed a lot of naval battles for which songs were written. Songs like, "Chesapeake and Shannon," "The Constitution and the Guerriere" and "Ye Parliament of England," sang of these naval battles. Be sure to click on the song titles and read the words. I especially liked "Ye Parliament of England."

"The Hunters of Kentucky" tells about the battle at New Orleans, where General Andrew Jackson led the Americans in defeat against the British. The battle took place after the war was supposed to have ended, but since news traveled slow they didn't know that until after the battle.

Some other great songs are, "The Patriotic Diggers" and "How Happy the Soldier". The latter was written during the Revolutionary War, but became popular again during the War of 1812. Of course, there were many other songs written and sung at that time. These are just a few that I learned about and enjoy. If you have any other favorites for this war, please share them.

We have much to thank God for in the history of our nation. More people ought to study the true history and read the true stories behind what happened. It is amazing to see God's great, sovereign providence in the history of the United States of America.

Just remember, the most well known and important song from the War of 1812, was the one written on my birthday. Now that's something worth blogging about.  (Just Kidding!)

In Christ,
Kaila