We Owe No Allegiance

We owe no allegiance, we bow to no throne;
our ruler is law and the law is our own ….
They claim our possession, the pitiful knaves –
the tribute we pay shall be prisons and graves.

Of some relevance to the holiday just passed:

As a kid I had (may possibly still have, packed away inaccessibly in a box somewhere) a much-loved set of four LPs of authentic historical American songs issued by National Geographic as part, I believe, of the Bicentennial celebration in 1976. They were:

• Songs of Rebels and Redcoats [Liner notes under “more images”]
• Songs of the Civil War [Liner notes under “more images”]
• Steamboat’s A-Comin’ [Liner notes under “more images”]
• Cowboy Songs [Liner notes under “more images”]

(Check out the links to the liner notes above, as they were fascinating, and beautifully illustrated.)

My favourites among the set were the Rebels & Redcoats one and the Cowboy one. They’ve sadly never been re-released on CD. YouTube seems to have the first side (only, alas) of Rebels & Redcoats, and the whole of the Civil War one; haven’t listened to these in full yet but I’ve posted them below. (One of my favourites among the Rebels songs starts at 15:28. Check it out!)) If anyone has the rest and is inclined to post them on YouTube, they would earn the thanks of a grateful nation.