Celebrate Pioneer Day with "Songs of the Mormons," from the Library of Congress

Happy Pioneer Day!


Music has been a part of the Mormon tradition from the very
beginning.  Whether it was hymns or folk songs, it seems
there was music created to mark most important occasions. 
For instance, we have the dedication of the Kirtland, Ohio,
temple in 1836 to thank for the hymn "The Spirit of God"
appearing in our hymnals today.

The wagon company of 1847 was hardly under way before William
Clayton came up with his new version of "All is Well" which we
know as "Come, Come Ye Saints."  And it was just over 150
years ago when the first of many handcart companies set out for
the Rocky Mountains, pushing and pulling their way across a
continent to the tune of "The Handcart Song."  Plus there
were the humorous songs about the railroad and the bad influence
it was bound to bring to the territory.

 This week in celebration of Pioneer Day on July 24th—a
state holiday in Utah—we feature Mormon folk songs from the
Library of Congress Archive of Folk Culture.  These examples
were recorded in 1946 and 1947 by Austin Fife and his wife Alta
on a trip covering Utah, gathering songs passed on in the folk
tradition—either learned firsthand from the writer or passed down
in families and communities through the generations.  



That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull.