History and Music : The Battle Of New Orleans

American history is a rather funny flexible thing. We're often changing things, and a lot of battles are memorialized in different ways. Today we're looking at the song The Battle of New Orleans, which is about a Battle that actually happened in 1815. It's commemorated in a song that takes a number of  liberties with the facts. But we all know that there are artists licenses that are frequently taken.

There are two versions of this song though. After all, every battle does have 2 sides. Sometimes the side that doesn't come out on top doesn't take it all that well. But it's still a good song no matter which version you prefer. I think they're an interesting perspective look at the situation, even though it's kind of humorous. They're also a sign of the times.

Even this long length of time after the battle, there was still a need to have two separate windows to look at it. It's fascinating. Not completely unusual, since no one wants to be known as a coward  or as the losing side. Whether it's in good humor or not doesn't matter. People like to have at least some  positive light on their own side.

Just thought some of you might enjoy this small thing to think about. We often see songs done in English and other languages, but we often forget to think about how they change when that happens.