Stephen Foster Monument, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Sculptor: Giuseppe Moretti (1857—1935).
When you go to another country or another county on the UK, tune into the local radio station as you drive along that dull motorway. Why?
1 It will keep you awake so you avoid accidents; you can sleep at night.
2 It will be an entertainment on a dull motorway.
3 It will be a social education.
4 You will be up with the local and worldwide news, well-informed, in touch with local people, which endears you to them and helps you develop rapport and sympathy and enjoy their company.
5 You have a subject of conversation when you meet people at the other end.
6 You will be energised.
7 You will be calmed.
8 You will be optimistic.
9 You will not be wasting time driving.
10 You don't have to talk to entertain the passengers and drivers.
UK
In the UK you can tune your car radio to radio 3 for classic music and 4 for talks. if your car or coach is stuck you can keep everybody amused with rounds of classic songs. At school and on holiday I would hear English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh classics such as: When Irish eyes are smiling; In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty ...(Molly Malone); I lost my darling Clementine. Bring back my bonny to me; A Gordon For me; You take the high road and I'll take the low road and I'll be in Scotland before thee; Men of Harlech. Old Lang Syne.
You can do a Beatles tour in London or Liverpool. the Beatles music and songs and stories are everywhere.
USA
When I went to live in the USA music was even more strongly promoted everywhere. I always feel very stirred and emotional when I hear: My (or mine) eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord ...
My mind automatically fills in the next line
They are treading out the vineyards where the grapes of wrath are stored ....
Here are some of my experiences when travelling.
I found relics of Elvis in many cities, cars and guitars, not only in Graceland.
In Opryland where I went to write about the hotel and the museums the staff had tuned the bedroom radio to play country music when I opened the door of the hotel bedroom.
Dolly Parton. Jim Reeves. Garth Brooks. The Dixie Chicks.
That's why I hang my hat in Tennessee.
There is a house in New Orleans
Chicago, Chicago.
New York, New York. My kind of town.
Shuffle off to Buffalo.
I get my kicks on route 66.
AROUND THE USA
Diving through the USA I heard a lot of country music. I picked up a lot of Americanisms by listening to talk shows and songs.
I learned to love country and western songs for their comments on life, stories, and sometimes smart twist ending.
Everybody who speaks English is likely to have heard the traditional songs from George and Ira Gershwin, and all the musicals such as Oklahoma, Elvis classics - Bob Dylan's Blowing in the Wind, Bridge over troubled water, the Everly Brothers, plus more modern classics such as Cabaret, and Hallelujah.
When I visited the Stephen Forster Memorial Museum I was amazed by the number of American songs I had learned as a child in the UK. For example:
My Old Kentucky Home
Oh Susanna.
Country Music
Here are some of my favourite country and western songs:
Country Roads
Coal Miner's Daughter
Some Favourite US songs
I want to be in America (West Side Story)
CANADA
Museum in the National Music Centre,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Music_Centre
Some places to visit in the USA
MUSIC INFORMATION
Pittsburgh
Stephen Forster Memorial and Museum.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Foster
https://www.godtube.com/news/10-great-country-songs-that-tell-a-story.html
https://songsear.ch/song/Gladys-Knight-The-Pips/It-Should-Have-Been-Me/164397
https://www.metrolyrics.com/why-didnt-i-think-of-that-lyrics-doug-stone.html
https://songsear.ch/song/Garth-Brooks/Unanswered-Prayers/245643
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnnyhorton/whenitsspringtimeinalaskaitsfortybelow.html
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/07/12-songs-with-twist-endings.
Fifty songs - and more like 100 twist endings
https://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=41&threadid=81169
https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-ideas/proposal-songs
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/03/musicians-statues-and-murals-more.html
TRAVEL INFORMATION
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opryland_USA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Music_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum
visitbritain.com
visittheusa.co.uk
About The Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have many more posts on statues of musicians and houses and trails, and songs, such as Amy Winehouse, The Beatles, Handel and Jimi Hendrix. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.
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