Jobie Reviews Music 34: Sings Civil War Songs Of The North (album). Requested by Hans.

Sings Civil War Songs Of The North is a 1961 folk album by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Compared to its sister album, Sings Civil War Songs Of The South, the album has a much darker feel to it. Most of its songs describe the horrors that Union soldiers went through during the Civil War, including the track “Virginia’s Bloody Soil”, which describes what happens in a battle that takes place in Virginia.

Of course, there are more heartfelt songs in here too, such as “Just Before The Battle, Mother”, which sees an unknown Union soldier saying goodbye to his mother. Also like its sister album, Ford creates a folk sound that brings these songs to life, resulting in an album just as good as the other one.

Some highlights from the album include “Virginia’s Bloody Soil”, “Just Before The Battle, Mother”, “The Girl I Left Behind”, and “Marching Song”. “Marching Song”, in particular, is a nice anthem to the “negro” division of the Union army, with pride in the division very apparent in the song. Since the song is talking about a division of the Union which consisted of freed slaves, the song includes many “Hallelujahs!” and general celebration throughout its runtime.

Overall, if you listened to Sings Civil War Songs Of The North and wanted more like it, then this is the perfect album to follow it up with. Ford delivers the same feel that made that album great in this one as well.

Overall rating:

8.8/10

LINK TO ALBUM:

https://open.spotify.com/album/0Vw9PV0pNEVpHJ5qsiqwHi?si=DpTA_QaGSfOEtA2VX9si7A