by Mary Klepper
This weekend as I was driving through Virginia, I passed several Civil War battlefields. I started humming and it took a second to realize it was a song I hadn’t heard in a very long time.
The song was “The Day the Sun Stood Still” on the album “The Civil War” by Frank Wildhorn, Gregory Boyd and Jack Murphy with Music by Frank Wildhorn (album cover above). I saw the musical in Baltimore in 2000 and was excited to see Larry Gatlin in the role of the Southern Captain. I remember being just as excited to find out that morning that John Schneider (Bo Duke from the Dukes of Hazzard) had taken over the role.
I remember that his microphone broke but he just raised his voice and kept singing. A stagehand soon rushed out on stage and handed him a handheld microphone. He said “thank you” in the middle of the song and just kept going.
My car was broken into in 2004 and my CDs were stolen which is why I hadn’t thought about the musical in years. It is such a beautiful, soulful album that it’s no wonder it has stuck with me for so long. I found the album on Apple Music and suddenly my drive was much faster!
The lyricists visited battlefields in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Tennessee, read letters and diaries from soldiers, nurses, civilians, studied newspapers and political pamphlets, and read speeches and letters by the main characters of the Civil War.
If you’re interested in listening to the album, it’s on Apple Music and Spotify. This is the artwork of the album so you choose the correct one:
It’s a star-studded recording and includes Charlie Daniels as the narrator, James Garner as President Abraham Lincoln, Danny Glover as Frederick Douglass, and Maya Angelou as Sojourner Truth. She also recites a section of her poem “And Still I Rise.” These readings are interspersed throughout the album.
If you don’t have those apps, I’ve added YouTube links for each track. There’s a note on each one that mentions comments have been turned off, but if you click on the “…more”, the lyrics/transcription are displayed.
Narrator: Civil War Musical 01 – Prologue
Civil War Musical 02 – Brother my Brother
The first song hits you right in the feels, capturing the division in families as one son fights for the North; the other for the South. It’s a plea for unity and understanding in a devastating conflict.
More than 3,000 Marylanders served on both sides of the conflict at the Battle of Gettysburg. They could be found in all branches of the Army and on all parts of the battlefield. Brother against brother: especially on the slopes of Culp’s Hill. Maryland was a Southern state that did not secede from the Union. In fact, the cannons that Lincoln installed on Federal Hill to curb Mobtown still face downtown Baltimore.
Maryland statue at Gettysburg
Abraham Lincoln: Civil War Musical 03 – Lincoln: The Better Angels of Our Nature
Civil War Musical 04 – By the Sword/Sons of Dixie
The soldiers for both sides are done with training and full of bravado. They are untested in battle but each side is ready to defend what they believe and they think the war will be over quickly. The Union will make the Rebels pay “By the Sword”. The Confederates focus on the pride of Southern heritage, the familial bonds of the soldiers, and the deep sorrow felt in the aftermath of the war.
Civil War Musical 05 – Tell My Father
In the war’s first major battle, a Union soldier lays dying and begs his friend to tell his father he died with honor and upheld the family name. He left for the war a boy and he died a man.
Frederick Douglass: Civil War Musical 06 – My Name Is Frederick Douglass
Civil War Musical 07 – Freedom’s Child
I love this song. It’s based on the words of Frederick Douglass – one of Maryland’s great heroes. An enslaved man from the Eastern Shore, he was able to make his way to freedom in the North at 20 years old. Part of the song reminds me of this verse to “O Holy Night”:
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,
And in his name all oppression shall cease,
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful Chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise his Holy name!
The song also recalls the words written in the Declaration of Independence “that all men are created equal” but the song reminds us that at that time it did not include black men (or any women at all). The song tells us to write it again “in letters black and strong”. A great song for the sound of Hootie & the Blowfish.
Civil War Musical 08 – Missing You (My Bill)
A young wife of a Union soldier writes him a letter telling him of her daily struggles to keep the house running and their family together. When you listen to Deana Carter sing, notice it’s young and timid. You can hear the fear in her voice.
Civil War Musical 09 – If Prayin’ Were Horses
…all of us would ride. This heartbreaking song tells the story of a married enslaved couple as they learn they are about to be “sold apart”. The domestic slave trade separated almost half of enslaved people from their spouses and parents.
Civil War Musical 10 – Virginia
An officer in General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia remembers a time before the War. The beauty and peace of his “country” still runs through his soul and he prays that he sees it that way again.
Civil War Musical 11 – The Day the Sun Stood Still
One of my favorites. Travis Tritt’s gritty voice takes us right to Antietam in Sharpsburg, Maryland. It is the bloodiest one day battle in American history. 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Army of Northern Virginia’s first invasion into the North and led Abraham Lincoln to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
The soldier prays for sunset but it never comes. He watches the battle unfold like Joshua’s endless day in the Bible:
12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 And the sun stood still and the moon stopped, until the nation avenged itself on its enemies as it is written in the Book of Jashar. So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting almost a full day.
14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man, because the Lord fought for Israel.
(Joshua 10:12-14)
Civil War Musical 12 – Oh Be Joyful!
Union soldiers sit around the campfire celebrating the benefits of their homemade whisky while having a night “off” from the war.
Frederick Douglass: Civil War Musical 13 – Frederick Douglass: The Destiny of America
Civil War Musical 14 – Father How Long?
An exhausted freedom seeker is now a grave digger for the Union Army. He weeps for his people and the dead and asks God how long until he can sing Freedom’s Song. Michael Bell’s beautiful bass-baritone pulls you in to feel his despair.
When I first heard this song, I immediately thought of Paul Robeson’s “Ol’ Man River” from the musical Show Boat: “I get weary and sick of trying. I’m tired of living and scared of dying.”
I was not surprised to learn that Michael Bell was nominated for a Tony for his portrayal of Joe in the 1994 revival of Show Boat.
By the way, the musical is based on the 1926 novel Show Boat by Edna Ferber. She was inspired by her time on the James Adams Floating Theatre, a showboat that toured the Chesapeake Bay. Ferber was the author of two other books that became movies: Cimarron and Giant.
The Chesapeake’s Floating Theatre
Reprise: Civil War Musical 15 – Reprise: Brother My Brother
A Nurse’s Diary: Civil War Musical 16 – A Nurse’s Diary
Civil War Musical 17 – I Never Knew His Name
Cut down in their prime, young men on both sides pass through a hospital while the nurse protects her heart and her mind by never knowing their names.
Dr. Maya Angelou: Civil War Musical 18 – Still I Rise
Civil War Musical 19 – River Jordan
A group of enslaved people sing for their deliverance from the misery of slavery to the paradise of freedom.
Abraham Lincoln: Civil War Musical 20 – Lincoln: The Bottom Is Out of the Tub
Civil War Musical 21 – How Many Devils?
The young soldiers we met in “By the Sword/Sons of Dixie” are now battle-weary and demoralized by the bloody reality of war. How many more times do they have to fight? How many more have to die? How many more hells must they endure?
Civil War Musical 22 – Old Gray Coat
The perfect song for Trace Adkins’ gruff bass-baritone. The Confederate soldier sings the praises of his uniform – a metaphor for his unwavering loyalty to the Confederacy.
A Confederate husband and wife savor the final moments of his leave.
White House Servant: Civil War Musical 24 – The White House at Night
Civil War Musical 25 – A Candle in the Window
A White House servant observes President Lincoln whom she sees every night as she leaves work: “a figure in a chair, always sitting there, quiet as a prayer”.
Civil War Musical 26 – Greenback
Mr. Autolycus Fell describes his cynical philosophy of life regarding his one true God: Money.
Sojourner Truth: Civil War Musical 27 – Soujorner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman? (Dr. Maya Angelou)
Civil War Musical 28 – Someday
The unmistakable voice of Patti LaBelle tells of an enslaved plantation woman who teaches the promise of freedom to the enslaved children gathered around her. With her unwavering faith in God, she believes they will all be free.
Civil War Musical 29 – Regimental Drummer
The war-weary confederate soldier carries on in memory of his regiment’s fallen drummer boy.
This song always reminds me of John Clem. Not yet 10 years old, Clem’s service was refused by the newly formed 3rd Ohio. Later he joined the 22nd Michigan. They agreed to let him follow the regiment, adopting him as a mascot and unofficial drummer boy. The officers also chipped in to pay his monthly salary of $13 before he finally was allowed to officially enlist in 1863.
Clem became a national celebrity for his actions at Chickamauga. With a sawed down musket, he joined in the defense of Horseshoe Ridge. As the Confederate forces surrounded them a Confederate colonel spotted Clem and shouted either “I think the best thing a mite of a chap like you can do is drop that gun” or called him a “damned little Yankee devil.” In the Civil War version of “Nuts!”, Clem shot the colonel and successfully made his way back to Union lines. He was promoted to sergeant, the youngest soldier ever to become a noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Army, and became known as “The Drummer Boy of Chickamauga.”
Clem was discharged from the Army in 1864 at age 13. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army where he had a successful military career. Clem retired on the eve of U.S. entry into World War I in 1917 with the rank of major general. He tried to rejoin but President Wilson turned the 66 year old down. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Civil War Musical 30 – I’ll Never Pass This Way Again
The soldier reminds us to take pleasure in the little things as we’ll never have this day again. It’s also for the soldiers who have died on this Hallowed Ground.
Journey Through Hallowed Ground: This National Heritage Area stretches from Gettysburg to Monticello. I used to be a Certified Tourism Ambassador for this 180 mile trek through American history.
Abraham Lincoln: Civil War Musical 31 – Lincoln: Letter to Mrs. Bixby
Civil War Musical 32 – Five Boys
President Lincoln sends a letter to Mrs. Lydia Bixby, a Massachusetts woman who has made the ultimate sacrifice: five of her sons have been killed in battle. In her grief and faith, she imagines a better life in a better place for her boys.
It is now known that at least two of her sons survived the war and after her death, her loyalty to the Union came under suspicion.
Civil War Musical 33 – Judgement Day
An exhausted Confederate officer contemplates the consequences of his battlefield decisions, especially the men he’s lost: “And every day, for me, is Judgement Day”.
This beautiful song is based on a letter from Union soldier Sullivan Ballou to his wife Sarah. On the eve of a battle, he sends his pledge of undying love.
Civil War Musical 35 – The Honor of Your Name
I could listen to this song all day long. The young wife we met in “Missing You (My Bill)” learns of her husband’s death. She writes him one last letter vowing to keep the promises they made to each other. Trisha Yearwood sings this song – note her more mature, more powerful voice as this woman has had to raise their children and take care of the household alone while he’s off to war. The strength of her voice tells us she’s going to be alright.
Civil War Musical 36 – Northbound Train
A young Union soldier writes home: he’s headed home in a month and that after meeting a Southern soldier, he realizes that soldiers are all the same. He tells Abbie not to ask him about the war; he doesn’t want to break her heart with the things he’s done.
This song has always reminded me of the Christmas Truce of WWI. When I listened to it again today, it brought to mind the story of Iwo Jima veteran Jack Watson coming face-to-face with a Japanese soldier and both turning away in exhaustion.
Civil War Musical 37 – Last Waltz for Dixie
On the eve of Gettysburg, the officer from “Virginia” encourages his company to do the “undoable”.
A Confederate victory at Gettysburg would have changed the course of the Civil War. The Union victory was a turning point in the war, ending the Confederacy’s last attempt to invade the North.
Narrator: Civil War Musical 38 – In Great Deeds
Civil War Musical 39 – The Glory
This song is a spectacular finale. Both armies defend their case for waging the bloody war to the end. They are interrupted by an angel who descends to the battlefield and takes the fallen soldiers home.
In a call back to the Gettysburg Address, the armies and the angel remind us of the soldiers’ last full measure of devotion.
