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Category: Fine and Performing Arts

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

“When Johnny Comes Marching Home” Marches Across Time

Posted by: Cheryl Lederle

Sometimes listeners are surprised to find a familiar tune lurking behind the lyrics of a new song. Songwriters may revisit and reuse existing compositions, hoping to catch a listener’s attention through something familiar. The Civil War era song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" not only resembles an earlier song, but also inspired a number of parodies.

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Music educators: How might you imagine using our resources?

Posted by: Danna Bell

Back in December 2017, a colleague of ours here at the Library published a short piece in the Music Educator's Journal highlighting the many video recordings of musical performances at the Library of Congress hosted on the Library’s YouTube channel. Focusing on videos documenting the American Folklife Center’s Homegrown concert series, Lee Ann Potter (Director, Educational Outreach) noted that these resources offer great value to teachers and students. What is that value, and how can we here at the AFC help realize it?

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Former Teacher Finds Songwriting Inspiration in Library’s Digital Newspapers

Posted by: Cheryl Lederle

Rob Williams first used the Library’s digital newspaper collections more than a decade ago as a high-school teacher of U.S. history in Powhatan County, Virginia, near Richmond. Today, he’s a recording artist—he released his third album, “An Hour Before Daylight,” in October. But he still draws inspiration from the same online resources that captivated his history students.