Song 4 "Brave Wolfe"

Brave Wolfe is a ballad about the Battle of Quebec in 1759. Martin O'Connor and Wynton Marsalis do an instrumental version of the ballad.


When it was written.

The Martin O'Connor version was composed in 1997.

What it is about.

It is about the Battle of Quebec and how people in America at the time of the American revolution were ready and willing to go to battle and die so that their country would be free. Although the lyrics differ version to version, the gist is that a brave young man goes away to the Battle of Quebec. He and General Montcalm go bravely into battle, but the young man is injured, close to death. He asks someone how the battle is going and learns that they are winning. With that, he dies.



How the story is told.


The story is told in this version entirely through the music. (Of course... there are no words). However, it conveys emotion very well, despite the lack of words. Even if you don't know what the song is about, you will feel the same sadness and excitement. It starts out slow and melancholy, eventually growing bolder, still quiet and slow though. If you know the story, it is easy to follow the journey of the brave young man getting called to war, his bravery, and finally his death.



My thoughts.

I loved that the song didn't have any words. Somehow it seems more emotional without them. I listened to a few versions with the lyrics I just didn't like them as much.

What we can learn.


I must admit, you can learn more from looking at the lyrics than from the instrumental version. But I was especially struck by the sadness at the beginning of the song, when the young man was called to war. It helps you to understand the sacrifices that so mant people made for America, even before the USA was in existance.