British historian Simon Sebag Montefiore assembles a playlist of great pop songs about history
I think “Sympathy for the Devil” by the Rolling Stones—its lyrics narrated by the devil perpetrating the great crimes of the 20th century—is the greatest history song of all time, but there are many others.
Mark Reynolds, in an email, considers Canadian history music:
How good the Tragically Hip were at making Canadian history and places seem truly epic: “Bill Barilko disappeared that summer…” still grabs me every time. Bobcaygeon is a favorite too. But there’s so many more from folk music (The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, probably half of Stan Rogers’ catalogue, Goin’ Down the Road by Bruce Cockburn, Un Canadien Errant). I suspect there’s probably a lot in hip hop as well. I wish someone would do a list like this for Canada. Know any Canadian history bloggers that could crowd-source it?
Mary-Ellen Carter, by Stan Rogers, from Youtube:
