[Kathryn Kalinak]How the West Was Sung Music in the Westerns of John Ford(pdf){Zzzzz}

James Stewart once said, "For John Ford, there was no need for dialogue. The music said it all." This lively, accessible study is the first comprehensive analysis of Ford's use of music in his iconic westerns. Encompassing a variety of critical approaches and incorporating original archival research, Kathryn Kalinak explores the director's oft-noted predilection for American folk song, hymnody, and period music. What she finds is that Ford used music as more than a stylistic gesture. In fascinating discussions of Ford's westerns—from silent-era features such as Straight Shooting and The Iron Horse to classics of the sound era such as My Darling Clementine and The Searchers —Kalinak describes how the director exploited music, and especially song, in defining the geographical and ideological space of the American West.

Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (September 17, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0520252349
ISBN-13: 978-0520252349

Editorial Reviews
Review
“Kalinak artfully weaves the history and pedigree of nearly every tune [in] Ford’s Westerns . . . with their social and cultural meanings.”
(Notes 2010-07-06)

“Thoroughly researched and well-written. . . . Illuminating.”
(American Studies Journal 2010-07-14)

From the Inside Flap
"How the West Was Sung is beautifully written, judiciously argued, and thoroughly researched. Even if you have a tin ear, Kathryn Kalinak will have you hearing Ford's Westerns in an entirely new way. This brilliant book represents a complete rethinking of films we thought we already knew."—Krin Gabbard, author of Black Magic: White Hollywood and African American Culture

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

Academic look at music in the John Ford westerns
By CJS on February 15, 2013
Academically oriented book that examines the use of music in director John Ford's western films. The soundtracks of Ford's films have always been of interest to me for their use of standards from American history - songs like Bonnie Blue Flag, My Darling Clementine, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and so many more. These were songs I grew up and hearing them in the Ford films brings back a lot of nostalgia. The book takes each of Ford's westerns, including the silents, and examines the use of music in them. I had no idea that Ford himself, personally selected the music used in the film. It was also interesting to hear how lyrics were sanitized for movie audiences from the original lyrics. The author covered the origins of the songs and in many cases, the songs themselves were written after the time period of the film. I found the book interesting but only wish it were accompanied by a cd that would have perhaps given us the John Ford version of the song vs. the original version. I know this would have increased the cost of the book but it would have been easier to hear what the author was speaking about. Overall, an interesting look at the music in the films of John Ford but more scholarly than I anticipated.


Essential for John Ford fans!
By C. C. Clark III on July 14, 2009
This work is dense and scholarly, and reveals a great deal of information about Ford's usage of music in his many films. It is very enlightening regarding the role of music in pre- and post-production. The author obviously spent a great deal of time poring over archival material and interviewing the few still surviving who participated in the creation of Ford's many classic works. I would only improve this work by adding more photos, perhaps captioned to describe the music associated with the scene depicted.