Verified Document

Charles Ives' Music Research Paper

¶ … Charles Ivey Song Lyrics "Charlie Rutlage" by Charles Ives (1920), from Cowboy Songs and Other Ballads

The song "Charlie Rutlage" by composer Charles Ives was released in 1920 as part of Ives' collection Cowboy Songs and Other Ballads, and the work is distinctive of his signature style. The lyrics are mournful and melancholy, as Ives eulogizes "another good cowpuncher (who) has gone to meet his fate," telling the story of Charlie Rutlage, a hand on the XIT ranch who was killed after his horse fell and crushed him underneath. Ives sings the opening lines of the song with a celebratory bravado, lauding Rutlage by saying "Twill be hard to find another that's as liked as well as he" to suggest that the fallen cowboy was beloved by his friends and family. In my estimation, this passage is used by Ives to form an emotional connection between his listener and the titular character, because in telling a tragic story of death at a young age, it is important to form a foundation of empathy between the audience and the doomed protagonist. I also believe that Ives intends for the individual man Charlie Rutlage to serve as a symbol for the cowboy culture as a whole, a culture which was dying off during the time in which Ives composed the song. When Ives sings of Rutlage's demise "Twas on the spring roundup, a place where death men mock, he went forward one morning on a circle through the hills, he was gay and full of glee and free from earthly ills, but when it came to finish up the work on which he went, nothing came back from him, his time on earth was spent," I view this sudden shift from gaiety and glee to death as a reflection of the wider cultural...

With industrialization and urban expansion threatening the traditional ranching lifestyle that Ives and many members of his generation had grown to love, the scene of Charlie Rutlage embarking on a spring roundup happy to pursue his work, and entering an early grave as a result, is evocative of the American cowboy's rapid decline in the early 20th century.
Throughout the song Ives employs dramatic changes in his voice to match the tone of the lyrics at the time, alternating between a rollicking patter in the beginning to a somber, solemn elegy as the tale of Charlie Rutlage's demise comes to a close. By the time Ives sings "His relations in Texas his face nevermore will see, but I hope he'll meet his loved ones in eternity. I hope he'll meet his parents, will meet them face-to-face, and that they'll grasp him by the right hand at the shining throne of grace," his voice is a low baritone suggesting doom and despair, which is fitting for such a tragic song. The explicit mention of Texas in the song's concluding lines suggest to me that Ives wanted to reinforce the thematic goal of his work: to mourn the decline of the cowboy culture while celebrating the glory days of American ranching. When Ives mentions Charlie Rutlage's parents waiting for him high in heaven, this is another reference to the bygone days when ranching reigned supreme throughout the American West as the predominant lifestyle and livelihood. He also uses a distinctive cyclic formal design and harmonies built on interval cycles, which could be Ives' subtle way of paying homage to the cycle of seasons which once dictated the course of life for so many ranchers and…

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Music Appreciation Describe the Characteristics
Words: 4564 Length: 15 Document Type: Essay

In other words each music performance is different and the impulsiveness of each performance confirms the concept of indeterminate music. 6) Describe an Indonesian Gamelan. (Textbook p. 282-283) It said that Debussy, when he heard the Indonesian ensemble called gamelan was surprisingly delighted at its diverse and delicate timbers, and decided to use the elements in the impressionistic sound which he was working at developing. The gamelan, a distinctive Indonesian orchestra consisting

Music Since 1900 a Survey of Three
Words: 1625 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Music Since 1900 A Survey of Three Works by Ives, Schoenberg, and Barber In the film Legend of 1900, Tim Roth plays an orphan who grows up aboard the SS Virginian, where he becomes a virtuoso piano player, whose styling rivals the greatest Jazz pianists of the early twentieth century. The Italian film is supposed to represent the impermanence of art and the cheapness of capturing a live performance on a record.

Music a Survey of Culture
Words: 1591 Length: 5 Document Type: Research Paper

Since the valuation of a God had been essentially devaluated, what was to be the source of revaluation in the modern world? No answer could satisfy Ives, for his society saw no return to the societal standards and beliefs of the age of Bach, which gave explicit valuation to all things, especially music -- as seen in Bach's mastering of counterpoint. Schoenberg's inverted counterpoint is the antithesis of that

Music Enjoyment Some of the
Words: 852 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

From the research I know he was a ladies man. In Joan Peyser's book (The Memory of All That: The Life of George Gershwin) it is 1927 and Gershwin is discovered in bed with one of the attractive women from a show he and Harry Richman were working on. Caught with his shirt and pants still in his hand, Gershwin offered: "Mr. Richman, what can I say to you?

Share the Music
Words: 982 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Philip Glass: The Light and the Hours This paper will examine two pieces by the enormously talented and tremendously gifted 20th century composer, Philip Glass. Philip Glass's compositions are frequently used or commissioned for the screen and that is no surprise. Aside from being melodic, his pieces frequently are able to touch upon an elusive and ephemeral aspect of human emotion. This paper will examine Glass's 1987 piece, The Light, and

Favorite American Piece
Words: 824 Length: 2 Document Type: Assessment

music of Ives, Copland, Angier, and Reich reflect an American sound? Does one sound more American than another or do you connect with one more than another? Which one, why? The definition of a quintessentially American sound often is based on the music's inspiration. For example, Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring is often called the archetypical American work of song, blending folk dances and sounds of the American mountain region into

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now