Listening in on our pioneer past

Pioneer Songs

By clicking on the link above you will be treated to several songs sung by the pioneers as they carved civilization out of the West, as sung by their descendants in 1947 when they were recorded for the Library of Congress's Archive of Folk Culture.  These examples were recorded in 1946 and 1947 by Austin Fife and his wife Alta as they gathered songs passed on in the folk tradition—either learned firsthand from the writer or passed down in families and communities.

Zemira loved poetry and to sing, and was often asked to sing at public events. He was singing at the picnic held in 1847 when Brigham Young was informed that the U.S. Army was on its way to the Salt Lake Valley.

Zemira and his step-brother, Gurnsey Brown, helped to bring survivors from the Willie and Martin Handcart companies to the Salt Lake Valley. It is possible he sang some of these songs himself.

The link takes you to a podcast, which you will have to click on to listen to.