[Col] Colonization Soundtrack

[korossyl]

To me, the most memorable part of Colonization has always been the excellent music. Jine the Cavalry, Hornpipe, Smokey Tune... Does anyone know if these were original compositions, or perhaps real, historical songs? I've been doing some searches, and have found several songs by the same names as those in Col, and that sound as if they were generally from the same era, but I don't think are the same piece (I don't quite remember, having had a Win2000/XP computer for several years now). I'm quite sure that music that occasionally plays in the bars in Pirates! Gold was also used in Colonization, but again, I'm not sure if it's an original composition or not.

So all that said, does anyone know where I can get some of the excellent music from this excellent game? Midis, mp3s, CDs... I just can't find anything!

 

[covok48]

Ugh, maybe it was just my Mac that blared out the high pitched midi music, but like the Civ II soundtrack, after a few rotations I'd had enough.

 

[Drakan]

eBAY. bUY A WINDOWS VERSION FOR YOUR xp, THE SOUND/MUSIC WORKS FINE.

 

[korossyl]

My brother recently bought Colonization for Windows, on CD. It has no music.

 

[ArmySyko]

I thought there was music on the Old CD copy? I'll have to dredge it out of the CD book and look for WAV files.

Some of the music is historical and others are original pieces. Some have been used several times before in previous iterations. The Original SoL/War of Independence Music from Col94 appeared in Pirates as the English town theme. The instrumentation changes based on the size of town.

I wish they would have came out with the CD of the soundtrack like they did with the Civ4 Box Set.

A-S

 

[Huayna Capac357]

I put the disk in and uploaded it into my iTunes.

Some of them are in fact real songs. My mother always recognized them when I played the game

 

[Midnight-Blue766]

Where can I find the music files? I have the version of Colonization that came with the magazine (I can't remember the name now), though I have the original CD (which unfortunately doesn't work now )

 

[DragosP]

Try google "game music colonization"

 

[Midnight-Blue766]

But where in the game files is the soundtrack?

 

[DragosP]

You can play the music in background with Media Player or Winamp

 

[MXB]

Some of them are real tunes. I found mp3 versions of one or two. Some tunes are from Railroad Tycoon and Civilization (opening) as well.
Some years back I downloaded two sets of Col music. One was in MIDI format, the other in MOD format. Found a MOD player for Windows too. It was great for playing with the Windoze Col (v3.14) which has no music unlike the DOS version.

 

[AmiralA]

Those who are searching for CivIV: Colonization's music files should simply look in the /assets/sound/soundtrack folder (the "diplomacy" folder has the... diplomacy music). They are in mp3 format (like they were in CivIV).

 

[Midnight-Blue766]

You do realise that we are talking about the original Colonization, released in 1994, right? Just so you know.

 

[AmiralA]

*ahem*.... sure, I knew that.

Well, for the original Colonization, try this link (it's in French):

http://www.abandonware-france.org/ltf_abandon/ltf_jeu.php?id=439&fic=liens

There's an archive file containing 20 mp3s taken from the original midi files.

Hope this helps!

 

[korossyl]

Yay! My research thus far. The Colonization title followed by the original title. I'm guessing 100% of the soundtrack is based on actual music. What's surprising is how much of it is based on Appalachian tunes... which, I suppose, might be the successors to old pioneer songs?

The only one of these that I'm not absolutely sure about is Little Fiddle. It seems to me that Shove the Pig's Foot Further into the Fire was probably the base tune here, with some heavy modification on the part of the Colonization sound mixers. But it might be wishful thinking.

Bird Song: The Bird Song (Lesley Nelson-Burns)
http://www.contemplator.com/child/birdsong.html
Smokey Tune: My Home's Across the Blueridge Mountains
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ww3IY84Op4
Cornwall: Cornwall (Albert d'Ossché)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwQN32m2K4s
Shady Grove: Shady Grove
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-kaG1NuLZM
Fiddler's Dance:
Jine the Cavalry: Jine the Cavalry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDq09oSt9o0
Joe Clark: Old Joe Clark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKAtLiKoMLg
Little Fiddle: Shove the Pig's Foot a Little Further into the Fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBIjR39WYfM
Hornpipe: Fisher's Hornpipe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDE97NgFrTg
Bonny Morn: Bonny Morn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO0ApLU9zAc
Hole in the Wall: Hole in the Wall (Henry Purcell)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp4Qx3ntzkQ
Nightingale:

"Nightingale" and "Birdsong" both have really generic names, and both names are often paired with "song" or "music," so they've been really difficult to find info on. "Fiddler's Dance," likewise; nearly every square dance sounds similar to it, so I'm sure they just took one at random, gave it a generic title, and put it in the game. There are thousands of such dances, and I don't want to listen to each and every one. Edit: Found "Nightingale," as above, thanks to user Farsight! (post below)

The "Independence" and "Military" tunes are surprisingly difficult to get info on. I've heard some of them on TV shows, movies, in Revolutionary War museums, etc., but they're not often really performed on their own. I'm proud of having found the origin to Successful Campaign (Success to the Campaign). I'll keep looking.

Love Forever:
York Fusiliers: York Fusiliers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV8sH8SLS4g (10:35)
Washington Artillery March: Washington's Artillery March
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRD6znkks7w
Road to Boston: Road to Boston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmuQgBf8ZIc
Independence Way:

The Reveille:
Successful Campaign: Success to the Campaign
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWy4rHRozUA (3:26)
Morelli's Lesson:
To Arms:

And finally, as a bonus:
Sid Meier's Pirates! English theme: British Grenadiers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5_NJW-qmok

 

[Midnight-Blue766]

And four years later...

I found the Bird Song on the folk music site Contemplator. Here is the link to the lyrics and a MIDI tune.

 

[korossyl]

So all that said, does anyone know where I can get some of the excellent music from this excellent game? Midis, mp3s, CDs... I just can't find anything!

So, with Colonization now (being available on GOG.com), they also have a download of the entire soundtrack in mp3! Yay!

And four years later...

I found the Bird Song on the folk music site Contemplator. Here is the link to the lyrics and a MIDI tune.

Wow!! Thanks so much!! I'll edit my post with this as well.

 

[Midnight-Blue766]

I discovered the IRL tune for "Nightingale":

It's better known as the Troubadour Song (Burl Ives himself sang it under this name), which would explain why it was so difficult to find.

You can listen to a Spotify playlist I've made of all the Colonization tunes I could find here.

 

[AyCe]

They seem to have "ripped" the music mostly from "The Virginia Company" (the band linked in the video above). If you search for their songs, you will notice they sound 1:1 like the music in Colonization.

A playlist containing some Colo songs: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbM4CJz_BumILFXq7AF7DgtXECNtk1FIj