Copland later wrote the music for two ballets about the American West. One was about the life of a famous gunfighter called Billy the Kid. Copland used music from American cowboy songs in this work. This piece from "Billy the Kid :Ballet Suite" is called "Street in a Fron tier Town. "In 1942, the conductor Andre Kostelanetz asked Copland to write music about a great American, Abraham Lincoln. Copland wrote" Lincoln Portrait" to honor America's sixteenth president. Copland's music in cluded parts of American folk songs and songs popular during the American Civil War. Headded words from President Lincoln's speeches and letters. "Lincoln Portrait" has been performed many times in America. Many famous people have done the speaking part. Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Franklin Roosevelt, was one of them. Here, actor James Earl Jones performs in Copland's "Lincoln Portrait."