The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-09-08
Evangellne."

More than l40,OOO copies OF Evan
geline' were sold in four months" said
Will. S. Hays, the famous song writer
yesterday to n Courier-Journal reporter
The conversation was on the subject OF
his songs, their origin, number, and his
tory. OF all he has published, consid-
erably over 300. Evangel,ne' "Mollie
Darling" and "Norah ONeal" were the
most popular. "Evangeline" is one of
the most popular compositions ever
published in America, and just before
the breaking out of the war W. $ sung in
every home and by every company of
singers in the land. Strange to say. the
author never received one cent for his
composition though at the usual royalty,
three cents per copy, he would have
made 1880 out of it in fourteen months.
How many copies in all have been sold,
he does not know, though it is still in
demand. and the total number would
probably reach 800, 900. When Evan
eeline" was first issued, it became I'M
mensely popular. The minstrels of
ante bellum days, whose speciality next
to character istic negro delineations, was
sentimental ballads, sang the beautiful
composition for quintet in every city in
the land, ard as usual with popular bal
lads, the minstrel tenor, the famous
Campbell, of Campbell's Minstrels, first
introduced it.
Il was a wild young fellow when l
wrote 'Evangeline, continued Col.
Hays. land it grew out of q frolic. Just
before the war was visiting one sum-
mer mp in oldham county, near La
grange. There was IL party OF gay young
. 4, ,.,u;k.,,n ut fila aISn most nf
whom have children now AS old as l was
then. Among them was beautiful girl
who resembled the ideal picture of Long
fellows 'Evangeline' so closely that l
called her by that name. and it clung to
her as nickname. One evening we
were all invited over to frolic at the
residence of Hon. Robert ID. Mallory
and all went. We danced and sang and
soon discovered that four of us could
sing very nicely together. We tried
Come Where Ny Love Lies Dreaming
and other popular quartets. and got
along so nicely that we became quite
enthusiastic over our success. About
or o'clock in the morning we started
to walk home down the road. The night
was as bright as day, with the full moon
hanging in the sky, and as we walked
we sang. Finally we sat down in nice
nook in Il field to rest. and 'Evangeline'
began to suggest other songs to sing.
"'Ill write you song, said l, If
you'll promise to sing it before we go
home.
This was agreed to. On the opposite
side of the road rail fence had been
torn away and IL white plank fence had
been erected. Where we were sitting a
party of negroes had been roasting ears
of corn over fire, and the charred sticks
lay all around. gathered up bundle
of them under my arm, and, followed by
the girls, walked over to the fence. With
the charred sticks l wrote the first verse
of the song on the top plank of the fence,
and the notes for four voice $ on the four
planks beneath, making it quartet.
Then we stood off, and, as all could read
the music, we sang it. The girls were
delighted. and insisted on having y
chorus, so went down to the end and
wrote the chorus out on the planks.
Well. we sang it over and over, and went
home singing it. Next morning Evan
geline' came down stairs cumming the
air, and asked me to write it out and fin
ish it. / told her l couldn't do it, but
she might go down and copy it Oft the
fence She took an umbrella and sheet
of paper, and soon came back with the
words and music copied off.
"Then she insisted on having another
verse, and so wrote another verse on
condition that was to have kiss for it,
and she to have the music. She went
home to st. Louis and sang 'Evangeline'
about there until it attracted attention,
and she sent it back to me to have it pub
lished. sent that song to every music
publisher in America, until the MS. was
nearly worn out, and the best offer re-
ceived for it was from Brainerd, of Cleve-
land, who offered me $40 and twenty-five
copies of the music. i declined it.
Shortly after l was in Cleveland and
Campbell's Minstrels were there. l took
the song to Campbell and he went to
music store and tried it. He said it was
great song and sang it that night five
times to persistent encores. Brainerd
heard of the new song, went to hear it,
then came to me to buy it. | was drink
ing in those days, and was regular
'h-ll Of Teller. so up and told him
that John Howard Payne had died in a
poor house, that Reyes, who wrote The
Star Spungled Banner had died in des-
titution, and that the publishers In
America were determined to starve the
composers ont; but would make him a
present of 'Evangeline, to show him
T. l:kx1., ,Il..taro tnow tho vaIna nf