Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1883-03-03

| accidents Which Led to Their Com
position and DispositiOn-The Few
That Never Grow Old or Die.
With regard to popular songs, the mo-
tives of men are as much at variance rs
on any other subject, "What is one
mans meat is another mans poison" il
rs true among musicians as among dys-
pepties. A song highly pleasing to one
will lie distasteful or disgusting to anoth-
er, and where, then, to draw the line and
say what is popular song is a matter OF
no small difficulty. A line must be
drawn somewhere, otherwise under the
head of popular songs will be included
the masses of low, trivial and often indie
cent compositions sometimes heard in
the third-class variety theatres. These
songs and ballards are certainly popular
in the sense of suiting the tastes of very
large class, but for many reasons it is not
desirable to include them, and so they
will not enter into the account,
As songs have their origin in some
emotion Of the heart, they will of course
much more easily be grouped, since the
expression Of the emotion is something
definite, which can be more easily classi-
fed than the indefinite and sometimes
only half understood feeling. In every
mind there is more or less admiration
for the natural world around. In some
men, like Wordsworth, their admiration
takes an eXtravagant form, III morbid
love of nature, but ut one time or anoth-
er all men commune III some way with
nature, either ny absorbing into their
own souls what seems TO be the predOm-
iuant spirit manifested in the world
around or by insensibly throwing into the
world enough of their own tone of mind
to make nature really reflection of their
own spirits. This, with the poet, gives
rise to songs of nature, usually, however,
by his causing nature to be merely re-
Election Of his own feelings. There is
also commonly combined with
his reflection on the natural world an
amount Of Renaissance, which gives
pleasing turn to such songs, as the sing
er commonly identifies himself with the
world around and conceiVes it as par
taking with,himsefthe feelings by which
he is animated. AS Wordsworth says:
Beside yon spring stood
ana EYED It's waters I'LL we SS6Iucu W lStl
One sadness, they and /.
In the next place, there is commu-
Mon Of man with self, partly reflective
and partly reminiscent, which, starting
from incident or memory, suggests re-
Elections of q character suited to present
circumstances. Such communion ofman
With bis own spirit gives us songs of hap
py love, reminiscent songs. songs of
home and songs of exile. Then again
there is the communion of man with his
fellows in social way. When the social
element predominates we have songs of
pleasantly and cOnviviality; when the
intercourse is for definite and well I'M
derst0od purpose, such as a political end
TO he gained, we have songs of a parts
an political character; and when the
communion is for patriotic purpose, ss
when a country is threatened with some
great peril, the songs take national
tone and breathe love Of country and
determination to resist every threatened
danger.
Songs which recall the scenes and
events ofthe far distant past have always
been popular, and many pathetic in
cidents are narrated concerning their
origin. "Long, Long Ago, twas the COM
lishman, who was constantly harassed
by the fear that ne would be unable to
provide for the wants of his family. It is
said to have been written after an attack
of brain fever, and when in deepest
melancholy he once sat down in despair
"Old Dog Tray" of which l25 600 copies
were sold in the first Is months after
its publication, was written by Foster On
piece of brown wrapping paper, in the
back room of a grocery store, where he
was fond of lounging. Poor Fosters
last days were extremely unhappy. He
lived in New York, personallya stranger
but known to everyone through his
songs, "Auld Lang Syne" is popularity
supposed to be the composition of Burns,
but in fact he wrote only the second and
third verses of the ballad as commonly
sung retouching the other. from an older
and less familiar song.
"Ben Bolt' was scrubbed
by DR.. English, as a sea song for the
New Mirror. N. P. Willis paper. Eng
lish knew nothing of the sea and only
one line has any connection with the
sea topics 1t had wonderful run for
several years, but like most other songs
finally..passed out of memory. "The Old
Oaken Bucket" was written by Wood
worth in New York city during the sum
mer of 1917. He came into the house
and drank a''glass of water and then said,
"How much more refreshing it would be
to take good long drink from the old
oaken bucket that used TO hang in my
fathers we'll" His wife heard the re-
mark and suggested that it was happy
thought for poem. He sat down and
wrote the song as we have it. wood
man, Spare that Tree" was the result
Of an incident that happened to George
2. Morris A friends mother had owned
4 little place i'll the country which she
was obliged, from poverty, to sell. On
the property grew large oak which bad
been planted by his grandfather. The
purchaser of the house and land pro-
posed to cut down the.tree, and Morris
friend paid him $40 for bond that the
oak should be spared. Morris heard
the story, saw the tree, AMI wrote the
song. "0ft in the StillyNight" was pro-
duced by Moore after his family had I'M
dergone apparently every possible mis-
fortune. One OF the children
died yuong I another ent astray
and a third was accidently killed. A
thousand memories naturally clustered
round him when he reviewed the past,
and the charming exposition of these has
made the song permanently popular IN
spite of the scores of parodies. Tine
Light of Other Days" was written to be
introduced into Balfe's opera, 1.-THE |
Maid of Artois." The opera is forgotten,
but the song still lives and is as popular
as ever.
Home songs. "Home, Sweet Home"
Payne wrote it to help fill up an opera
he was preparing, and at first it had four
stanzas. The author of never received
any thing for it, but through the opera
was failure when played in the Covent
Garden theatre, the song took, and over
one hundred thousand copies. were sold
The first year. In two years the publish
ers cleared over $4,000 by the publica-
tons, and the variations, transcriptions
and limitations have been innumerable.
The melody is believed to be a Sicilian
air, and Donizetti has variation of it
in his opera. Anna Bolena." Payne
was afterwards appointed American con-
sui at Tunis, where he died, and whence
tho .,fHar dQv xuoro cnnt RI