The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-04-01
THE BRIEF LIFE OF A SONG.
vhistling Tune into Notice and 1hen
Burning It in Oblivion.

Burying It in Oblivion.
A song, a flower, an actor becomes
popular. Everybody sings and whistles
that song because it has tune? Not
exactly; other songs have tunes and do
not achieve this universal sequence. The
girls who sells paper of pins huns
certain tune as she wraps up the Little
package; the grimy little boy who blacks
"yer boots" whistles it as he puts on the
shine; it is in the air, in the streets, in
the parlor; it is played by German street
bands and ground by the street organs;
babies murnlur it before they can talk;
Jokes are made at its expense; itresounds
from Maine to Mexico; but how did it
begin? and when and where does it endt
There is even now a generation which
has never heard aPinafore;" in ten years
from now no one will care for the
aPinafore" that drove this generation
half distracted, and the chances are,
should that opera be then revived, 1t
would fall fat; its fun would not touch
the humor of the day, and the young
folks would say: @Dear me, this Is
decidedly antiquated; Why can't you
give us something amusingT -
: Once upon q time, about thousand
years ago, there was written q song
known as .aVillikins and His Dinah." It
travelled far and wide, from cottage: to
palace, by rail and by sea; it. was sung Ia
the theatres between the acts; as encores
at concerts; somebody even wrote a play
on the touching story; twas whistled uni
versally, and every undeyeloped musical
genius in the land sung nothing but VII
likins." Who knows now where that
popular ditty first impressed itself on the
sensitive public ear? Who knows, IN
deed, who wrote it, or by what insplra-
ton he hit on a melody that bewitched
millions as it did. Nobody sings it now,
any more than he sings "Life on the
Ocean Wave" "Ben Bolt" and dozen
other sentimental ballads that had such
vogue; yet they are unchanged, and
quite as fetching in substance as the
hour they were written. A song or a
tune has its day, and can never be resus,
citated. The first person who whlstled
it into notice is lost in obscurity, and
more singular yet, he who was the last
to whistle it can never be discovered.
Who is the man that finally buries the
popular tune?
This view of the life of a song is dis
tracing. Yesterday the classic See
Saw" permeated society, to-day it is "lit
Willow" to-morrow-well, to-morrows
tune is unborn, but, as sure as the sun
rises over Park street steeple, it will be
here when it is wanted. Probably at
this moment some poor devil in back
street in London is covering music
paper with the notes of tune for the
music hall favorite to beg1ile rough,
unoritical crowd. It is wretched stuff,
but it has 4go," and go sends most any
trash headlong into dangerous popu-
larity. It catches on like a leech to the
public's tympanum, and, after one or two
nights, it will be carried away bodily.
What is sung with SUCCESS in the London
music hall ascends with ease to the pale
Of good society.
The, higher type-G Gilbert; and Sullivan
songs-have bewitched nations, but if
the readers of to-day live twenty years,
their children will ask them who were
this Gilbert and Sullivan, and nothing
will induce them to believe those old
fashioned things were ever thought droH
and amusing. "That ever considered
fascinating! Why, my dear sir, you
must be mistaken. How uninteresting
it is. Don't you see we have outgrown
all such rusty twaddle." In its day, "The
Beggar's Opera" took London town by
storm. London society lost its head in
admiration of this new departure; its
music, its singers; but let any reckless
theatrical manager of to-day place on his
stage that once popular musical innova-
tion," in all the glory Of modern dress,
and he would be beggared as well as
Polly. II can not sing the old song
warb'r the tired world. No, you can't;
that IL the unblemished truth.-Bor. Bos'
ton Herald.