The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-01-30
c0uE OF THE OLD SONGS.
BALLADS OUF
MOIHERS SANG.

= IF the popular song or late years.
S~'--.5avs a song must be set to lively
sic and have ridiculous, or, at least,
I--,o,s;cal words, to catch the notice of
,,ssses- Years ago this was not true.
~. Irish and German dialect song was un>
I'm and. had it been known. would have
nth a cold reception. What the peo-
- wanted was something sad and melan-
FfhoIv-vords that seem to have been written
= - s,ng TO the air of a funeral march.
Tbess we're the popular things, and the pub
=. ,ropld have nothing else. The young
IAN and the young women of the day
lid Gather about the old square piano
vi ,vifn tears in their eyes lament the fate
o. o. -orne departed person. The songs were
u sentimental, and the number OF "dar-
Engsn and ''dears" used in their composition
ranld have caused modern song writer
~ shudder. One of the old songs was
80 ssDarling Xaty's Grave" Raymond
SGoora the tenor, who was with George
Tsotcbaris MINISTRIES at Macaulsy's theater
-acantIv- it will be recalled, sang it by spe-
ii raGrest. and sang it beautif lilly, too.
1 T. wss considered one of the best songs ever
written. and part of it was as follows:
n I'm kneeling by thy grave. Katy darling,
This world is all a blank to me.
-
think love, I'm signing Tor thee.
n r,ethiuks the stars are weeping,
Nv their soft and lambent light.
And thou my nearI WouLu DO hoiUink, navy
Couldst taoa see thy love this sad night.
o listen, sweet Katy:
Tor the wild flowers are sleeping, Katy dar-
And the lone birds are singing on each tree.
will thou nevermore hear me. Katy darhngg
@ know, love- Tn kneehng by thee.
This was touching poem, and the music
was az sad and heartrending as the words.
With its los" and its ''darlings" it caught
the pubIic fancy and had an enormous popu-
laritv. as was testified by the score OF paro>
dies of it which were brought into existence.
KATY was only one instance of the fact that
IN make a song popular sorue fifty years ago
the heroine must be dead. katy Darling"
was dead, and her musical obituary was
sold all over the country.
Then Fair Ella Leen died Nobody ever
thought of singing a song about Ella when
sbe was alive, but as soon as she died hun
dreds OF people sat down TO their pianos
A and proceeded to give directions about the
funeral It must have taken some time to
q find the grave they wanted, for, as can be
! seen from the following selection, the
mourners were very particular. The words
4 Of the song commenced:
Law her where the woodbine clingeth
To the dark magnolia tree,
Where the breeze low music br1ngeth
From the bosom of the sea.
With a sorroWful emotion
Lay her where sweet violets be,
Where the leaves keep gentle motion
To the breathing of the sea.
There lay her; there leave her,
Our young Ella Lee.
Ever blooming as the summer,
Ever humning like the bee,
We believed her some bright being
From the land where angels be;
We have lost her-ever lost her
Our poor Ella, Ella Lee.
d Whether Ella ever was buried in the spot
4 where her admirers thought she should be,
n is a mystery. Beyond the song, nothing
i was ever heard of Ella, and up to the pres
ent time no one has ever seen her grave or
4 read the notice of her funeral in the papers
Next Nelly died. NellY's name is un-
8 known, but she is dead. The song says SO:
n In the hazel dell my Nelly's sleeping,
Where the flowers wave;
And the silent stars are nightly weeping
O'erpoor Nelly's grave.
Hopes that once my bosom fondly cherished,
Smile on me no more;
Every dream of joy. alasl has persisted,
Nelly, dear, with thee
This song also had a chorus. and it went
as follows:
All alone my watch I'm keeping,
In the hazel dell,
For my darling Nelly's near me sleeping,
Nelly dear, farewell.
=, The stars must have had busy time in
those days. They wept for katy darling''
and they wept for NELLY dear" Singing
of Nelly, there was another Nelly-Nelly
Gray-who was an old-time favorite. Her
sad fate was lamented frequently in days
gone by, and is still sung occasionally in the
present time. This song was much better
than most of the old ones, and that is prob
ably the reason why it has survived until
now. About the time that Nelly Gray was
taken to Georgia Lila Dale died, and old
time lovers cried over her in this style:
We smoothed down the locks
OF her soft golden hair,
And placed her hands on her breast,
And laid her in the valley so fair,
Mid the blossoms of summer to rest,
There o, rest Lila rest,
No cares can asSail,
For green grows the turf
Ger the tear-moistened grave
OF the fairest flower of the vale.
Ellen Bane was the next victim of the
song writers. The words do not make ii
clear as to whether or not Ellen was dead,
Out II she was not it was very improper for
the young man ITO be lingering by her
Side" The song goes:
SOFT be thy slurnbers; rude cares depart;
Elslons in numbers cheer thy young heart,
SIeeping or waking, in pleasure or pain,
warm hearts sda1 beat for thee,
Sweet Ellen Bane.
Sentle slumbers round thee glide,
greams Of beauty round thee bide;
while linger by thy side,
Sweet Ellen Bane.
The Old Cabin Home was almost the
nrst OF the negro songs which, later on be-
came so popular. There was no attempt at
9lalect in it, and though the meter was
Oao, the air and the paJhos in the words
caused 1t to have big run. The familiar
chorus runs:
mere hes my old cabin home:
mere lies my sister and my brother;
mere lies nay wife, she was the joy of my life,
Anu Inc Child in the grave with its mother.
sentiment was a great thing in the old
uays, and young men and women used to
Eatner In back parlors and wonder whether
ouey were missed at home. Usually they
oppressed themselves like this:
10 they miss me at home, do they miss me
would be an assertion most dear
40 know that this moment some loved one
vas saving wish he were here.
~ Ieel that the group at the f1reside
n was Thinking of me as ] roam,
Yes, twould be joy beyond measure
10 know that they miss me at home.
~ was probably some wandering Willie
W nat sang this song, for little while later
'ne answer came:
n Willie is it you, dear, safe, safe at home?
-Hey 90 not tell me true, dear; they said you