St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-05
And you'll miss me in your berth,
For my form will soon be lying

And you'll miss me in your berth,
For my form will soon be lying
Beneath the oceans briny surf.
Tell my father. when you meet him,
That in death prayed for him;
That might one day meet him
In the world that's free from sin.
The remaining eleven stanZas of this
song were devoted to messages to the
"dyiEg Californian's" mother. sister,
wife, daughter, and several distant rela-
lions whom he had :never seen. As the
Californian was on the oceans briny
SURF it is possible that he did not die
at all, but was merely seaslck and
thought that his end had come.
"The Old Cabin Home" was almost
tue first of the negro songs which later
on became so popular. There was no
attempt at dialect in it and though the
meter was bad the air and the pathoS in
the words caused it to have big run.
The familiar chorus runs:
Here lies my old cabin home;
Here lie my sister and my brother;
Here lies my wife, she was the joy of my life,
And the child in the grave with its mother.
Sentiment was great thing in the
old days, and young men and women
used to gather in back parlors and Won
der whether they were missed at home.
Usually they expressed themselves like
this:
Do they miss me at home do they miss me-?
'Twould be an assurance most dear
To know that this moment some loved one
Were saying wish he were here.
To feel that the group at the fireside
Were thinking of me as l roam.
o. yes, 'twould be joy beyond measure
To know that they miss me at home.
1t was probably some wandering
Willie that sang this song, for a little
while later the answer came:
o. Willie, is it you, dear SAFE safe at home?
They do not tell me true, dear; they said You
would not come.
I've watched for you at the gate. and 1t
made my heart rejoice
When L heard your wellknown footsteps and
that dear familiar voice,
Making music OH my ear in the lonely mid
night hour.
o Willie, we have missed you; welcome,
welcome home.
There were more stanzas telling of
the prodigal's return. and how 1--WE"
sat up until 10 O'Clock waiting for the
wanderer. 1t is doubtful if Willie staid
at home very long, for another song
says that:
My Willie is on the dark, blue sea,
He's gone far over the main, n
And many dreary day will pass
Ere ne IL come back again.
Then blow, gentle winds, Ger the dark, blue
sea,
And the storm king stay his hand
And bring my Willie back to me,
To his own dear native land.
While Willie was awBy on the ark.
blue sea the war broke out, and Senti-
ment was forgotten for the time and
martial music was all the rage. When
peace was restored every one was ready
for a change, aud sentiment again
was one of the first to gain popular APP
proval. 1t was supposed to have been
the love song of an Indian maiden called
Alforata. and commenced thus:
Swift as the warrior brave
The love of AlfOrata;
Bright waves his snowy plume
Adown the Juniata.
The noble red man with the snowy
plume has gone and made way for the
hungry Indian in the Bad Lands, and
the song has long been forgotten. Fair
Evalina" appeared about this time.
That Evalina was fair there can be no
doubt, for the song does little else than
reiterate the fact. A part Of the words
are:
oh, fair. fair, with golden hair,
Under the willows she's sleeping.
Fair, fair, with golden hair,
Ny heart lies there in her keeping.
The love-sick swain's heart is I'M
dOubtedly still sin her keeping" for of
late years no one has resurrected 1t.
With the centennial of 1876 came a re-
vivai of old war songs. They soon
passed away. and with them went the
sentiment of the previous fifty years.
Something funny, no matter how coarse
the humor might be, was demanded and
supplied. whoa. Emma" was about
the first. Then somebody tried to re-
vive sentiment in "Baby's Empty
Cradle" but the fact that the absurd
parodies were more popular than the
original put an end to the effort. From
that time the comic song held almost
undisputed sway, and dialect songs of
doubtful merit have followed each other
rapidly. each having its brief spell of
popularity, and giving way to new