Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1895-05-23
Songs of the South.

With the advent Of war, poetry and
song began in one shape or another to
find their themes throughout the south
the woman at her hearthstone and the
soldier in the field; to represent all
aspects OF popular feeling-the enthu
siasm OF victory, the dependency OF
defeat, the pride that exulted in the hero,
and the grief that mourned his loss.
Three distinctive songs, however, quick
~ became sectional and were adopted as
expressive of the popular feeling-"Dix
ie,' My Maryland and The Bonnie
Blue Flag. The history OF each is in
teresting, especially that OF the first,
which appears to have taken place with
The Star Spangled Banner and
Yankee Doodle" Its author is Dan
Emmett, who still lives at the ripe old
age of seventy-nine. Recently, being
asked to relate the circumstances of its
composition he said: "In the spring OF
1889 vas in the employ OF the Bryant
MINISTRIES in New York, at i72 Broadway,
and my particular business was to invent
walk arounds. One saturday night
Jerry Bryant came to me and asked II
| couldn't write Il 'hurrah sonnet hing to
make noise with and get the people
stirred up. told him thought | could.
sunday being rainy day, remained at
home and composed what then named
! i Wish | Was In Dixie's Land Nobody
ever knew how it came to be called
Dixie Well, Jerry was so delighted
with it that he made us rehearse all day
Monday for the evenings performance.
The song WAS go right from the start.
Bands played it. Musical people in Gin
cinnati, Louisville and New Orleans
.cribbed it. and lawsuits followed until
Firth & Pond published it under my own
name and so settled the dispute as to
authorship" 1t was first sung in New
Orleans in 1850, the original words, from
which all other versions sprang, being as
follows;
| wish | was In the land OBJ cotton,
old times dar am not forgotten,
Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land.
In Dixie land. whar was born in,
Early one frosty mornin.'
Look away, look away. look away, Dixie land
Den wish wa in Dixie,
/ IIooray hooray
In Dixie's land IN take my stand,
To lib and die In Dixie
Away, away, away down south in Dixie;
Away, away, away down south In Dixie.
Old missu. marry "Wi1l de weaber,''
William was a gay deceaher;
Look away, etc.
But when he put his arms around'cr,
lie smiled as fierce forty FOUNDER;
Look away etc.
Den wish | was in Dixie, etc
Ills face wa. sharp butcher clcaber,
Hui that did not seem to greatly greab'cr
Look away, etc.
old mis-u, acted the foolish part,
And died for the man who broke her heart;
Look away, etc.
ben wish wa- in Dixie, etc.
now. here's health to the next old missus,
And a II the gals that want to kiss US;
Look away, etc.
Bat If you want to drive away sorrow,
Come and hear dis mig tomorrow;
Look away, etc.
Den wish | was in Dixie, etc
Oars buckwheat cakes and Ingen batter.
| Makes you fat little fatter;
Look away, etc
Den hoe it down and scratch your grabble,
To Dixie's land I'm bound to trabble,
Look away. etc
Den wish was in Dixie, etc.
When the war broke out, other lines
were written to fit the measure, and the
stirring melody at once became the chief
war song Of the south. 1t is said that
President Lincoln requested band to
play "Dixie' in 1855, short time after
the surrender of Appomattox, remarking
that las we had captured the rebel army
we had captured also the rebel tune"
OF my Maryland" which James Rus
sell Lowell pronounced the finest poem
inspired by the civil war, the following
story is told: 1t was i'll April, 1861, that
James r. Randall, a native Marylander,
then in Louisiana, published "An Exiled
Sons Appeal to his mother state to cast
her fortunes with the seeding common
wealths of the south. Political feeling in
MARYLAND at the time was intense. The
resident of Colonel William Miles Cary
was one of the many centers of confed'