New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-05-29
MUSICAL MATTERS.
A BALLAD OF MANILA BAY-SOMElHlN"
ABOUT SEA sONGs-NoTEs AND
ANNOUNCEMENTS


songs which celebrated the victories OF the Ameri-
can tars in the war with Great Britain. Decatur,
Hull Banbrdge and Jones Jacob not raul
though Paul was not foreotten) were heroes OF 'ne
hour and were toasted at banquets ana su's
the theatres until 1t ia 10 he feared cuus
ing by the spirit OF some OF the songs that 'he
Americans came about as close TO exhibiting tnem-
selves as n nation OF noisy swashbucklers as any
nation ever did In this world Yet there was some
thing 10 be said In extenuaton OF their CONDUCT
Victories like those OF the Constitution over '''
Guerrisre the Wasp over the FroIc. the Ch'''u
States over tho Macedonian. the Constitution o'e'
the Java and Perry's feet Lake Erie were Things
for young people to be proud Of Moreover inc
Americans with all their inducements to brag. 90
not seem to have shouted much moro over all ther
triumphs than the Britons did over the shannon
victory over the Chesapeake. a delightful feature
OF all the meodious swashbucklerng was that II
was done In the same key on both sides OF the
ocean. An ou;lander. unfamiliar with Englsh' "e",
ing the songs in London and New-forK "ouiu
have thought the singers the most harmonious
brotherhood In the world for TO him they "ou'u
have seemed 10 be celebrating n common nero
Two OF tho most popular tunes were iaN
Doodle" and ITO Anacreon in Heaven'-both ENG
lsh Yankee Doodle soon acquired so slecnch'IS
American significance that It could be used onIy
for satire In Great Britain but even after 10
Anncreon In Heaven" became The Star-Spangied
Banner It retained It's British dignity As TOT ,ho
rest the tunes were for much tho greater part
borrowed from English songs which perhaps ina"e
the English parodies Of the American songs smart
all tho more Who does not recall the scene IN
TON Brown Mt Rugby" IN which the boys oil
but ut tho roof when they sing the chesapeake
and Shannon" because though tho sixth ana h'th
form boys knew that their football hero BROOKE
was no sort Of relation to brave Broke or the
Shannon. the fourth form are uncertain on the
subject while tho lower school have never
nj Brooke
ers on TO Iawrences ship:
Bravo Broke no waved his sword crying NOW
my lads. aboard :, -,
And ven stop 'hoir playing Yankee doodle dandy
And so they did, and poor brave Lawrence Hes
down In Trinity churchyard with tho roar OF
Broadway around him. and now that we arc hgh'-
Ing again COR trying TO hgho. people VINO
peer through tho iron railing and read the famous
words carved on his tombstone do so with n more
perceptibe swelling OF the heart than over before
Tho lines which Tom Brown heard at tho hrst
singing" IN which he participated at Rugby are
nguratively speaking. In the same key tempo ana
tone AZ the Constitution and Guerrero when
Lawrence may have heard before he died. 1t was
only n case OF turn about being fair playful; that
Is not to tho present purpose which Is to say some
thing about some songs. tho product OF the
present controversy with Spain. The making ~ the
songs has begun. and The Tribune presents
ballad of Manila Bay In ltS HuS'fN''u hHfP't
ment this morning. We sure a great many
people will onjoy the words and music though they
represent an effort purely tentative. The Musician
said TO the Poet: Make me song OF Manila Bay.
and make Il according 10 this formula. because !
TO fix UP good stir old English tune for
IT, a tune which seems to have.com down through
the centuries In order to celebrate the man who
Commodore Schlcy says is n bully boy. Have the
words rolled along in n rolcking narrative and. II
you want. Dewey may his sword and shout
at his gunners and do all tho things that Drake
and Hawkins and Nelson and Frobisher and raul
Jones and Hull and Decatur and all their tribe do
in the old ballads. II will not 10 BIT Ike tho
real battle. Of course. but what's poetic license
good for II not FOR such occasions? And II we're
no longer hearts OF oak. yet we can steer and We
can stoke. and thanks to coal and thanks 10 coke
90 say nothing OF our gunners) we can Hex tho
Spanish Dons." And what did tho Poet reply? II
must so into a paragraph by Itself.
81 have certain ideas OF my own about songs OF
this character Probably they arc wrong. but /
can't help g. can enjoy rollickng sea song as
much az anybody. when somebody clso has made
IT, but when think long and !ntonty about tho
battle OF Manila or any other great and noble
decd begin TO feel solemn and then emotional
and toary and ! couldn't write anything roliicking
about II. feel more lko writing hymn. And
then another thing: Tho fellows who wrote those
delightful songs OF the old time were persons
persons Of literary habits. But they were
fun OF their subject and IN earnest. and they
plain and downright. and the result song
full OF beautiful. honey naivctf But could
write like them, being persons OF altogether
different culture and thoughts and hablts unless
we deliberately initiated them and tho only good
thing about imitation likely be ts clever
imitation II II has even that. So | he
lievs that the only way for us to write n good
song Is to do in our way Just what they did In their
way. to be simple and full OF subject. and
earnest. and think from own hearts and try
cay that have tried little 10 be direct and
simple. as song should be. and not argumentative
or discursive. as Il song should not be-
There: that's tho Poets confcssion and as no
sent the and 1t had all the feet that the Mu-
sican wanted and all properly disposed and SUN
ciently niuble 1t accepted with gratitude and
the music arranged for H. The arrangement doesn't
signify All that need DO said OF IL is that tho pur-
pose was to adapt 1t to the wants OF many pco-
pie possible and It DO sung rs n solo with
pianoforto accompaniment or MS quartet cho- !
with without accompa nmcnt But the tune
deserves some attention. More than cighty-five |
years ago Ut In January. 1919. what called
naval dinner" given IN this city In honor OF
Decatur. Hull and Jones. Such dinners popu-
lar theA-Boston also had some OF them-and at !
them old and new songs were sung. Thus song.
Decatur, Hull and Jones are here" was sung on |
this occasion by tho Glee Club. The song was |
planned all right, but proved TO DO a little mala-
propos. because for somo another Jones |
not present at the dinner After 4 whlo |
"Iiulrs Victory" Cho song which Tom Brown |
heard parodied) was sung. and after the toast |
"Commerce' tho club gave the company We 30 |
Three Poor Mariners" Tho tune OF this song has |
boon borrowed for dewey. Bully Boy" 1t is much |
older than the War OF 1872 however. certainly over
two hundred years older for 1t was printed by
Thomas Ravenscroft IN 1909 In "Deuteroma or |
the Second Part OF Musick's Melode. melodious |
muscko Of Pleasant Roudelaes: K0ng) H(enryD |
mirth Freemen's Songs and such delightful |
catches" Raverscroft was q musical antiquary |