The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-07-31

TIE sheets may De round In the music rack
or in the garnet of some old Southern
house.
There are few Of the old songs vet IA
mlliar to the public, but it is hard to count
the many tunes and airs which, born amid
the excitement and strife of the conflict be-
tween the states, have long since been
buried in oblivion by the ever increasing,
ever changing music that has been dumped
on the music racks of younger generations
Of those inclined to things musical For
instance, where do we ever hear in this day
and time that once familiar song sung by
the First Tennessee opera troup called
Kingdoms Coming or 1.-The Song of the
Contraband?" This song was a war prod
uct and seems TO have died out with sec
tonalsm since the war. The first verse
and chorus was as follows:
Say, darkies, have you seen old massa
Wild mustache on his face,
Go long de road some time dis mornin'
Like gwine ter win a race?
He seed de smoke way up de river
Whar de Linkum gunboats lay,
He picked up his hat an left mighty sudden
An l spec he's run away
Chorus
'Massa's run, ahai
Darkies say, ohee!
Must be be know dat de Kingdoms comm
Or de year of Jubilee
There was another comic song that came
out in 1864 entitled THE Cornfed Army of
Tennessee or Short Rations.' This song,
like many others, has absolutely been for
gotten, and, perhaps, even the old Confed-
crate veterans who were most at interest
would require verse of 1t to refresh their
memory as to its existence. The song ran
thus:
Fair ladies and maids Of all ages,
Little girls and cadets how ere youthful,
Home guards, quartermasterS and sages,
VINO wrote for the papers so truthful,
Clerks, surgeons and soups, legislators,
stan Of1cerS, tops of the nation,
And even you, dear Spectator.
Come to my song of starvation.
For we soldiers have seen something
rougher
Than storm, retreat or a fight,
And the body may toll on and suffer
With smile, so the heart is all right"
etc.
Does anyone remember the funny song
they used to sing in the sixties. 1.-The Cap
tain with His Whiskers?" which throws a
peculiar light over the social world Of those
bitter days narrating as it did the romance
OF young girl who became "smitten," as
they say in these modern days, with one
OF the captains while the army was pass
ing through town. The first verse of the
song was as follows:
''As they marched through the town
With their banners so gay,
ran to the window
To hear the band play;
I peeped through the blinds,
Very cautiously then,
Lest the neighbors should say
Just to look at the men.
Oh, heard the drums beat
And the music was sweet,
But my eyes at the time
Caught much greater treat:
The troops were the finest
I ever did see,
And the capn with whiskers
Took sly glance at me-"
There has been some dispute as to the
real authorship of "Close Up the Ranks -
From best authority 1t seems that this
song was written by a refugee in London,
and was addressed to the soldiers in camp
being inscribed, ITO Miss Constance Carey.S
The song was first, published by a music
dealer in Richmond in 1864 and the first
verse OF 1t was as follows:
THE fell invader is before:
Close the ranks, close up the ranks!
Well hurl his legion from our shore:
Close the ranks, close up the ranks
Our wives and children are behind.
Our mothers, sisters. dear and kind;
Their voices reach us on the wind
Close the ranks, close up the ranks!'
There seems to have been two drummer
boys at Shiloh who became famous. In
modern times we ali know Major Jack
s 0f the soy vH oft shoh and m a. te
that General Grant did find him there a
mere tot of a fellow beating a drum and
ate veterans will doubtless recall that there
was a drummer boy at Shiloh who was
killed, and that song was written to COM
memorate his deeds of valor
The song was printed in the old days at
Richmond, Macon and Mobile with huge
wood cut on the front page of the music
being picked up from the battlefield by a
wounded soldier. The song was as follows:
''On Shiloh's dark and bloody ground,
The dead and wounded lay,
Amongst them was a drummer boy,
Who beat the drum that day.
A wounded soldier raised him up,
His drum was by his side;
He casped his hands and raised his eyes,
And praVed before he died
So much for the martial airs of the South
in the time of the war. In addition to such
songs as these there were numerous upon
the romantic side of the war ''When this
mantle ballads of that day and time.
"Harki Our country calls you, loved one,
Angels guide your way;
While our Southern boys are fighting.
We can only pray.
When you strike for God and freedom,
Let all nations see
How you love our Southern banner
Emblem of the free!' etc.
Another Of the romantic verses put in
music in the trying days of the sixties was
Dream of Thee" This song was printed on
cheap brown paper by an Augusta music
house in 1854, and the front page bore
large picture Of a Confederate private
standing beside a cannon holding up
Confederate flag, and the dusty old piece
of sheet music as found in these latter t1ays
IN the pariorS OF Ola southern families pre-
sents picturesque and striking appear
ance. The song is as follows:
by the campfire's lonely watch,
By the mountains granite side
Where the brook gldes soft and free
| dream of thee. dream of thee
When midnight watch I'm keeping
Where is heard the sentry's tread.
Thou art then so sweetly sleeping
Dreaming blessings on my head"
Perhaps one of the most exciting songs
OF war time from a Southern standpoint,
was the intensely sectional song. There
Life in the Old Land Yet" This was writ
ten by z. O. Eaton. and he certainly seems
10 have meant business when he wrote the
following verses:
by blue Patapsco's billowy dash,
The tyrant's war shout comes
Along with the symbals fitful clash,
And the growl OF his sullen drums.
We hear il, we heed IL with vengeful thrill
And we shall not forgive or forget
There's faith in the streams, there's hope
in the hills
There's life in the old land yet.
Our women have hung their hearts away,
They scowl on your brutal band,
While the nimble potgnard dares the day
In their dear, deIlant hands: