The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-19
FAMOUS PATRIOTIC SONGS.
TREIIs SUCCESS a sURPRIsE OFTEN
To TN AUTHORS


great poems and songs OF patriotism is that the
pospie who set out to do 1t almost never sue
coed. The great poems OF that type have,
almost without exception. been In the nature OF
accidents. Some of them were clearly bits Of
inspiration, us Tho Star-SpanRled Banner"
1.-THE Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the
Marseillaise." Others were undertaken de-
liberately, but in almost every case the author
didn't think much of what he accomplished.
These authors had a way of saying, after their
poems had taken a place in the literature Of
loyalty: 1.-THE poem has little merit. but such as
It is 1 am glad to ofrer 1t to my country" Very
well, such as they are" they have been Crate
fully accepted by a patriotic people.
There is always an interest attaching to the
production OF anything great. Just now two
continents are joining in gratitude to Mrs. Rud-
yard Kipling for roscuing her husbands RE
cesslonal' from the waste basket, where he had
thrown 1t, The waste.basket story will live as
long as the poem does. and that will probably be
said and sung when the event which caused its
production is we'll nigh forgotten. A goodly
number of possible poets, positive patriots. are
wooing tho muses. nowadays in the interests of
our own country. II they do not succeed to
their own satisfaction, let them read the history
of our patriotic songs up to date and take cour-
age. There is no telling whom they may produce
q poem which the country will accept and pro-
nouncot to be the real thing" Those already
accepted we're a surprise to thcir authors.
Hail Columbia" for instance, was writton
to help out a young man who was to have a
benefit at a Philadelphia theatre. The young
mans name has not survived in connection
with the song, though there is a tradition that
he was n Mr.. Fox. He was q school friend of
Joseph Hopkinson. LII. d., then a young man of
%, without any trimmings to his name. The
time was the summer Of 1898. War with
France seemed inevitable. Congress- was in
session in Philadelphia. and acts of hostility
had taken place. The contest between England
and France was lively, and tho people Of the
United States were divided into parties. Some
thought we ought to support France and others
leaned toward England. 1t was net an au-
spicious occasion for a young man to mako q hit
by singing a political song, especially IL, as in
this case, he wanted to please everybody. Tho
stan at the theatre composed songs until they
dreamed in metre, but they couldn' seem to de-
wise anything which would not offend one or
the other party.
1t came to be Saturday afternoon, and the un-
happy young mans benefit was to take place on
the following Monday night. The theatrical
corps ground out a final grist of verses, but they
were not satisfactory. Then the young man
went to SEQ his school friend, Hopkinson, told
his troubles, and asked for help. He said he
wanted q patriotic song Wnlcn COulu DC sung 10
the tune Of the Presidents March," and
would, so to speak, rub everybody the right way.
Hopkinson said he would see what he could do,
was re ready for him. So SAYS Mr.. Hopkinson
himself in a letter about the affair. The song
contained no reference to England or France,
and was a hit with both parties. Its enduring
success surprised no ono so much as its author.
who said that it's only merit was that Of being
snd '%s ph r '"''SMdT Mr.. Hob RailsoS'' became s% iss s0n a pPomi.
nent and honored citizen OF Philadelphia, where
It ,sSoms a rather peculiar coincidence that
Columbia, the Gem Of the Ocean," was also
written to order for a singers benefit perform
bv Thomas A. Beckett, who nevertheless had a
hard time. getting credit for 1t. In 1854 he
wrote the following letter, giving the details of
"GENTLEMEN: Permit me to give you the his
lsi3 Mr.. D. F. Shaw then a concert singer at
the Chinese, Museum. Philadelphial waited
T peTn MI that a. ' 1 S The'i him a ss sons for kHeS his S %itn {
with the above title. which he claimed as his
"on reading it, I found the measure SO de-
f~ective as TO be entirely unfit to be set to music.
Richard Harbord. Decatur street,. where /
wrote the first two verses IN pencil. and at Miss
M liar %acb piano nT.s composed nPPfs 4 the sn melody &C 'DsSlh1ss SHAY
On reaching home I added the third verse.
{nr tSt the S,s sympnonicSf; bS ana nsx HrrS dng 1 t6e sS %4
Shaw a fair copy in ink, with the injunction that
he should not publish. give. or sell a copy, j..
Mr.. Beckett. however, made the mistake of
going of to Now Orleans, ana one day, down
there. he was surprised to run across a published
the song popular. had published 1t as his own.
Mr.. Beckett fastened to publish it as his, and
Later ate the sSng having q DC 81 .6 carried ! to EOnfio1
Gem Of the Ocean" Mr.. Beckett says ithat
composition, he having been born in England.
That, however. was tho only, shadow OF excuse
Red, White and B Blue Ell is printed ri n in the New
Naval and Military Song BOoE;% published in
line is altered to read britannia, the Pride Of
the Ocean" and in the last verse the name of
Nelson is substituted for that Of Washington:
used by most of the European nations before We
got hold of IT; or course, England had 1t in her
the time Of Louis XIV i was in 1882, though,
that the Boy; 3; F.; smith was locking over a
Lowell Mason. lie fell in with this tune. took
up his pen and wrote America forthwith.
Feis Mas II iss s9e f # WAS q ffrs A% sHnE p;ub MeTs': at IN a
children's celebration at the Park Street Church.
Bcstc n, on July of that year.
"If i had anticipated the future ofit, doubt
1 Wrete Dr. DEuE Smith TN - IL % 7 as a" i Iia.Ii Al
OF American freedom"
ps 9nS Of .t 5ns f IS sYe ? son. l Of eoI kmHEn Of w GHr
ten about a century, ago by Robert Treat Paine;
One writer said of this poem that he would
rather nave MS name llnKeu WIN IL thnn Win
ANY other American paper, save and except
the Declaration of Independence" 1t was
nstiope! snnivsrsSryi and yaf originally
$3.50 for the song. Il is said that after he
men at tho house of a friend. The host said 1t
WAS imperfect because it did not contain tho
name Of Washington, and declared that the
author should not approach the sideboerd Cwhere
vino was being placed in order that the success
OF the song might be ~pledged) until he, had
written mn additional stanza. Paine unused for
a few moments. then called for n pen and wrote
Should the tempest OF war overshadow our land,
Its bolts could ne'1r rend Freedoms Temple asunder
For unmoved a. its portal would Washington stand
And repulEe. with his breast. tho assault OF It's
thunder;
His sword from the sleep
or its scabbard would leap
And conduct, with its point, every flash to the deep
FOR meier shall the sons OF Columbia he slaves
While the earth bears = plant or the sea rolls III
waves!
Tho poem which, perhaps. as much, as any
other single patriotic expression has been de
claimed by generations of young Americans
and has never failed TO stir and thrill the heartI
OF Americans of any age. Is Tho American
Flag" by Joseph Rodman Drake. Probabl,
nine out of ten native born male inhabitants Of
these United States have either recited or pineC