The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-09-11
WANTED, A NATIONAL SONG.

For a nation that has passed through
four great wars, two of them revolu-
tions, our patriotic hymnal is very
slim one War and trial do not seem
to have evolved great amount of pa
triotic song music for us that has the
merit of living America" which Is
1.-THE Red, White and Blue" Hail CO.
lumbia," and, perhaps "Keller's Amer
lean Hymn" constitute the lot.
AS for war songs Dixie" Yankee
Doodle and Marching Through Geor-
gia' are about all. 1t is a question
whether any Of these have the elements
Of vitality. Marching Through Geor-
gia' never can be accepted with spirit
by a large body of our people, because
it speaks of them as traitors and their
defeat as a glory; Yankee Doodle" is
not original and has no words worthy
the name 1t was song of derision
which we adopted to spite the enemy.
Dixie" has spirited movement, but it
is local and lacks dignity. AS to pa
triotic songs Hail Columbia" never
will be SO popular as to come tripping
on the tongue.
Evidently Lieutenant Hobson, when
he presided at the New York meeting
the other night, realized our poverty of
spirited national song, when after a
moments hesitation he turned to the
orchestra and said: play Yankee
Doodle" THE Star Spangled Banner"
will always remain. Monuments are
erected here and there to the memory
of its author, and another was unveiled
August 9th at Frederick, Maryland, his
native city Now they are proposing
to erect a monument at Hartford,
Conn, to the memory Of Henry c.
Work, the author of Marching
Through Georgia.
The war of the revolution gave us
not a single song that lives Even such
as they had in those days were little
more than doggerel Our history dis
with the title true song" The war of
1912 did no better in the song way, and
the war with Mexico gave us nothing
at all in that line. The war Of the
rebellion gave us Julia Ward Howe's
superb Battle Hymn of the Republic"
and it will live for the grandeur of its
movement and the lofty inspiration of
its lines. But as a song it moves on
borrowed lines, and as time passes 1t
will lose something of it's significance
by reason of the fact that it directs
thought to a particular condition of af-
fairs.
John Browns Body cannot lay any
stronger claim to vitality than Dixie"
It was in a sense partisan and always
will be received in silence by a large
portion Of our people for obvious rea-
sons. There were, however, a number
Of camp songs like Tramp, Tramp"
tTenting Tonight" Maryland, My
Maryland" Bonnie Blue Flag" Three
Hundred Thousand More,' but they
have become mere relics. and if sung
nowadays it is out of sheer curiosity
The enthusiasm has died out of them
and they reawaken none anew.
The late war has given US no song as
yet, but it is not too late to look for
one, since not all such must be born of
the moment Of peril and trial and dur
ing the exaltation and excitation of
public sentiment.
OF patriotic poetry we have a wealth
Of production, most of it Indifferent. but
some Of it rich, sparkling, lofty and
everything. But our poets and our COM
posers do not appear to have met upon
common ground. There is room still
for the composer TO take some one of
our many splendid patriotic poems and
set it to music that will be inviting to
the public, catchy" as the saying is,
and that will live for the merit of it.
A contemporary says and we concur
that after all the living war songs are
written in times of peace, so that there
Is hope yet that we may have a song,
living song, relating TO the late and
other wars. For, as our contemporary
says, Waterloo was won and Napoleon
lost before Beranger wrote his splendid
songs and put them into the mouths
Of Napoleon's veterans. It is probably
true, as is urged, that war songs writ
ten after war breathe the best Of old
war music. Then the fires Of passion
have burned out, and the muse and
the composer rise upon purer atmo-
spheres in pluming their flights.
But while we have three national
songs. strictly national and that Will
live, and two of which will be sung as
long as our people sing anything and
the republic stands, it remains true
that the national song par excellence.
Invested of localism, unrelated to par
ucular events, inspiring, easy flowing,
one that the public ear win catch. and
mere babes may babble of, is yet to
come, the song that will prove its right
to live, that win fire the pulse in war
time and send a glow of pride through
American hearts in times of peace
TIT