The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-02-05
BRED IN OLD KENTUCKY"
song That Has Displaced "On the
Banks of the Wabash

song That Has Displaced "On the
Banks of the Wabash
From the Chicago Inter-Ocea
In the periodical literature and oc-
caslonal poetry of the United States.
kentucky. the dark and bloody ground
mas been more generally identified in
the popular mind with the production
| and consumption Of superior grade
OF whisky than with sentimental mat
tiers taking musical form In ballads.
Inc author Of the song, Bred In Old
hentucky-not bread from old Ken
lucky as the parodists already have
Touched, however, upon a sympa-
thetic vein in the first verse of his song
as follows:
When lad, I stood one day bv cottage
far away, -.
And to me that day all nature seem'd more
grand. - "a -
For my Sue. with blusbes red had ins+ nr,n,
ised We should wed ~
ana "a eome1 to ask her mother for her
As I told the old old tale of 1.-Two tb.+
neer would fall, -
The ray,haired mother stroked her daugh-
ter's head 3:.r.
And l fancied I could trace just tear on
AS she placed nv sWeetheart's hand =,
mine and said: 40
What the mother said to the youne
man differed materially from what. in
ike cases. according to all human oh
serVat1on and experience, is generally
SAID. She did not refer to her daughter
or to her future son-in-law She did
not say that matrimonial alliances
were made in heaven; she did not add
that she had always expected that he
would propose. She did not grieve at
the prospective loss of her daughter or
dry her tears in contemplation of the
good husband the daughter would Sc
cure She did not say that she hated
to part with her child. but would gain
a son in losing a daughter Her re-
marks were distinctively geographical.
particularly impersonal. and somewhat
descriptive, and as follows-in the
chorus:
She was bred In old Kentucky, where the
meadow grass is blue
There's the sunshine of the country in her
face and manner. too.
She was bred in old Kentucky take her
boy, you're mighty lucky
When you marry girl like Sue.
For some reason, which 1t Is difficult
TO explain. there has been considera BILE
popular approval of the dominant SEN
t1ment in the song Of old Kentucky.
Notwithstanding the fact that there is
no allusion in it to the merits of bour-
bon as beverage or the wholesome
advantages of rye, taken internally.
Heretofore Kentucky has been chiefly
noted In the affairs of the state by
reason of the horses bred and reared
there, and Kentucky thoroughbreds
have gained marked distinction on
many race courses. but the popular
merit Of young women with Kentucky
as place Of education has not here
tofore been very clearly made known.
The second verse Of the song is
OF a somewhat mournful character,
as it describes the emotions of
the young husband after being left
a widower, and contains, too, some
what curt reference on his part to "the
place we've long called home" He is
represented as soliloquizing, not as is
usual in such pathetic pictures. in a.
group of his friends and relatives, with.
usually. his children In the foreground
of the picture, but sitting alone, abso-
lutely alone, and disconsolate, and re-
calling the language of his mother-in-
law. These are the words Of the Sec
ond verse:
Many years have passed away since that
well-remembered day
When to that dear old Kentucky home
came:
And my happiness thro' life was NV sweet
heart, friend and wife,
For the sunshine in her heart remained the
same;
am sitting all alone in a place we've long
- called home
For yesterday my darling passed away;
Tho in tears. I think with Joy of the day
when but a boy,
That I took her hand and heard her mother
say:
Obviously the essential point In the
popularity of song is the excellence
Of the music. but the theme has much
to do with 1t, and the words of descrip-
ton. too. For a number Of years mat
tiers connected with Kentucky have de-
manded public attention. The play I'm
Old Kentucky has been presented In
all parts Of the country, and for that
reason, perhaps, the patrons of theaters
have felt themselves more familiar
with the song on that subject than
one based-upon Bred in Kansas" or
"Bred in Delaware" for instance. The
parodists have not been slow to utilize
the advantages offered by 'She Was
Bred in Old Kentucky as a subject for
travesty. There is the stramps' BREAD
from Old Kentucky" there Is the race
track BRED In Old Kentucky" there
is the humorous Full Of Old Ken
lucky" and SO on.
Arrived yesterday.
The Globe Year Book and Almanac.