The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-02-05
SONGS FROM THE PHILIPPINES
tChieago Record.)


In taking possession of the islands in
Pacific and Atlantic waters. the United
States has acquired some new national
airs and songs to add to its limited reper-
/ tory. The HawaiianS have HAD a nation
al hymn of their own. and in addition
| thereto must be counted the large num-
/ Der OF native songs which are ind genOus
! to the islands. The Filipinos- have a ma
tional march, which IS reproduced on the
flrst page of the Record this morning. 1t
was written by Antonio COmil.aS, and Is
the tune which the Insurgents have used
to inspire them in their bait es against The
Spanish rulers. The melody is as Simple
as that of Yankee Doodle but il has
plenty of animation and swing. and the
change of key in the refrain gives it va
riety. Probably ii has served the Fill
pinos purposes well enough and if the
islands are to be annexed viii make an
other patriotic anthem for the United
States.
The new march does not appear to have
any racial character. but no one tune
could ever suggest all the various kinds
OF music which the Philippine peoples
must possess. The specimens of native
Asiatic music which were displayed at
the Worlds fair were not OF a kind TO
tempt civilized composers as the raw ma
terial out of which to make national
hymns. The Philippine National March"
is the tune only of the insurgents ano of
those of the FilipinoS who have come I'M
der the influence of Spanish civilization
far enough to have adopted the European
system of notation. If the dominant and
lHLelllk6QL element l4uLOIl. NlSGAaS ana
Mindanao continues to grow and acquires
control of the archipelago however, the
march may have TO be accepted as the
representative tune for all the islanders.
Some of the American soldiers at Ma
Mia, however have not been content 70
pass their time listening to the music of
other people. A Souvenir Song Book"
published in Manila. contains twenty-five
original songs and poems written by mem
bers of the Eighth army corps. The au-
thors are men of the regular and volun-
of oil hr~sar ,afGs If Ha
service. The songs are strongly sugges-
tive of the tedium of the soldiers life in
far-away camps and Of the straits TO
which he is reduced for amusement. 1t
may be noted. also as a unique char
acteristic of the American army that its
men should have either the inclination or
the ability to anuse themselves in just I
this way. The verses are often rough and
imperfect, but they indicate a liberal
acquaintance with the kind of verse which
passes current in popular songs and no
little knack Of Imitation. The compila-
ton begins with a song by Charles c.
Webster of the Aston battery, who has
written new words TO the popular college
air Of the ''PrOdigal SON. Here are some
of the stanZas in which he describes the
achievement of Dewey, the King of the
Sea-:
y torpedo boat came out with dash,
II did. it DID.
1t started for Dewey like flash,
1t did il did.
Not a man at his post was seen to finch, !
The commander gave the button a pinch,
Let go his twelve-pounders-oh what
cinch!
Sang Dewey, the king of the seas.
All this took place on the list of May,
1t did, it did.
Troops in ships were hurried away,
They We're. they We're
Re-enfOrced by batteries II and X,
John Astor's battery sailed away.
And they hurried them on to Manila bay |
Sang Dewey, the king of the seas. F!
Now the four expeditions came in safe !
and sound.
They did, they did.
Intrenchments the Spaniards were plant |
ing around.
They We're they were.
Since the 18th of August they're planting
no more.
They've learned what they never knew
can't stop the Eighth army
Sang Dewey, the king of the seas.
The popularity of "A Hot Time in the
Old Town Tonight is attested by Burt D.
Carrier of the Thirteenth Minnesota vol
unteers. who writes:
Come along, get you ready. for We are
going to the war,
But it 5 nothing new to Minnesota. for
she's been there before.
We're going to lick the Spaniards, who
are anxious for fight,
But for some unknown reason they keep
quite out of sight.
CHORUS.