The sun., 1900-12-30
ORIGIN OF FAMOUS SONGS.
CHANCE IDEAS 1HtT WERE WORTH
THOl SANDS OF BGLIARS.
Inspiration for Recent Popular Songs Sup
Il.cd by littic Intiicnts In the Street
IarRe Profits In Some Cases Methods Of
I,rnham. Nrcsscr. Thornton md Othcrs.

| writteny said a music publisher. mo
/ ST. bjeCt is most interesting. Very iew people
snow exactly how soae of tho biggest hits
! wcro inspired
"Soas writing to-day /. quite an art There
/ pro moro publishers and moro singers than
! f. former years You've got 70 hayo hustle
/ on or else voull soon fad out that you are not
| I'm tho swim At rough estimate l think
| hundreds Of SONGS arc tIrnsd out every week
| I'm New York city alone. You've got - be
| ,p to date IN your ideas and the song must DO
! exceptionally clever before publisher VIII
| take TIE troubl, even 70 scan the manuscript
"Of course you remember poor Charlie
| Graham? No? uo died a few months ago
| In ab)ect poverty. though he was one OF the
most prono OF song writer's. He wrote night
! and day, nnd hs competitions were very
| much sought after b. publishers. Graham
composed II tho Waters Could Speak as
| They Flow Two Little Girls In Blue the
! Picture That Was Turned toward the Wall
and other popular songs. He got bis Idea
forThls song, If tho Waters Could Speak ~
They Flow strangely. Hs was bathing at
the seashoro where he was filling an eAgage-
nent for Graham was quite q singer himself.
| While the bathers were splashins In the SURF
Graham, who was over on the alert Tor Ideas,
abruptly turned to a friend and said:
| -'Pob, II these waters could only speak a.
they Cow wouldn't they tell lot OF funny
thirssr
| You bet was tho friends reiolnder.
Charlie, that would AXE fine dt!e Tor a
soag, wouldn't IL
! when Graham went TO his room ID DIS
hotel that night no eat down and composed
tina song which soon became very popular.
| Graham came to write Two Little Grls IN
| Llue' by a mere accident. One afterneon
while 10 was racking his brain for new
! theme he went to a window In his home In
| Brooklyn and gazod into the street below.
! Across the way from his home was primary
school 1t was about O'Clock and the chI-
dren we're Just leaving school. Graha m
| noticed two little girls. They were very
pretty and presumably sisters. for they
! looked very much alike, and botn were
dressed In blue. without any ado Graham
QUICKLY left that window. took out his pencil
| and Iotted down In his note book Two Little
| Girls IN Blue That same night he wrote
| the words and composed the melody and
in the course Of an hour 1t was a.! ready ior
the pubhsher The folloWinT T,,s, G.y ho wsas staa
place lie failed 70 eet encoursgenePs;. No
ssd he nSuC.d 10 yeRs one sIs pubr % buy
song FOX SIS. Well. ! guess you knoW we ,ths
rest The cong was one OF the biggest hi,s
to-night The publisher who bought the
conrosition says he made nearly 100000
I'Graham never thought much Of the song p,
isfSd iRis iihd OF music lave it,e busire:s ability.
99ssH4 ,s9 t. GRsT S4S to nh The ai '
career before 1t found &. purchaser. Charlie
rece,ved his inspiraton from a sSs1e n T. ne rs
play SSre hSS tSS Sid'n old mani fpR It va. Sue:
father-turns her picture TO The weli' Graham,
"''rjtsi iIsa in tLat incident nd used 1t for
III, sonf This sc,s p,,aotCSalye an made IT. tha hs
much GTonsp scsived for tn, ,t. n.rT:cri{Et ", e :
sg' soa mS dS2 Of iHf s ss @ HS and did not
care 10 take chances on ROYALTIES.
nTrss;r who ,ban sa' snS nSFs o.S,r .ons
writer in tie business has a novel way ~ N
s'ttas themes toT hi. r Cpmp" ,inons ne
L too. VIZ He IS sam mfomSSr o. Local pHb.Sins
f1rm and, 0, course. has no trouble In finding
55 5,y yGTg G Crg9'} gSc Il; TS'e ts Trh Th' Them PsTq
| That ioi oi sSw Me- Here lie. en- Actor
R2Tn Ts Her T1 rhat sse SsIa5p oa Io1e NJ. Back
70 New York Town, and The Blusand ".
%ray %r. very Sns1 rorSiar 'c One day pr.sasr me.
n NO sSn Of an old friend in iron. Of tho Morton
House in Union sqYnre He had Inow1a
Young rn7n was In Ill health and hard NJ,
,r,orNS $40 goihg home u t. '--o ~" to.morrow o. m
srd ~ YOU have any message to give t. the
SSiTdI ffcIlf. viii So very Slad to deliver il.
"a'''nth,' ronlISd the young follow, with a
/ touch Of L thOs in his voice, Just tell thcin
thgt you saw me. and that was looking
This was far from the truth. because
The Young man was psln fnd cd iEoKims ,srav av
| bade him good-by and the two parted. Dres-
ser then wrote the song. using the same ex !;
'rr changed the story around bit and made
tur real character woman who had tsilen
to return nome, for he died a. few months
after the song was published, Dresser wrote
ee az ASt9g ai's, fss ;hs 2sss5an eSTsi OF the
,nspr.$ H"Sii!ni nGs,F By - acdid.as water rord
Narknt street. Philadelphia. one gloomy
day. trying e. think Of some appropriate
and 5'ss t%T .res brs bhdTay sSSddsn1
PAUSED aud looked up at an old hg!f-obltter-
cd street aiSn on mo side Of a build ng.
c,ut Tar;aiss Z" ale say ?ai sad Ford % g
up there. W. ue II Ind some material
,4s to1 tS,ls4 tw2 s4usFs6 and vop,r up .as
seemed ttat the limit had been reached. As
they turned TO 60 back TO Market ST reot a l,ttls
down hovel. a shawl over her yellow ,curis and
hlttere! TN dinner pait IN her IT. had IL
D
/ was TIC little mother Of some struggling fam
I i.y SNn started back ut seeing Strangers and
! Como on, Jack said Ford, there's a song
: ~ last, ard thea they wrote The 'Surshtne, OF
! PARADISE Alley only Me- which was also
| written ard composed by tho same pair. was
! sugc ,strd by an incident which happened at
/ Steal lshead Bay. Ford was visiting family
I at tnst ulac" and after dinner Mrs. l.
I ur,lOled some music IN tho parior Two
iitta < rls. one aud the other 4. wer playing
! In an adjoining room. In the midst OF sorg
ono Of the children overt ned a chair with
/ considerable clatter The mother called
rcpruvlusIy.
Nv ss that you. sweetheart meaning the
younger Ohild.
"Ins answer came back platntivayr NO.
! mamma 1t was only me-
IN a moment the unconscious favorit.sm
| wa apparent. Tho ungramlnatlcsl sohnowl-
| oUE mont Of the mishap. 50 hopsleSsly gwen,
| seemed 20 lav bnre a childs heart that was
| yearning for somc Of the mothers pet phrases.
| Tho song followed, aud Mrs. L. has never
! forgiven lord and bratton.
| Jimmy ThoTatnh wrote his song, When
! iou " ere Sweet sixteen one night after a
| sult vita his wife, Bonnie Thornton. Mrs.
| Thornton had reurNsched her husband for
! sJmotniAg be had done and accused him Of
| groNir ;. cold toward her.
| "'NG", Bonnie he said, much surprised.
| how can you say THAR lovc you tho same
o. when vou ver" sweet sixteen
I. the song. NV SwNat hearts