Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-01-31
Trials of Song Composers

longing Tor people to come and visit
him.
. We'll. when they heard that Paul
! was down with a vicious attack OF HIS
govt they bearded the forty and odd
street pianos in uptown New York
and had 'em pianos N bunch In
front OF Drcsscr's house in uptown
New York and had 'em all start Two
Little Girls agoing together In about
forty odd different Keys. The Giu-
seppes Were instructed not TO play
anything else. but 10 wllop cr right
along until further orders with Two
Little Girls in Blue. The humorlsts
seated themselves comfortably mt the
second.s,ory windows Of nearby s,og.
gerry across the way from Paul's
house. where. with liquid refresh.
menis and things, thsy could enjoy
the contemplation OF how PAUL was
feeling about IT, The din was some
thing that never WAS and never will
be equale,i OIL this or any other con.
inent. IL was 4 h.deo,n, hellsh wa.
is of eternally lost souls. instantly
u began they saw Dresser. whose
chair was by the window of his see.
lnd-tioor front room. yank up the cur
ain and glare down 10 the street be-
'ow all cluttered and masscd up with
he gripping hurdy.gurdyers. He
'hook his fists and luwlcd out of the
open window. but. nix. the Sic!lians
had their instructions. and they went
right on with some more Two Little
Girls in Blue" Dresser caught sight
IF his gang of pals lurking In the
windows across the way. and the
scandalons things that he shouted at
'cm We're awful to listen 10. Then
Dresser begin 10 threw things at
he Dagos., He had his nurse fetch
him everything In the room tina: was
loose-shoes. canes. wash pitchers,
nantel-p'cce ornaments. everything
hat would b. pried from whatever
lastenines 1t hod--and chucNsd tile
stun ut the street pianisis. They
lodged The niss!!a=-but they wen,
right ahead playing. Two Little Girls
in Blue Great afternoon. all things
considered.
when DrgsSe got over his attack
II guut and made his WAY downtown
he swore roundly that II was his de-
iberate intention to slaughter every
solitary man who had been concerned
II klit 1ldli. anu lUt. NMtIlE AlIdlu w
meet him for months aftcrward.
But there's no use In II song writ.
er to try 70 get away from the misery
Of listening to one of his hits. A
few years agp unreled ballad
it had something to do with an apple
tree-that, greatly to my as-tonish
ment made n most tremendous hit
1t was, Ms | considered, about the
most inferior song that I'd ever turn.
ed out, but II proved To be u most
s,upendous knockout, rs these things
go. became so sick of that song
within Il couple of months after It's
publication that positively went to
Europe to get away from II. And
then found 'em all singing and
chanting and shouting and hollerlng
II IN the London music 'alls. nuds'
Ell out OF London, and IN Paris |
found EN- bawling II in all OF the
cafes chantans. Then went TO Der
lin. and the first thing heard when
| got there was Il military band poom
a.ra-ra-ing the Internal song at u
rark concert. Then sneaker TO the
Tyrol and thus managed 10 hide from
he fool song for n little while at
least.
(Which reminds me. by the way
that naval officer whose home Is in
Washington enjoyed the felicity of
not being murdered By a song for
which he wrote the words, and Ii
was Il curious little incident. About
dozen years. ago, while at SEA. this
naval officer yersifer of skill. wrote
three or four verses that struck him.
after he'd completed them. AZ Icing
.airish material for song. SO ne
sent the verse; to very. well-known
St. Louis composcr-a composer who
writes high.grade stun and nothing
of the sloppy sort. Tho ST. Louis
compose. was struck with the verses
II once. and he wrote some beautiful
ballad music around them. The thing
was sort OF a Promise Me song,
md really q fine piece Of work. boz.
as TO words and music. 1t made. as H.
deserved 10 make, an immense hit.
meanwhile the naval officer. out on
-he China station, didn't know any
thing about it, He hadn't had any
reply from the composer in st. Louis.
who's poor correspondent, and he'd
almost entirely forgotten about the
verses he'd sent to the composer by
the time he returned 10 Washington
lbout a year later.
zone evening shortly after his re-
turn here he made call upon some
Young women friends. They were
musical, and he asked one OF them
% sing something for han. She
sang the lovely music OF the St Louis
'omposer with the snaval officers
words, but the naval officers name.
Is the wordist didn't appear en- the
,heet music. because he'd written 10
he composer that he wouldn't care
Cor ANYTHING Ike that In case the