The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-06-19
iDI FAMOUS SONGS 8'|I
AND THEIR HISTORY Il
No
No. so.

~ aSSS ~
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THE LITTLE
BY JOSEPH EAs
MY wife and 1 lived all alone,
In a little log house we called our
own;
She loved gin and loved rum
! tell you what we'd lots OF fun.
CHORUS:
Ha. Ia. ha. you and me,
Little Brown jug. don't I love thee;
Ha, ha. ha. you and me,
Little Brown jug. don't ! love thee,
IT'S you who make my friends my
foes.
tbs you who makes me wear old
clothes;
Here you are so near my nose,
SO tip her up and own she goes.
Some years ago Little Brown
Jug" was sung everywhere. 1t was
one OF the most popular OF the
songs OF the '70's. 1t has continued
TO live in the memory of many. Few
people to-day but are familiar with
the simple little melody TO which
the above words were set. and
among college men, three-fourths
of them could repeat the words as
printed. OF recent years it has
found it's way into the college song
books to be preserved as one OF
the choicest of those classics"
The reason for the popularity OF
this song is obvious. Anybody,
with or without a singing voice,
can MARBLE Little Brown Jug II
runs UP and down the scale hardly
to the extent OF an octave and when
sung In concert by a number OF
voices. the effect Is striking II Is
generally used to-day as college
drinking song. A peculiar use
when 1t is considered that its auth
or, "Eastburn," which was the nom
de plume signed 20 most Of his
music by Joseph Eastburn Winner,
was strictly temperate man and
an advocate OF temperance, rather
than an encourager OF the little
brown jug"
Mr.. Winner wrote this song when
he was in the piano and music
publishing business at 545 North
Eighth street. Philadelphia, the first
floor OF the old Handel and Haydn
Hall. and published it soon after.
with a very quaint title page.
Alongside Of the fine Illuminated
title pages OF to-day, Little Brown
Jug" with its white background,
monumental letters. and inartistie
drawing OF a jug in the center Of
the page. looks anything but like
what is necessary TO constitute a
good seller" IN our day,
But Little Rrown Jug" had other
merits. aside from the "homely
print it put on, and during the first
year following its publishing close
10 100. 600 copies were distributed
throughout the country. IT sold
like hot cakes" Mr. Winner knew
q would. for he had made his new
er-failing test. a test that many
music publishers to-day might
adopt to advantage.
Whenever he outlined a song, be
fore he put on the finishing touches.
he would call In a little bootblack
from the street. and used him a 5 a
sort of audience and musical critic
combined. He knew most of the
boys who in those days piled their
trade in and about the old Reading
Terminal. Of Philadelphia. at Ninth
and Green streets. Mr.. Winner
would seat himself at the piano,
first telling the audience and
critic" that he wanted TO play for
him a new piece he had composed
He would begin and play Il through.
not once. but a dozen times. watch
ing the effect on the audience" and
II II moved its feet. or seemed 10
have any special effect, or if the
"shine" would go out whistiing II
after the recital. Mr. Winner put
it down a winner. and he says the
test never failed him.
He says that no song that boot.
black ever whlstled as he went out
Of his store, made a failure. and he
had plenty Of opportunity to make
the test. for he published upward OF
a hundred songs.
Mr.. Winner does not claim abso-
lutte originality in the writing OF
The Little Brown Jug" the sdes
of the song, particularly the 'Ha
Ha" chorus, is probably several cen.
turtles old. One day a gentleman
came into his store, and in a dis
cussion of popular music. repeated
to him the words OF a little poem
and said he believed that IL Mr.
Winner could arrange the words
properly, and write a suitable mel
ody. that he would have a song
that would sell.
Mr.. Winner jotted down the poem
entirely rearranged it into verse
and chorus, added several verses
and sat down at the piano and wrote
the melody for it, the writing OF
which occupied fifteen or twenty
minutes. The day II was finished
a glee club in the neighborhood
who frequently visited the Winner
store. came in and asked the pro-
prietor If he had anything new. He
played Little Brown jug" for them
(Copyright. 1910, .