Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1913-06-06
OUR NATIONAL AIRS
Mrs, II. L. Bruce)

L., Cui'ure Club, held in the Pres
oyterlan church last Saturday
night. 1t was highly appreciated
oy the large audience assembled.
Music has power to uplift or to
lure into evil. to sooth or to stimu-
late and perhaps there is no n
VINO has not in some way felt its in
nuence. Probably no music has
s"ayed the emotions more than our
national Airs. On the march to
the battlefield soldiers have been
cheered and urged to action. on
their return soothed and rested bv
them
Perhaps the most familiar of all
our National Airs, one that is sung
by almost every child as soon as he
can talk, is Yankee Doodle. Ten
years before the Revolution this
song was used by the British army
to insult pious Puritans on Sun
days. 1t was played by the British
troops on their march to Lexing-
ton and was adopted by the patriots
under the name of the Lexington
March, And so the victorious
Americans, remembering this. play-
ed it while CORVALLIS troops
marched out Of Yorktown. Thus
1t began and ended the Revolution.
II was perhaps first officially re-
cognized as a National Air at
Client in 1914 at a banquet, given
IN honor of the American Treaty
Commissioners when Henry Clay's
colored body servant whistled it
for the hand master who harmo-
nized and produced it.
Hail Colt mbia" was written as
a march called the presidents
March," until the words were fitted
to it by Joseph H~opkinson for an
actor friend. during the political
excitement of 1894.
The well known John Brown"
was originally a Southern Sunday
School air, which was transplanted
10 Fort Warren and the original
words were changed to ridicule a
of the Twelfth Massa-
chusetts. 1t was then that John
Browns Body" as it had become.
was taken up in New York and
other places. II is one of the great
marching songs of the world and is
sung everywhere. Kitchner's sold
iers in the Snudan were cheered by
and it was heard on the battle
fields in Southern Africa
For the words of THE Battle
Of the Republic" we are in
debted to Mrs Julia Ward Howe.
DR.. and Mrs Howe we're in the
South when they heard the sold
iers, just after a skirmish, singing
John Browns Body" The Rev.
James Freeman Clark who had ac-
companied them said to Mrs. Howe
you ought to write some better
words for that" to which he replied,
''In will try" and as a result we
have the Battle Hymn of the Re-
public"
The greatest of all war songs,
Dixie brings at once to our
Southern scenes. Strange
rs it may seem. this song had
is origin in the north. 1t was writ
en- in 1859 by II member of Bry-
Minstrel show. The Mason and
Dixon line was the verbal ~inspira-
ion of the song. The COMPOSER and
had travelled much with cir
fuses and when they were showing
in the North and cold weather APP
preached the performers lOnged for
the Southern tour to begin and
would say 81 wish | was
in Dixie" This catch phrase was
used in after years by the author
IF the song. Dixie" was written
for the grand walk around for Bry-
ants Minstrols.
America" or God Save the
Queen" really belongs to England
but it certainly has the qualities of
n National Air as it mas been
adopted by at least six Nations.
Even Handles Austrian hymn, al
though written with the idea of be-
lug entirely different but still fill
the same place for the Austrian
that God Save the King" did for
England, is similar
And now we come to our Nation
al song, THE Star Spangled Ban
A few years ago this was