New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-01-25
A Sure Road to Oblivion

At guess, we should say the most GER
tain way TO dodge fame was to write the
words of an exceedingly popular song. III
YOUR words are sung on everyDodys lips
YOU can be reasonably sure that nobody
will remember your name-or II your
name is precariously preserved your per-
sonalitv will not be. You will live at most
rs an assemblage Of syllables to worry the
memories of school-chidren. Nonsense!
Well. who wrote "Anne Laurie? Who
wrote "My Country, Tis of Thee or
"The Old Oaken Bucket? Ever hear of
William Douglas of Kirkcudbright, or
Samuel Francis Smith, or Samuel Wood
worth, their respective authors, on the
word of Bartlett?
Coming down to more modern times,
there is a controversy already raging over
the authorship of Ear Above Cayuga's
Waters" A lawyer and entomologist, ~,
of Yaphank, Long Island, has set up
claims which are contradicted by the
friends of a late Judge, "a. The Cornell
records are being searched for evidence
and "The Brooklyn Daily Eagle" has
word to say for yet another candidate, 70,
who processes to be both amused and
amazed at the pretensions issuing from
Yaphank. Of course, the general Cornell
public neither knows nor cares. The song
has long since passed cheerfully into tradi-
ton, upon which no mere individual ap-
parently has a right to set up claim.
There have been some song writers
whose names have little more life in
them. Thomas Dunn English wrote "Ben
Bolt" and precious little else; yet his name,
as a name, persists in considerable num-
Der of minds. Stephen Collins Foster is a
very real name and deserves TO be remem-
bered; but who knows anything more OF
him than the bare fact that he wrote "My
Old Kentucky Home" and "Old Folks at
Home? And he was the composer of the
music as well. Naturally, the poets of
parts who incidentally wrote songs which
have been set to music and sung the world
around have a-plenty of fame. Yet even
these seem to take little glory from this
familiar lip worship Such songs as
Sweet Alton" and "a Red, Red Rose"
are far less associated with the name of
Burns than such unsung lyrics as "To a
Mouse" or "For a That and a That"
Edward Lear lives in most minds as the
creator of the limerick rather than Of the
familiar 1.-THE Owl ard the Pussy-Cat" of
the college song-book. Such knowledge of
Bayard Taylor as persists takes little or
nothing from the fact that his "Bedouin
Love Song" is still being beloved by deep
chested bassos in every state in the Union.
Hymns are another obvious illustration
of the small fame that comes to the writer
of words for music. Moody and Sankey
are an exception by reason Of their con-
spicuous careers on the platform. Nobody
knows or cares who wrote Onward, Chris
tan Soldiers" or Jerusalem the Golden"
Of course, everybody cares that Gilbert
and Sullivan wrote what they did, and we
may let them stand as the one real excep-
ton to the theory. We wish we could es-
cape the suspicion that if their team name
had had less lit. had been, say, Gilbert and
Smith, the tribute of posterity would be
much wagner than it is. At any rate, the
chances Of fame DO not lie this way. Far
better be great prizefghter, or even a
great general, and win great battle, than
trust your immortality to the careless lips
of those who sing songs and never guess
that somebody must have written them.