The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1917-05-02
LET DIXIE" ALONE.

meet the requirements of a "na-
tional'' song. But it capnot be done:
They argue; with !. the best OF
grounds, that "America" falls short
of the needs because its air is an
appropriation of that of the British
"God Save the King (or Queen),"'
and beside that, is wanting in "pep"
There is little about it to make
man spontaneously throw his hat
into the air or overheard and yell
"Hip! Hip!," etc. In fact, the tune
is more suggestive of black plumes
and gates ajar than Of the joyous
ness of the Gland of the free and the
home of the brave" -.
"The Star Spangled Banner"
won't do, they maintain, because 1t
is too hard to sing. Were we peo-
ple of Ricardo Martins and Mary
Gardens it probably would be popu-
lar enough; but we are not, and Tor
that reason the hoi polloi founders
and gives up in disgust about the
time it essays to reach the "red
gla-are" of the "rockets," and goes
home disgruntled over its vocal
shortcomings and clamorous for a
national anthem that everybody can
negotiate. Then, too, while the air
of the "Star Spangled Banner" hard
as it may be to carry, has a gran
deur and a martial swing about it,
the words are hardly adaptable for
the fullest expression of a non-mlli-
taristic, peace loving, democratic
peoples patriotism. Too much bat
tie, too much burning of gunpowder,
too much "ramparts," too much
"perilous fight" in it. 1t is hardly
the thing, as the national anthem,
although it will never die, nor lose
popularity in a patriotic medley.
"The Red, White and Blue" might
be all right but for the fact that
there's not much to it. 1t is rather
flat, ratheri commonplace, lacking
itself, too, in "ginger." Hail Co.
|lumbia, Happy Land" yankee Doo-
dle," and a score of others fail to
measure up, some for one, others for
another defect. Neither will do"
But everybody likes "Dixie."
AS a genuine, irresistible hair
raiser, spine-tingler, "Hurrah-Boys-
Hurrah! "-producer-north, east or
west as we'll as south, it has never
met it's match. No matter in what
section of the good old U. s. A,
let the band strike up "Dixie," and
the effect upon tho audience Is cleo,
trical. There's something about
"Dixie" that prevents mans sitting
still or keeping his mouth shut. And
it has got so that geography cuts no
figure. The air of "Dixie" gets re-
suits. It is the essence of rare old
wine in the form of music!
The entire nation loves the tune.
The poem is objected to because it
is "sectional." 1t is the song of
the south! =,
Therefore, the nation would ma
tionalize the air, and stuff 1t with
words that would square with the
requirements of national song. IN
other words, the nation would ab-
sorb "Dixiew
In a sense, the nation has adver-
tised for bids for new poem to MT
the tune, said poem to be built &C
cordinp to contract and in comph-
ance with plans and specifications.
A good many amateur and near.
poets already have submitted and
had published attempts to meet the
demand-suggestive of the theory OF
the "early bird catches the worm"
With all due respect to the au-
thors and the authors feelings, we
hazard their umbrage to the point
of declaring that, in our opinion,
these new-fangled "Dixies, what
we have seen of them-are punk!
And one is about as good an another
They all lack "punch"
AS for making "Dixie" national,
in the sense that it is proposed to
nationalize tit is as naturally and
fundamentally southern as the cot,
ton blossom or the magnolia. And
as we'll try to grow bananas in the
hack wards of Boston as to trans
plant "Dixie" to New England. 1t
would do all right up there as a sort
of hot-house ornament or CURIOSITY
but it will never stand that cllmate
out of doors!
"Dixie" will live forever and
day, but it will live where it was
born. And not as a parody. 1t can
live only in its ordained form. And
as a national "hymn," or anthem"
it will never fill the bill, for the SIM
ple reason that it is not national, was
never intended to be national; and
no matter where its thrilling, blithe,
spritely air is ever heard-let the
words be what they may-whether
in the forests of Maine, among the
peaks of the Rockies or on the plains
of Afghanistan, for that matter,
the thoughts it will inspire in it's
hearers will be essentially of the
south and things and traditions
strictly southern.
AS we'll try to rewrite and make
"Suwanee River" national!
AS we'll try to nationalize the con-
federate gray as to try to national
ize the inspiring air to which the
gray-clad heroes marched through
four years of battles!
We have "Dixie." We love it. We