The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-02-08
Stephen Foster and
American Folk Song

About fifty-four years ago last
month Stephen Collins Foster, the
maker of many sweet and tender
melodies, fell upon the flocr OF
cheap hotel in New York City
and died.
If we have any real American
folk songs they are Stephen Fos-
ter's intimate and heartfelt tunes.
Foster is doubly American because
: he was born on the fourth of July,
when the people of Pittsburg, his
native town, were celebrating the
fiftieth anniversary of Americas
independence He came into the
world to the tune of The Star
Spangled Banner, and his music
never got very far away from our
starry emblem. His songs have be-
come so much a part of our life
that we think of them as having
lust growed" like "Tcr8y and
we seldom think of the pA who
made them.
Stephen Foster was musical
from the first. AS a little boy of
two he would lay his sisters gui-
tar on the floor, calling it his "littly
pizani." and then pick out the har-
monies on it's strings. At the age
of seven he taught himself to play
the flute. His Arst composition to
be given in public was waltz for
for four flutes. This he played
with three companions at the Ath-
ems (Pa.) Academy, where he at
tended school.
His first song to be published
was open Thy Lattice, Love- this
at the age of sixteen. Later came
uncle Ned" composed for his
singing club This with ooh, Sus-
anna" he gave to a friend (Foster
had not yet taken up the profession
Of music.) The gift was a valuable
one. as the friend cleared ten thou.
sand dollars from the two songs
and established, upon the strength
of their sale, large and flourish
ing music publishing business "out
West"
Foster had a wide range of cul-
ture. He knew French and Ger
man well. He was a great reader
and painter of ability. "My Old
Kentucky Home" was his twenti-
eth plantation melody. The song
was a great favorite with many
great singers. For perfection of
simple pathos it has no equal 1t
has been translated into all the
European and many Asiatic Ian
guages and has found its way
around the world.
Foster wrote many tunes which
he destroyed Immediately. Upon
being asked why he tore up so
many songs he said, Because it's
f.! the only way l can get them out
of my head and make room there
for something better"
His Most Famous Melodies.
Several of his most appealing
melodies have been the outcome of
personal experiences. "Massa in
de Cold, Cold Ground" while a
darkey melody, was written after
his fathers death and echoes the
loneliness he felt at that time. "Old
Dog Tray" is in memory of a favor.
lite setter, and "My Old Kentucky
Home" is in memory of the pictur-
eskue old homestead of his rela-
tive, Judge Rowan, of Kentucky.
In all, Foster composed one hun.
dred and sixty songs. They were
on millions of lips even in his day.
yet people passed the composer by.
| 1t is a long, long way from Fos-
ters simple songs to "Parsifar or
a Strauss opera, but the influence
OF Foster upon the people of Amer.
lea has been more important fac
tor in our musical growth as a ma
ton than that Of any other COM
poser.
While our appreciation of his ser.
vice to American music comes
much too late to be of personal ben
eft, still the very fact that we rec
Ognize him as an American COM
poser may give fresh courage to
some poor struggler at our elbow
who is trying to win out against
our Indifference. We do not have
to 60 to Europe for folk songs, let
us use our own American-made
| ones,