New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-08

Again" and, later, marching Through
Georgia"
Spanish American War Tunes
Of the songs of the Spanish Ameri-
can War, besides those which had
come down from an earlier generation,
can recall only one, "There'll Be
Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight"
which still lives and deserves to.
have an impression that | met the
author or composer of that song one
day in Schuberth's music shop, in
Union Square, at time when the camps
in Cuba and Porto Rico, as we'll as
in the United States, were ringing
with it, and was told that it had not
yielded him a cent. He had given it
to publisher in order that he might
see 1t in print and haply hear it. The
popularity of that song, like that of
the song which grew out of "Johnny,
Get Your Cum" and many others which
are dead or rapidly dying, rested on
its refrain, which in sentiment and
melodic Tilt caught the popular ear and
If the story | have told is true l am
sincerely sorry for the author, for
there has been no time in the history
of popular song when silly, ungram-
NAUTICAL, slangy slip-slop and i'll
rhymed, unrhythmcal commonplace
has made so many fortunes for its
authors as during the last quarter of a
century. And "There1l Be Hot
Time" is neither of the worst nor
best.
There does not seem ever to have
been a national anthem which was in
a correct sense folksong. All an
thems have been the conscious crea-
tions of artists. There are hundreds
of political songs which have never
come within the worlds knowledge, and
should not wonder If among them
many are true folksongs; but when
the war began, in 1914, there were only
four of which it can be said that they
were universally known and univer-
sally admired. The first, Good Save
the King" is SO perfect an exemplar
of its kind that its text served
by paraphrase, its melody by quo
tation, not only for Great Britain,
but for nearly all the monarchies
and municipalities combined in the
late German Empire and Sweden,
and has been found best fitted for our
own Republic. But it is an art song,
composed by Henry Carey, an English
man. Haydn heard it sung in London,
and it suggested to him the need of
similar hymn for Austria. So an Aus
trian poet wrote glib hymn, with the
old Biblical invocation "God Save the
King changed to "God Save Our En-
peror Francis" and Haydn, blending
some of his genius with some of the
essence of Croatian folksong, made the
hymn which has lost it's political sig
nificance, but not a 1.-THE of the must
cal beauty ut has had for more than
century. By imperial command the
Russian violinist Lvoff invoked God
to save the Gar, and thus came "Boshe
Zaria Chrani," against which all the
Lenines and Trotzkys in the world may
tranging musical heart. In manly
dignity. strength and vigor the i'm
perlal Russian hymn is superior to all
its rivals, except La Marseillaise,"
composed by poet and amateur mu-
stefan in fratricidal struggle, in
which passions ran mountain high; It
surpasses the French hymn in direct
ness and simplicity and, therefore, in
singab leness. In fact, La Marseil-
laise" is just about as fit for public
performance as "The Star Spangled
Banner" Belgium's LA Brabanconne"
is little better. THE Star-Spangled
Banner" was without authority forced
into the position Of the quasi-national
anthem of the United States during the
war. For propriety it stands only upon
the feet of its text, for its melody is
as English as that of "America," which
is no more English than DR.. Smiths
hymn and a hundred times more eff
fective.
How Certain Anthems May Be Classified
If we pass in review some of the
best known patriotic hymns in the
world and study them with regard to
their classification we find this result:
Scotlands "Scots Wha Haze" has
folksong tune-"Hey Tuttie Tuttie"
Rule, Britannia" is song from an
opera, Alfred composed by Dr.
Arne. "The Wearing of the Green"
has the attributes of folksong in the
ANONYMITY of its words and music,
being street ballad which sprang into
being in the Irish revolution of 1898.
The Welsh song, Men of Harech," is
traditional in story and in tune. "La