Evening star., 1923-05-06
"HOME, SWEET HOME'' MUSIC EPOCH
.,- SHOWN IN MAKING At EXHIBIT
HOaU Work of Genius
Gre1U Told at Lib
rary of Congress.
BY CHARLES T.. TRACEWELL.

Those who may be interested in
seeing how a work of genius grew
have opportunity to do SO at the Lii
brary of Congress. where there is
now installed an exhibit of material
relating to Home. Sweet Home" that
. immortal song which is as fresh to-
day as it was on May s, 1923, when
first given to the world
For Home. Sweet Home" was a
growth. and any one who will climb
the marble stairs at the Library of
'ongress--the <kYsset of stairs--and
walk directlrtnoSxhawil find himself
in the aisls<Whsrat3Ae exhibit is To-
and scofes sho8iaiEg the birth and
sentsnarS Sr"win a. ne iss9 song nsishrh whose Sc
Throughout the wsfsEtsis weeR setf0ra'ea
TWO years before the song was
first sung in "Clari, or the Maid of
Milan. an opera by Henry Rowley
bishop and John Howard Payne. the
odies of Various Nations" published
in 1921 at London. IT was given as
Slcilian air, but as a matter of
fact had been composed by. Mr.
Bishop. later to become Sir Henry.
The song in that old book was
called ITO the Home of My Child
hood. the words being written by
one Thomas Bayly. The melody. be
as that universally known today as
Home, Sweet Home
And the words-well they were
well enough in their way, but the
same sort of thing shat had been
done many times before. and were to
he written many times since--just
ordinarily we'll written verse lacking
that stroke of genius which John
Howard Payne, the American. put
into the song when he wrote the
new words two years later.
Here is the way the early words
ran:
To the home of my childhood
in sorrow | came
And | fondly expected to find
It the same
Full of sunshine and JOY, AS
thought it to be
In the days when the world
was all sunshine to me;
Those scenes We're unaltered
by time, and | stood
Looking down on the village
half hid by the wood:
That happy abode, where
usd to possess
\ fathers affection. mothers
careSs."
the friends of his childhood being all
gone and that sort of thing Thomas
Hood did it much better.
Song Hit of "Clnri.'
Then, right along side in the case.
may be seen one of the first printed
copies of Home. Sweet Home" the
great song hit''-though that term
was unknown in those Gays-of the
latest opera. "Clari."
"'MiH pleasures and palaces.
though we may roam.
Be il ever so humble, there's
no place like home
The hand of genius had touched it
"a great song had been born. one
that was to sing its way triumph
antly out OF an evanescent opera the
rest of whose music was mediocre.
and go on singing it's way down the
years, bringing sweet Impressions of
peace and happiness to the people
of all races.
Yes. it was the old melody. and the
cid idea about "home." but it was in
reality new song, one of those in
"vitabIe things in which the world
of music happily abounds, a song of
which no note can be changed. with
verses from which no word can be
elided without loss.
Is Work of Art.
Home. Sweet Home" is that
strange. ever-new creation. a work of
art. folk song which is true music,
with simple words that fit the notes
so we'll that all the world has sung
the result since.
In looking over the manuscripts