While all patriotic and national music is to a greater or less extent popular music, it may be classed apart in that its growth largely is due to the circumstance of war and is the specific outcome of such conditions. America's war songs and sea songs have played their part as incentives to patriotism, to enlistment in the ranks, to valor in the field and on the sea, and have served to inspire and cheer the fighting forces of the Republic. They thus have become national both in scope and in character.
People of every nationality are moved to speech or to song by that which permeates the thoughts or appeals to the emotions in times of political excitement. Love of country, together with a pride in its institutions, be the latter of a primitive or more cultured form, smolders in the breast of all mankind. This latent spark when fanned into a blaze of fervor finds vent in speech and in song, which in turn inspires to action.
Such is the birth of patriotic music. No country, as history proves, can afford to ignore the patriotic force capable of being brought into play through the power of music, either in song or in instrumental form, both of which performed their part in inciting to action. It is said that the songs written by Charles Dibdin had so potent an influence in war, that, in 1803, the British government engaged him to write a series of them " to keep alive the national feelings against the French," and his biographer relates the pertinent fact that " his engagement ceased with the war he thus assisted in bringing to a glorious close."
The repertory of popular music in America is especially rich in patriotic and national songs, in fact so much so that it is hard to fix on any one and term it our national anthem. These songs have been called into existence chiefly at the various times that the country has been at war, either inter-national or civil. The first incentive to patriotic vocal utterance was the Revolution, later followed by the War of 1812 and still later by the Civil War. The songs brought out at these three periods were typical of the individual times at which they were written and many of them were colored by particular incidents. Thus in them there is a graphic history of the American Republic.
The colonists of America, who had been schooled to hardship and privation, finding little time for the cultivation of the arts, were not found wanting when the critical moment presented itself. True, there was little of secular music at the period immediately preceding the Revolution. Psalm-singing was at this time the only music tolerated by the Puritan element. Thus it happens that the early musical efforts of a patriotic nature were semi-religious in character.
The first war song in America originated with William Billings, of whom further mention is made in a later chapter of this volume. In his Singing Master's Assistant, one of the most important musical publications of its time, are found, among other of his original compositions, two that became exceedingly popular with the Revolutionary troops. The significance of the political agitation. at this time presented opportunity for Billings to display his aptitude in verse. He possessed a keen intuition of the temper of the times, and his compositions are an outburst of the patriotic fervor that had been awaiting just such opportunity for development. So to his favorite tune of Chester he set the following text :
Let tyrants shake their iron rod,
And slavery clank her galling chains,
We'll fear them not, we'll trust in God;
New England's God forever reigns.
The foe comes on with haughty stride,
Our troops advance with martial noise;
Their veterans flee before our arms.
And generals yield to beardless boys.
Naturally enough, these words, set to a familiar tune and so thoroughly characteristic of the spirit of the hour, caught the taste of the people. Indeed, these half sacred, half secular ebullitions may be classed as our pioneer patriotic and popular music. The enthusiasm with which Billings sang and taught these songs communicated itself to the people, even to those who in the prejudice of their time had strenuously opposed singing in the churches, for no one could doubt the composer's sincere patriotism.
Billings' songs, anthems, hymns, or whatever we may please to call them, their nature almost defying accuracy of definition though the use to which they were put, went with the soldiers into camp and on the field ; they were sung with enthusiasm, and served to cheer the drooping spirit and nerve the arm to strike. These songs cannot be separated from the annals of our country, as they proved an incentive to that which made history. There is an impressive simplicity in the two following stanzas forming part of the text which has been quoted above :
When God inspir'd us for the fight,
Their ranks were broken, their lines were forc'd,
Their ships were shattered in our sight,
Or swiftly driven from the coast.
What grateful offering shall we bring?
What shall we render to the Lord?
Loud hallelujahs let us sing,
And praise his name on every cord.
The following stanza is taken from a song, set to an old Scotch tune, which was sung by the Pennsylvania regiments. It was first heard in 1775, but there is no record of its author :
We are the troops that ne'er will stoop
To wretched slavery,
Nor shall our seed by our base deed
Despised vassals be !
Freedom we will bequeath to them,
Or we will bravely die;
Our greatest foe ere long shall know
How much did Sandwich lie.
And all the world shall know
Americans are free;
Nor slaves nor cowards will we prove
Great Britain soon shall see.
In 1778, an Englishman, Henry Archer, who had been educated at a military school in his native land, renounced a handsome inheritance, left England, and became through his. sympathy in the cause a volunteer in the American army. Archer composed a song which was sung with much enthusiasm by the soldiers. It is rather in the nature of a convivial than of a war song, although it was a particular favorite in camp, and is as follows :
THE VOLUNTEER BOYS.
Hence with the lover who sighs o'er his wine,
Chloes and Phillises toasting,
Hence with the slave who will whimper and whine,
Of ardor and constancy boasting.
Hence with love's joys,
Follies and noise,
The toast that I give is the Volunteer Boys.
Here's to the squire who goes to parade,
Here's to the citizen soldier;
Here's to the merchant who fights for his trade,
Whom danger increasing makes bolder.
Let mirth appear
Union is here,
The toast that I give is the brave Volunteer.
Then follows the health of the " law " volunteer; the " veteran chiefs who become volunteers," referring to those who have served before and are ready to serve again; and to the farmer or ploughman, who is toasted as the " stout volunteer." One can readily understand with what vim this song would be sung in a day when there was so little music of a martial nature.
It was a period when writers of verse were more active than composers of music. This resulted in the former adapting their songs to music already written and with which the people were familiar. Such was the origin of " Rise Columbia," which, in 1794, was set to the tune of " Rule Britannia" by Robert Treat Paine, the sentiment of the words being somewhat plagiarized in doing duty as an American song of patriotism. In order that the reader may better comprehend this, a reprint of the original first stanza of the American and the British song is here given :
RISE COLUMBIA.
When first the sun o'er ocean glow'd,
And earth unveiled her virgin breast,
Supreme mid Nature's, mid Nature's vast abode,
Was heard th' Almighty's dread behest:
Rise Columbia, Columbia brave and free,
Poise the globe and bound the sea.
RULE BRITANNIA.
When Britain first at Heav'n's command,
Arose from out the azure main,
This was the charter, the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sang this strain:
"Rule Britannia! Britannia rules the waves;
Britons never shall be slaves."
Among other names distinguished for their contributions to the military songs of this period may be mentioned Benjamin Young Prime, and James McClurg, both of whom were physicians ; Rednap Howell, who was a schoolmaster at Deep River, North Carolina ; David Humphreys, who became a captain on the staff of General Putnam; Joel Barlow, and Timothy Dwight ; all of whom wrote songs for the soldiers.
Barlow, on entering the army as chaplain, is recorded as expressing himself as " not knowing whether he could do more for the cause in the capacity of chaplain or in that of poet," adding, " I have great faith in the influence of songs one good song is worth a dozen addresses or proclamations."
One of the best contributions to the song lore of the Revolutionary period is " Columbia," by Timothy Dwight, afterward president of Yale College. In 1777 the classes of Yale were scattered on account of the war, and in the month of May of that year Mr. Dwight with a number of students repaired to Wethersfield, Connecticut, remaining until the autumn, when he received his license as a minister of the Congregational Church. He now joined the army as chaplain, and while serving he wrote several patriotic songs as inspiration to the troops composing his brigade, which was made up principally of farmers who were more or less serious-minded men. These songs were also sung with zest throughout the New England communities. " Columbia," which must be considered in the light of the period in which it was written, is permeated by a strong, hopeful, prophetic spirit.
Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise,
The queen of the world and the child of the skies;
Thy genius commands thee; with rapture behold,
While ages on ages thy splendors unfold,
Thy reign is the last and the noblest of time,
Most fruitful thy soil, most inviting thy clime;
Let the crimes of the east ne'er encrimson thy name;
Be freedom and science, and virtue and fame.
Thus, as down a lone valley, with cedars o'erspread,
From war's dread confusion I pensively strayed,
The gloom from the face of fair heaven retired,
The winds ceased to murmur, the thunders expired;
Perfumes as of Eden, flowed sweetly along,
And a voice, as of angels, enchantingly sang
Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise,
The queen of the world and the child of the skies.
Not a song of boast, nor of warlike trend, yet one momentarily to lift the heart, and to impart a clear insight into the issue at stake, when from the struggle and strife of combat with all its attendant sufferings, there would arise a nation purified by its trials, and upon whose altar should be laid, not alone the laurels of conquest, but the gifts of liberty and fraternity, justice, science, art and genius.
There were many songs written in which the war-spirit prevailed. There were also the semi-religious songs, sung both at the hearthstone and around the camp-fire. The more spirited songs were used in the weary marches or on the field of combat, while in the churches were found those in which serenity of thought, peace of mind, patience and fortitude were incorporated, with an appeal to a Higher Power for help and sustenance. Perhaps the most notable lyric of this kind came from the pen of Nathaniel Niles.
Mr. Niles was graduated from Princeton in 1766. He was a man of remarkable versatility, having studied both medicine and law, taught school for a time in New York City, was a member of the Vermont legislature and a judge of the supreme court, as well as a representative to Congress. When the news of the battle of Bunker Hill reached him he was at his home in Norwich, Connecticut, and being deeply moved he wrote " The American Hero," which was immediately set to music and sung in all the churches during the troubled years that followed. Space cannot here be given to the whole of this ode of some fifteen stanzas, but a few verses will illustrate its depth of feeling as well as its incentive to strike for the cause of freedom :
Infinite wisdom teacheth us submission;
Bids us be quiet under all His dealings;
Never repining, but forever praising
God our Creator.
Then to the goodness of my Lord and Master,
I will commit all that I have or wish for;
Sweetly as babes sleep, will I give my life up
When called to yield it.
Fame and dear Freedom, lure me on to battle;
While a fell despot, grimmer than a death's head
Stings me with serpents fiercer than Medusa's,
To the encounter.
Life for my country and the cause of freedom,
Is but a cheap price for a worm to part with;
And if preserved in so great a contest,
Life is redoubled.
Such songs are typical of those of the Revolutionary period and serve to give an idea of the patriotic songs of that day. They are all more or less touched with the religious spirit and in their musical settings show the same tendencies. It was a time when piety and seriousness were more in evidence than they have been during the later wars waged by the American Republic, and such characteristics are faithfully portrayed in these martial songs.
It also was during the Revolutionary period that " Yankee Doodle " was bestowed upon us. It has clung to us with unshaken tenacity ever since and is ours by right of adoption. The tune has been pronounced frivolous and lacking in dignity, yet England, Holland, Turkey, Persia and Spain have laid claim to its origin. The more one tries to ascertain from whence it came the more one finds himself floundering amid an overwhelming mass of incident and anecdote connecting the original with the version first heard in our Revolutionary period. The Englishman will tell you that " Yankee Doodle " originated in a derisive song directed against Cromwell, while the Dutchman persists that the same melody has been a favorite song of the harvesters of the Netherlands for centuries.
" Yankee Doodle " began its career in America as a song of exasperation. It was an ever ready weapon by which the British troops sought to ridicule the American soldiery; but when the keen-witted " Yankee " turned its edge by adopting the air and using it as a means of retort upon the British royalists its popularity became unbounded. It was played at the battle of Lexington when repelling the foe; at the surrender of Burgoyne, and finally at the surrender of Yorktown, where Lafayette in a spirit of pleasantry ordered the tune played. It thus became our first triumphant melody.
That " Yankee Doodle " was an English song at the beginning of the Revolution and an American song at its close, later becoming incorporated in our national song, there is no reason to doubt. Most authorities on the subject have now conceded that Richard Shuckburgh, a surgeon with the English troops, was the writer of the satirical verses which he adapted to a familiar air an old English dance tune dating back to the reign of Charles I. From the New York Journal bearing date Oct. 13, 1768, is taken the following paragraph which connects the song with the British troops:
" The British fleet was bro't to anchor near Castle William, in Boston Harbor, and the opinion of the visitors to the ships was that the ` Yankee Doodle Song' was the capital piece in the band of their musicians."
The treaty of peace between Great Britain and America was signed on Dec. 24, 1814, at Ghent, where Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams met the British ambassador. Here it was that the burghers, to show their satisfaction at the treaty being signed within their domain, resolved upon serenading the two embassies. The national song of England was familiar enough to them, but they were not sure as to the national hymn of America. They sought the band-master for enlightenment and he referred the matter to Mr. Clay.
" Yankee Doodle," responded the American commissioner. The band-master, not being familiar with the melody requested Mr. Clay to hum it so that he might note it down. Mr. Clay tried but failed. Then the secretary of the legation made a futile attempt to voice the melody.
Finally Mr. Clay called in his servant, saying : " Bob, whistle ` Yankee Doodle ' for this gentleman." Thus Europe received its transcription of our first truly national song from the puckered lips of an American negro. It was harmonized and copied, and became known in Europe as the " National Anthem of America." While " Yankee Doodle " has been looked upon as a national song, it is the tune rather than the words which makes its appeal, for the melody is everything and the words are nothing; and although forming a stirring instrumental piece it is not adapted to vocal harmonization.
Of all the songs of national import which America claims, " Hail Columbia !" is particularly her own words and music both emanating from a deep spirit of patriotism and both finding birth at a critical moment in our national life. There has been a difference of opinion among our music historians as to its author, and although all agree as to its claim of American origin, they disagree as to who was its composer. The music, in the first place, was not written for the words. The former had become familiar in the nature of a march, while the words were written after-ward to fit the tune. During the Revolutionary War much march music sprang into existence. It was one of these marches that was selected to do duty to words composed expressly to meet a certain need. Joseph Hopkinson, its author, states that the words of " Hail Columbia!" were written in the summer of 1798 when war with France was thought to be inevitable. The contest between England and France was raging and the people of the United States were divided as to the cause of which nation it was better to espouse.
At this time Gilbert Fox, a young actor, was to be given a benefit performance at a theatre in Philadelphia. Fox requested Mr. Hopkinson to write some patriotic words for use as a closing number, and " Hail Columbia!" was the result of his endeavor. Mr. Hopkinson had been careful to make no allusion to either England or France, particularly as to the quarrel between them ; on the contrary he had struck the happy suggestion to American patriotism, love of country, especially emphasizing the idea of independence, which was uppermost in the minds of all. This was the touch of the diplomat, for the song was taken into the favor of both parties, for all were Americans.
The words were adapted without loss of time to the music of the " President's March," and on the morning of April 25, 1798, the morning papers of Philadelphia announced Gilbert Fox's benefit, in which an "entire new song (written by a citizen of Philadelphia), to the tune of ` The President's March' will be sung, accompanied by a full band and a grand chorus."
Hail Columbia, happy land!
Hail ye heroes! heaven-born band,
Who fought and bled in freedom's cause,
Who fought and bled in freedom's cause!
And when the storm of war had gone,
Enjoy'd the peace your valor won;
Let Independence be your boast,
Ever mindful what it cost!
Ever grateful for the prize,
Let its altar reach the skies.
Firm united let us be,
Rallying round our liberty;
As a band of brothers joined,
Peace and safety we shall find.
The audience being in a condition both politically and emotionally to receive such a song, and the tune being already familiar, it caught the words of the refrain without difficulty. By the time the last verse was sung the people stood up, and joining the chorus heartily voiced this plea for unity and their thankfulness for independence.
The " President's March," . the music to which the words were set, is said to have been composed by a German named Fyles, who, being leader of the orchestra in the John Street Theatre, New York, in 1789, and desiring to compliment the President, composed this march in his honor, playing it on the occasion of General Washington's attendance at the theatre. The son of Fyles claimed later, however, that his father first played this march on Trenton bridge as Washington rode over on his way to the New York inauguration. Claims have also been made for a musician by the name of Roth, at that time resident in Philadelphia, in which city " Feyles " or " Fyles " is said to have lived.
It is also stated by more modern commentators that Francis Hopkinson, father of Joseph Hopkinson, the author of the song, wrote a march the original " Washington's March " it is claimed which later became known as " Washington's March at the Battle of Trenton," and ultimately as " The President's March." Whether this is the " President's March " to which the words of " Hail Columbia " were adapted is uncertain.
On June 1, 1798, the Massachusetts Charitable Fire Society of Boston was about to celebrate its anniversary with a meeting and a banquet, and commissioned Robert Paine to write the text of a song for the occasion. "Adams and Liberty," or what was later known as " The Sons of Columbia," was the poem in question. Paine received seven hundred and fifty dollars from its sale, and after its publication, forwarded a copy to General Washington, who replied by letter :
" You will be sure that I am never more gratified than when I see the effusion of genius from some of the rising generation, which promises to secure our national rank in the literary world : as I trust their firm, manly, patriotic conduct will ever maintain it with dignity in the political."
There seems to have been no composer at hand to endow the words with an original musical setting, and Paine, who had been successful in adapting various texts to familiar tunes, now turned again to English melodies for a selection, finally fixing on the air To Anacreon in Heaven." This air had been used by the Anacreontic Society, a famous London organization of the latter half of the Eighteenth Century, as their club song.
It was in the atmosphere of this society that the music set first to the words of "Adams and Liberty " and now doing duty as -the tune to the Star-Spangled Banner " was born. It has been said that this music did not originate with the Anacreontic Society; that it was adapted from an old French air. But it is now generally conceded that the music and words known as the song " To Anacreon in Heaven " sprang into being at one and the same moment, as the Anacreontic club song the words being written by Ralph Tomlinson while presiding officer of the society, and the music by Dr. Samuel Arnold, composer and organist of the Chapel Royal.
This tune for nearly a century has been associated with the words of the " Star-Spangled Banner," and the fact that it originated with the London organization is almost for-gotten. The poem itself is a beautiful one, full of incentive to patriotism, and is one of the finest tributes to a national flag that has emanated from any nation. The story of the author's inspiration also serves to endear the words, for they were not born of a flight of imagination but from actual incident.
Francis Scott Key, whose fame is associated with this poem, was a lawyer by profession, a graduate of St. John's College, Annapolis, and practised law both in Frederick City, Maryland, and in Washington, D. C. The second war between England and the United States was being waged on land and sea, when Dr. Beanes, an old resident of Maryland and a warm personal friend of the young lawyer, was being held a prisoner on the British frigate " Surprise." Key determined to seek his release, and providing himself with the necessary credentials, as well as proofs of the non-combatant status of the physician, set out on his errand of kindness.
With John S. Skinner, who had been appointed by President Madison to conduct negotiations with the British forces relative to the exchange of prisoners, he was subsequently taken on board the " Surprise." From this point, on the thirteenth of September, 1814, he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry, and under the inspiration of the moment he penned the words of the " Star-Spangled Banner." Eight days after the bombardment the song appeared in the Baltimore American under the title " Defence of Fort McHenry, Tune Anacreon in Heaven," and with the following notice :
" The annexed song was composed under the following circumstances : A gentleman had left Baltimore with a flag of truce, for the purpose of getting released from the British fleet a friend of his who had been captured at Marlborough. He went as far as the mouth of the Patuxent, and was not permitted to return lest the intended attack on Baltimore should be disclosed. He was therefore brought up the Bay to the mouth of the Patapsco, where the flag vessel was kept under the guns of a frigate, and he was compelled to witness the bombardment of Ft. McHenry, which the Admiral had boasted that he would carry in a few hours, and that the city must fall. He watched the flag at the fort through the whole day with an anxiety that can better be felt than described, until the night prevented him from seeing it. In the night he watched the bomb shells, and at early dawn his eye was again greeted by the proudly waving flag of his country."
Being born under such auspicious circumstances it is very fitting that the " Star-Spangled Banner " should have become the authorized music at the salute of the colors both in the army and navy. At the time in which the words of this song were written there was located in the vicinity of the Holliday Street Theatre, Baltimore, a small one-story frame house which was occupied as a tavern. It was here that Captain Benjamin Edes of the Twenty-seventh Regiment first introduced the song to a group of volunteers who had assembled for drill. The patriotic words, read by the captain, were received with shouts and cheers, and when the singing of the words was suggested, Ferdinand Durang, an actor, who was one of the group, rendered it to the tune of "Anacreon in Heaven " as adapted by Key himself. It is said that Durang " mounted an old rush-bottomed chair, singing the song with admirable effect " and that " the chorus of each verse was re-echoed by those present with infinite harmony of voices."
Honor has been shown to the memory of Francis Scott Key by the erection of several monuments to his memory, notably one in California by James Lick, who in 1874 gave one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the erection and maintenance of such a monument in San Francisco; and that at Frederick, Maryland, which was unveiled in August, 1898.
A patriotic song which has long retained its popularity is " Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean." The history of this song begins in 1843, in which year Thomas A Becket, an English actor, was playing an engagement at the Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia. David T. Shaw, who was at this time singing at the Museum, called on Mr. A Becket with some patriotic verses he had written. Mr. ΰ Becket, not finding them satisfactory, rewrote them and composed a musical setting for them.
A few weeks afterward, while playing in New Orleans, he was somewhat astonished to find a published copy of " Columbia, the Pride of the Ocean," in which David T. Shaw was credited with the authorship of both words and music, and Thos. A Becket with the arrangement of the same. Upon his return to Philadelphia he called upon the publisher and convinced him of his claim to the copyright. Negotiations with another publisher were at once begun and the song appeared a short time afterward under its proper title, with T. A Becket as author and composer, and with the additional information " Sung by D. T. Shaw." Mr. A Becket stated that when he visited London in 1847 he found this song claimed as an English composition, it being known there as " Britannia, the Pride of the Ocean." Though of undoubted American origin this song became so well liked in England that, by a slight alteration of the words, the "Red, White and Blue " became a favorite army and navy song.
So profound its import, historians declare that the shot at Fort Sumter reverberated around the world, and it may be added that the songs it inspired also have re-echoed around the globe. When the Civil War really became a fact our soldiers felt the need of martial music. This need first was met by an ineffectual attempt to revive the old Revolutionary songs and naval tunes of England, and also by adapting verses to any tune so long as its strains were inspiriting and one to which the troops could readily and easily march. Every officer bears testimony to the fact that songs and march music are essential to the campaign and field equipment of the general soldier. They inspire him with the necessary courage; danger is forgotten, and until shot and shell create a pandemonium of wild and harsh strains amid which men fight to kill, music is necessary to cheer the soldier, be he of the regular troops or of the volunteer forces made up from all ranks of the people.
" If we had had your war songs you would never have beaten us," said a Confederate officer to his brother of the Federal army. There is more in this statement than one may at first suppose. But the war songs, the kind that penetrate the heart of the soldier and that are caught up by the people in a frenzy of patriotism, are never coolly and deliberately made, but are born of circumstance. Such are the songs that were the outgrowth of our four years of strife, and numbers of them live and will live so long as there re-mains a flag to be protected and a country to be cherished.
One of the earlier, and perhaps the earliest of our Civil War songs, and one which seems never to lose its popularity, had its origin as a negro camp-meeting song. That is, the tune itself was originally sung to the words :
Say, brothers, will you meet us,
Say, brothers, will you meet us,
Say, brothers, will you meet its,
On Canaan's happy shore?
By the grace of God we'll meet you,
By the grace of God we'll meet you,
By the grace of God we'll meet you,
Where parting is no more.
The song in question is " Glory Hallelujah! " or " John Brown's Body." Lieutenant Chandler, in writing of Sher-man's March to the Sea, tells that when the troops were halted at Shady Dale, Georgia, the regimental band played " John Brown's Body," whereupon a number of negro girls coming from houses supposed to have been deserted, formed a circle around the band, and in a solemn and dignified manner danced to the tune. The negro girls, with faces grave and demeanor characteristic of having performed a ceremony of religious tenor, retired to their cabins. It was learned from the older negroes that this air, without any particular words to it, had long been known among them as the " wedding tune." They considered it a sort of voodoo air, which held within its strains a mysterious hold upon the young colored women, who had been taught that unless they danced when they heard it played they would be doomed to a life of spinsterhood. This air, with the words quoted above, had been familiar in many church hymnals, notably the " Plymouth Collection," compiled by Henry Ward Beecher, and published about 1852.
Let there be conceded then to the war song of the Rebel-lion known as " John Brown's Body " a mysterious origin and admit its mystic spell. Its swing is such that any one, even a child, can grasp its subtle suggestion to the foot-beats and heart-throbs of moving and excited masses of humanity. As a war song or as a folk-lore song, if you will, it has scarcely an equal.
As a war song it was born in a locality where our heroes of the Revolution made famous that equally trifling melody " Yankee Doodle." At the outbreak of the war, the Second Battalion of Massachusetts Infantry was stationed at Fort Warren in Boston Harbor. The men forming this battalion were a jolly set of fellows and were familiarly designated " The Tigers." They had a glee club among the members, and the old camp-meeting tune was familiar to them. Among the singers in the glee club was a Scotch-man by the name of John Brown, and the analogy in the name to that of the hero of Harper's Ferry made him the butt of many good-natured jokes among the soldiers. Thus it was that his name became the original suggestion to the " John Brown " song.
Some time later the Second was merged into the Twelfth Massachusetts Regiment under command of Colonel Fletcher Webster, and it was Webster's men who sung the song into general popularity. On July 18, 1861, in Boston, the Hon. Edward Everett presented a flag to the Twelfth Massachusetts a few days previous to its onward movement to the front. Over a thousand voices now took up the chorus of this song that had already taken its place as a favorite not only with the soldiers themselves but with the public. Reaching New York City, the regiment there sang the song and here also it was appropriated without delay. Three days later it electrified Baltimore, and on the first of March, 1862, the " Websters," as the soldiers of the Twelfth Massachusetts were designated, sang it in Charlestown, Virginia, when they were assembled in hollow square around the site on which the execution of John Brown had taken place three years previously.
When, in 1864, Sherman began his famous March to the Sea, with an army of over fifty-five thousand, at the moment when the Fourteenth Corps swung into column, one of the bands struck up the never-to-be-forgotten tune, and under the inspiration of the movement the men caught up the refrain-
" Glory, Glory, Hallelujah! " It was a sea of sound, a great wave of melody by which a daring resolve was formed, and officers and men alike were affected by its significance.
Many attempts have been made to dignify the words. An effort was made by the officers to substitute the name of Ellsworth for that of John Brown Ellsworth being the first Federal officer to yield his life in battle but the men still persisted in keeping to their old favorite.
In December, 1861, Julia Ward Howe visited the Army of the Potomac. Mrs. Howe here conceived the idea of writing words that might be sung to the favorite tune of " John Brown." The thought remained with her, and in the night she arose from her bed and wrote this poem, one of the gems of the Nineteenth Century American verse. When she returned to Boston she submitted it to James T. Fields, then editor of the Atlantic Monthly. It was he who suggested the title, " Battle Hymn of the Republic," and it was published in the February number of the magazine, the name of the author not being mentioned.
BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is tramping out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He bath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
I have read a fiery gospel, writ in burnished rows of steel;
"As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,
Since God is marching on."
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment-seat;
O, be swift, my soul, to answer him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me;
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
Grander words never were incorporated in any battle hymn. The call came for the poet; it was answered by a gentle woman. And though soldiers and the people will continue to sing the simpler words to the tune of " John Brown's Body," the two being amalgamated, so to speak, the composer has yet to hearken to the call of the Muse ere America shall receive for her most famous battle lyric a musical setting worthy of the theme.
In the summer of 1861, President Lincoln issued his second call for troops. There was living in Chicago at this time, George F. Root, who had come to the city the previous year, and had entered the music publishing business with his brother, E. T. Root. Deeply interested in church music and popular song, he bent all his energies in this direction. His whole sympathies were aroused by the President's proclamation, and he felt that there was a pressing need for a rallying song, one which would quicken the patriotism of the hour. The result of his endeavor was the " Battle Cry of Freedom." This song was first given to the public by the well known Lumbard brothers, Jules and Frank, in the Chicago Court House Square. Over the heads of the crowd rang the voices of the brothers : " The Union forever ! Hurrah, boys, hurrah! " The crowd soon caught the refrain, and like a mighty ocean wave whose power no man can arrest, the music welled upward and onward until the whole of the North caught the inspiration, and the " boys " responding, and " springing to the call," carried their rallying song to camp and field, many of them yielding their lives while still " Shouting the battle cry of Freedom."
George F. Root, more than any other song-writer during the period of the Civil War, possessed a keen understanding of the variety of songs needed, and his compositions became famous incentives to enlistment, messengers of cheer and hope in camp, as well as bracing the men to withstand the shock of battle. Such a song was the " Battle Cry of Freedom." But there is another phase of war which often is dreaded by the fighter : that of being taken prisoner by the enemy. So, early in the war, Dr. Root brought out the song of hope and encouragement, " Trapm, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching." It has been designated by a distinguished officer as the " song of hope." For this was its mission, and well did it accomplish its errand as one particular incident will prove.
In the autumn of 1864, several hundred of the northern soldiers were herded in a prison in Charleston. One afternoon they were marched out of the pen, for release as they had hoped. But it was only for making an exchange of one prisoner for another. The exchange being made, the remainder, who still hoped for release, burst forth in chorus :
Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching,
Cheer up, comrades, they will come,
And beneath the starry flag, we shall breathe the air again.
Of the freeland in our own beloved home.
The song became one of assurance and uplift, and in a few months they realized that the boys had at length come marching, and were now throwing wide the prison doors for their release.
Another war song of extraordinary power and lasting popularity is Work's " Marching Through Georgia." It also is a war song of intrinsic merit and forms an appropriate commemoration of one of the most striking episodes in the Civil War. Henry Clay Work, encouraged by 'Dr. Root, had written many songs which had become popular during the war, but " Marching Through Georgia " is his best effort. It is a song of triumph, and its retrospective character will endear it to the army for all time.
The humorous aspect of the following stanza certainly places this song as peculiarly individual to the nation from which it originated :
How the darkies shouted
When they heard the joyful sound,
How the turkeys gobbled
Which our commissary found,
How the sweet potatoes
Even started from the ground,
While we were marching through Georgia.
It is during the period of strife and combat, when feeling runs high, and when the fighting spirit needs either encouragement or an outlet, that martial songs are born rather than made. Each combatant force had unbounded faith in its own strength, and each believes its own cause a just one. Such were the conditions of North and South during the Civil War, and war songs were heard on both sides. A few of these songs will never die, for the Blue and the Gray have since fought shoulder to shoulder, under one flag and for one cause, and the war songs of each have become common property.
But in the dark days of the Civil War, when the South fought under its newly adopted banner, its brave sons were singing a new song singing it with the same hopeful out-look as the northern boys their " Star-Spangled Banner," and, rallying round their " Bonnie Blue Flag," ardently they voiced their sentiments as follows :
We are a band of brothers, and native to the soil,
Fighting for our liberty, with treasure, blood, and toil;
And when our rights were threatened, the cry rose near and far
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star.
Hurrah! Hurrah! For Southern Rights Hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag, that bears a single star.
These words of Henry McCarthy, an actor, were adapted to an old Irish air reminiscent of that known as the " Irish Jaunting Car." The public heard it for the first time in the Variety Theatre, New Orleans, in the latter part of 1861, when it was taken up with wild enthusiasm.
One of the most beautiful lyrical poems of the war emanated from the South, but, unfortunately, there was no native composer to give it a musical setting, and an old German student tune, " O Tannenbaum," was appropriated. This song is a passionate appeal to defend, to uphold a true war song. Its author, James Ryder Randall, was born in Baltimore in 1839. About two years before the war broke out he went to New Orleans to serve on the staff of the Daily Delta. Soon afterward he was appointed professor of English literature at Pointe Coupιe College, situate about one hundred miles from New Orleans.
It was while engaged in his professional duties, in April, 1861, that he read of the attack on the Sixth Massachusetts Infantry while marching through Baltimore on their way south. Mr. Randall became greatly excited over the news and at night, after retiring, found it impossible to sleep. So at midnight he left his bed, and under the excitement wrote the words of " My Maryland." In the morning he read the poem to the college boys and they suggested that it be published in the Delta. From here it was copied into every southern journal, and in less than two months it really became what Alexander H. Stephens designated it, " the Marseillaise of the Confederacy."
The words were adapted to the music of which mention has been made, by Miss Jennie Cary of Baltimore, and the song was sung for the first time in the Cary home, when a meeting was held for the purpose of considering ways and means of assisting the Confederacy. The sisters, Jenny and Hetty Cary, then carried the words and the tune to which they had wedded it to the army when they went to visit the headquarters of General Beauregard at Manassas. The artillery band from New Orleans played a serenade in their honor, and on request of one of the officers Miss Jenny Cary sang " My Maryland ! " There could be but one result. The refrain was taken up by the southern soldiers, the chorus growing in power as it was wafted onward and onward, until it became the fervent battle-song of the Southrons.
The air of " John Brown," as has been seen, originated in the South long before the war and, to other words, grew to be the most popular war song of the North. The North returned the compliment by giving to the South not only the music but the title also of the famous song known as " Dixie."
The author of " Dixie " was Daniel D. Emmett, of Mount Vernon, Ohio. In 1859 Emmett was a member of the Bryant Minstrel troupe, then having its headquarters in New York City. He already had won fame as a writer of minstrel songs, and when he engaged with the Bryant troupe it was with the understanding that he should hold himself in readiness to compose a " walk-around whenever desirable. On a certain Saturday Mr. Emmett was on his way home-ward when Bryant overtook him and asked him for a new song for Monday rehearsal. On the morning of that day words and music were both ready, and the new " walk-around " which had been named " Dixie's Land," won its way into immediate popularity. The original first stanza was as follows :
I wish I was in the land of cotton, old times dar are not forgotten;
Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
In Dixie land whar I was born in, early on one frosty mornin',
Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land!
Chorus:
Den I wish I was in Dixie, hooray! hooray!
In Dixie land I'll took my stand, to lib and die in Dixie.
Away, away, away down south in Dixie!
Away, away, away down south in Dixie!
It will be seen that this was essentially a stage negro song and it soon became a favorite with all the minstrel troupes throughout the United States. In the autumn of 1860, in the city of New Orleans, " Dixie " was first used as a march. The tune was infectious, and from that moment became popular on the street, in the home, and in all the concert halls. From here it was taken to the battlefields and became the most popular war song of the Confederate army.
It is said that the name and words of " Dixie " were suggested to Mr. Emmett by a saying common among the minstrels. On a cold day in the North it would be re-marked, " I wish I were in Dixie's land," meaning that they would rather be in the more congenial climate of the South, Bryant, in his " Songs from Dixie's Land," claims that Dixie was the " negro's paradise on earth," in times when slavery and the slave trade were flourishing, and that the word " Dixie " to the negro " became synonymous with an ideal locality combining ineffable happiness and every imaginable requisite of earthly beatitude."
Many attempts were made during the war to dignify the tune by other words. The most successful of these were the verses by General Albert Pike, first published in the Natchez Courier, on May 30, 1861, and which became popular with the southern army :
Southrons, hear your country call you!
Up, lest worse than death befall you!
To arms! To arms! To arms! in Dixie!
Lo! all the beacon fires are lighted
Let all your hearts be now united!
To arms! To arms! To arms! in Dixie! Advance the flag of Dixie!
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Dixie's land we take our stand
And live or die for Dixie!
To arms! To arms!
And conquer peace for Dixie!
The next song to claim our attention is the one known as "America," and which as a national expression, breathing deep love and devotion to country as well as a religious spirit of hope and faith, is far superior in every way to any of our other national songs. Its writer, Rev. Samuel Smith, showed his keen understanding of the simple chant-like grandeur of an air which should constitute a setting for a national song, when he selected that used by the British people as their national anthem. Of all our national songs "America " is the most satisfactory in that it is suitable for all times and occasions.
Rev. Samuel Smith was born in Boston, October 21, 1808, and was graduated at Harvard in the class of '29. In 1831 Lowell Mason placed in his hands some books of music which he had received from Europe, asking him to select anything which he considered of value. In looking them over Dr. Smith came upon the anthem known as " God Save the King." The dignity of both words and music appealed to him and he subsequently wrote the words of " My Country 'Tis of Thee," setting them to the above named hymn. This hymn which afterward was to become the most popular national song of America, was given in public for the first time at a children's celebration of Independence Day, July 4, 1832, at the Park Street Theatre, Boston. Until the commencement of the Civil War " My Country 'Tis of Thee " had not acquired any particular popularity, but from the moment of the assault on the flag at Fort Sumter it was sung and played with devotional earnestness in church, in public halls, in the home and on the street, and has ever since received recognition as America's national anthem. Its author, Dr. Smith, died in 1895.
The history of the origin of the air, known in this country as "America " and in England as " God Save the King," had been the subject of much controversy, but it is now generally understood to be the work of the English composer, Henry Carey, both words and music being ascribed to him and claimed for him by his son. The song is said to have been sung first by Carey at a meeting held at a tavern in London to celebrate the capture of Porto Bello, at which time Carey acknowledged it as his own composition. Others again insist that it was heard in the time of James I. It may be that there was at that time an air which may have borne a resemblance to the present national anthem of England, but in spite of the claims made to place it earlier than the Eighteenth Century, the tune now known to the Twentieth 'Century undoubtedly had its origin with Carey.
At the close of the Eighteenth Century no less than five nations, Prussia, Russia, Switzerland, England and America, were using the same air to express their individual patriotic sentiments in verse. What greater proof can one have of its peculiar and wonderful adaptability as a national air? It has existed for more than a century, and it is likely to live in the affections of the nations which have adopted it for centuries to come. Its simplicity is a guarantee of its lasting popularity, as it is easily learned and readily recalled. Haydn, on a visit to England, was so favorably impressed by the simplicity of both music and words, that he considered it an ideal national anthem, and on returning to his own country composed after the same style the song known as the "Austrian Hymn."
The next song is so well known that it really has rank among our popular music, but as it was a product of war-times it is included in this chapter. The infectious rhythm of the music, together with the unusual accentuation on certain words, give it a unique charm and make it of lasting value :
When Johnnie comes marching home again,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give them hearty welcome then,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer, the boys will shout,
The ladies they will all turn out,
And we'll feel gay
When Johnnie comes marching home.
This very characteristic song which strangely enough is in a minor key, is the work of " Louis Lambert," better known as Patrick S. Gilmore, one of America's notable band-masters and the projector of the Peace Jubilee Concerts given at Boston in 1869 and 1872. Mr. Gilmore wrote the song in 1863 and published it under a nom de plume. It became a popular marching tune for the troops, and many a heart has been cheered by the thought of the happy home-coming even while marching to the front.
In the Spanish-American War these battle songs of the Civil War were in favor, and frequently words were improvised to the old tunes, to fit the need. The war was too short, however, to develop anything new in the way of war songs.
America's war songs were heard on the battlefields of the Franco-Prussian War, and they were carried by the British troops to the Soudan and to Africa, " Dixie" and " When Johnnie comes Marching Home " being the favorites.
No matter how adversely some of this music may be criticized, it has had its influence ; it has proven itself a power while that of a more artistic nature has failed of recognition. America has reason to be proud of its war songs, for they have served, as have perhaps no other means, as incentives to a fighting spirit in time of war and in instilling a love of the country and its institutions in time of peace.
In the preceding part of this chapter reference has been made almost entirely to the songs of the soldier. It is these songs which have gone to form our patriotic and national music, for the songs of the sailor never have left their naval environment. He had, nevertheless, a class of songs peculiarly his own. As a rule such songs embody a bit of history or delineate some emotion. Again, the song may be but a collection of words strung together in some rhythmic fashion that adds zest to his labor. These latter generally are called chants, or chanties and, originating with the sailing vessels, are becoming more and more scarce since steam has superseded wind as a motive power.
During the period of the Revolution and the War of 1812, England had a fine repertory of sea songs. Her sailor poets had given to the British some good, stirring verses. The themes were characteristic of undaunted courage, bravery and heroism on the part of the seamen, and were familiar not only on the men-of-war but on the merchant vessels. At this time the American sailor poet found himself in much the same predicament as his brother " lubber " on land. He could string together verses and possibly give them poetical finish, but he lacked ability in giving them a musical setting; so he simply followed the example of the soldier-poets and adapted his words to the tunes sung by the enemy.
One of the earliest of these sea songs is that designated " The Yankee Man-of-War." It is not known who was the author of the words. The tune to which it was sung has appeared in English editions of naval songs and is also of unknown origin. It commemorates John Paul Jones' cruise in " The Ranger " in 1778. A typical verse is here quoted :
'Tis of a gallant ship that flew the stripes and stars,
And the whistling wind from the west-nor'-west blew through the pitch-pine spars,
With her starboard backs aboard, my boys, she hung above the gale ;
On an autumn night we raised the light on the Head of old Kin-sale.
Another of the exploits of John Paul. Jones is immortalized in the sea song known as " Paul Jones' Victory." He was then in command of the " Bonhomme Richard," with a fleet of sailing vessels. While off Flamborough Head on Sept. 23, 1799, he fell in with the English ship " Serapis " and a desperate fight ensued, the latter ship being compelled to strike its colors. This song is a capital illustration of the manner in which sea songs were made to serve the exploitation of deeds of daring, coupled with a pardon-able boast of victory over the enemy. It was sung to an English air, but the authorship of the words is lost in oblivion.
In the War of 1812 America had not a single line of battleships, and her petty fleet of cruisers had inveigled the enemy into the belief that the latter was invincible to any attack from that quarter. But this same small fleet of cruisers rendered the more powerful ships of the foe inactive by a clever blockade, while the single ship fights have become historical in song. Of these songs that known as " The Constitution and Guerriere," and also as " Hull's Victory," became the most famous. This song, of which a verse is given below, was sung to the tune of an old English song known as " The Landlady's Daughter of France " :
It ofttimes has been told
That the British sailors bold
Could flog the tars of France so neat and handy,
O. And they never found their match
Till the Yankees did them catch.
Oh, the Yankee boys for fighting are the dandy, O.
Another song of the period tells of the fight between the American sloop-of-war " Wasp," and the English sloop " Frolic," in which the " Wasp " came off victorious. Still another tells of the victory of the frigate " United States " over the " Macedonian."
Other victories during this period of warfare were celebrated in song which of necessity had ships and sailors and the sea for inspiration. But as has been seen, while the verses were original, most of the music to which they were sung was borrowed. One of these songs, known as " The Hornet, or Victory No. 5," and which was sung by our sailors to the tune of an old British naval song, not only tells of the victory won by the " Hornet " on Feb. 24, 1813, when she sunk the British sloop-of-war " Peacock " at the mouth of the Demarara River, but enumerates previous victories by other vessels and gives due meed of praise to their individual commanders. There is a ring of triumph in the opening words of each verse, the first of which runs :
Rejoice, Rejoice! Fredonia's sons rejoice,
And swell the loud trumpet in patriotic strain;
Your choice, your choice, fair freedom is your choice,
Then celebrate her triumphs on the main.
The Civil War, while it added somewhat to the repertory of American sea songs, did not bring forth many original tunes. This war's specialty in music was the songs composed especially for the army, and which incidentally became the songs of the people. There was heroism enough displayed in naval warfare by both North and South to have originated sea songs which, like the army songs, would have survived, but unfortunately no composer came forward at the time to do them justice. All the sea songs of this period naturally center around the names of Farragut and Winslow on one side and Semmes on the other. " The Cumberland's Crew " commemorates in plaintive words and music the sinking of the frigate " Cumberland " by the " Merrimac," on March 8, 1862:
She struck us amidship, our planks did they sever,
Her sharp iron-prow pierced our noble ship through;
And they cried, as they sank in that dark rolling river
We'll die at our guns! cried the Cumberland's crew.
It will be recalled that the Merrimac was an iron-clad, and here we have the first naval song born of this circumstance.
The history of the "Alabama " is familiar to all, for an important international question was involved in her origin and in her depredations upon the seas for a period of nearly two years. This particular song was written by E. King, author of Naval Songs of the South, and was dedicated to " gallant Captain Semmes, his officers and crew, and to the officers and seamen of the C. S. Navy." The air, by F. W. Rosier, is simple in character and readily learned and became a favorite with the southern seamen.
The wind blows off yon rocky shore,
Boys, set your sails all free;
And soon the booming cannon's roar
Shall ring out merrily.
Run up your bunting taut a peak,
And swear, lads, to defend her
'Gainst every foe, where-e'er we go,
Our motto "No Surrender."
On June 19, 1864, the " Kearsarge," commanded by Captain J. A. Winslow, U. S. Navy, fought and sunk the "Alabama " off the coast of Cherbourg, France. This naval duel fought in the presence, one might almost say, of two powerful and non-combatant nations, has been commemorated in one or two songs. The best perhaps, is the following, which has a certain sailor-like freedom of theme and music:
It was early Sunday morning in the year of sixty-four,
The Alabama she steamed out along the Frenchman's shore,
Long time she cruised about, long time she held her sway;
But now beneath the Frenchman's shore, she lies off Cherbourg Bay.
There are six stanzas to this song, reminding one of the style of sea songs during the time of Hull, but the first will suffice to show how well the story of the engagement is incorporated in the words :
A challenge unto Captain Semmes bold Winslow he did send;
" Bring on your 'Alabama' and to her we will attend,
For we think your boasting privateer is not so hard to whip,
And we'll show you that the 'Kearsarge' is not a merchant ship."
The Spanish-American war developed little in original sea songs. The movement of our forces as an invading power was swift, and the conflict too short for the development of song akin to that which had followed earlier naval victories. Newspapers and magazines were rich in poems and lyrics, but the composer was not at hand to give them a setting worthy of the theme. Yet our fleet was not without its incidents of courage, heroism, and level-headedness at critical moments virtues that might have called forth inspiration from our song-writers and composers. But our sailors made good use of all of the songs, patriotic, national and popular, even to " rag-time," with which they were familiar.
The following description, from the pen of Richard Harding Davis, will give a general idea of the trend of musical thought on the part of our navy in the Spanish-American war. In speaking of the landing of the troops at Baiquiri, Cuba, this gifted war correspondent says : " While our troops were landing, the big warships were thundering away and playing havoc along the shore. The men still on the transports were cheering, and every band on troop-ship and man-of-war was playing `Yankee Doodle' as hard as they could, while way back on the hills above the barred red and yellow of the Spanish flag fluttered against the sky. Up the San Juan steeps went the men of Wheeler, singing the ` Star-Spangled Banner' as they rushed forward with swinging steps."
The writer, in telling of the exchange of Hobson and his seven " immortals," says : " The trail up which they came was a broad one between the high banks with the great trees above meeting in an arch overhead. For hours before they came, officers and men who were not on duty in the rifle-pits, had been awaiting on these banks, sprawling in the sun and crowded together as close as men on the bleaching-boards of a baseball field. Hobson's coming was one dramatic picture of the war. The sun was setting behind the trail, and as he came up over the crest he was outlined against it. Under the triumphal arch of palms the soldiers saw a young man in the uniform of the navy, his face white with the prison pallor as his white duck and strangely in contrast with the fierce mien of their own, with serious eyes looking down on them with a steady gaze. For a moment he seemed to stand motionless and then the waiting band struck up ` Star-Spangled Banner.' No one cheered, no one shouted." So in the Spanish-American War army and navy alike recognized the value of these two time-tried melodies, " Yankee Doodle and " Star-Spangled Banner," as an inspiration towards deeds of valor and glory for the honor of the flag for which they were first indited and sung.
Though not properly coming under the heading of patriotic and national music, a word relative to American sea songs in general may here be appended. These songs are an essential feature toward the performance of good concerted work, and they are common to the sailors of all maritime nations. Although they may vary with individual characteristics of nationality, the theme is much the same and they are all sung to the accompaniment of the " thrilling shrouds, the booming doublebass of the hollow topsails, and the multitudinous chorus of ocean."
Most of the songs or chanties the name being derived from a corruption of the French chansons or chantees of the American sailor of today are of negro origin, and were undoubtedly heard first in southern ports while the negroes were in engaged in stowing the holds of the vessels with bales of cotton, while some few of them may be traced back to old English tunes. They were of two kinds pulling songs and windlass songs. The pulling songs were used as an incentive to the men to pull together. One can better understand this from the rhythmic flow of the following stanza, which has its counterpart in the sailor songs of varied nationalities :
Haul on the bowlin', the fore and maintop bowlin',
Haul on the bowlin', the bowlin', Haul!
At the close of each stanza the word " Haul " is given with marked emphasis, and the tug on the rope necessarily becomes stronger. The song imparts a unity of spirit and purpose to the work at hand.
The windlass songs beguile the men into temporary forgetfulness while working the pumps or weighing the anchor. One man, from his power of voice and ingenuity at improvisation, is looked upon as the leader. He begins by singing the chorus, as an intimation to the men of the manner in which it is to be sung; then he sings his solo, very seldom more than one line, and the men, from his musical intonation of the last word, catch the words and pitch with the inspiration intended. One of the best of windlass songs, in which the melody rises and falls in a manner suggestive of the swell of the ocean, runs :
I'm bound away this very day,
(Chorus) Oh, you Rio!
I'm bound away this very day,
(Chorus) I'm bound for the Rio Grande!
And away, you Rio, oh, you Rio!
I'm bound away this very day,
(Chorus) I'm bound for the Rio Grande!
A favorite windlass song is that known as " Shanandore," the title being a corruption of Shenandoah, upon which river the song undoubtedly originated with the negroes :
You, Shanandore, I long to hear you;
(Chorus) Hurrah, hurrah you rollin' river!
You Shanandore, I long to hear you,
(Chorus) Ah, ha, you Shanandore.
In the West and South the chanties still may be heard. You may catch their strains upon the sweeping Mississippi, whose forest environment first caught the chansons of the French voyageurs. Even now the boat songs and working songs of the sailors in the neighborhood of St. Louis and New Orleans are suggestive of French influence. Along the Ohio, too, and other water-ways, these melodies in form of a low, hoarse chant, are still reminiscent of the old chanties.
On the Atlantic coast the fisher fleets are perhaps the only vessels which still make use of these almost forgotten melodies, for the steam-worked windlass, the pumps, the clatter of the cog-wheels, the shrieking whistles and hissing steam are not conducive to song, and the sailor of the Twentieth Century, like the landsman, has caught the spirit of rush and speed, and no one dare attempt to revive the old chanty songs on board the steamships of today. But our fighting ships and our merchantmen of yore each had their repertory of sea songs the music that was an incentive to do and to dare. This music made easier the coarsest and hardest kind of labor, and the work was performed in an atmosphere of pleasurable emotion. The complete change wrought in seafaring life by modern conditions has made of the chanties a music of the past. They served their purpose, and they will be of value in future years as being descriptive of their time.
