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Connections as a single file.
Go directly to the collection, America
Singing: Nineteenth-Century Song Sheets, in American Memory, or view a
Summary of Resources related to the collection.
Many
song sheets in America Singing: Nineteenth-Century Song Sheets
illustrate a number of poetic devices and provide an opportunity to examine
how these techniques convey certain ideas. Topics available for discussion
include the treatment of familiar themes such as patriotism, love, and
war, as well as the relationship between parody and satire. Additionally,
works by songwriters such as Stephen Foster can be used to discuss common
themes and styles that appear throughout an artist's work. Many of the
lyrics also lend themselves to both interpretation and imitation, thereby
allowing for a number of creative writing exercises.
Parody
A search
on the term, parody, produces parodies of songs on a number
of topics, including food ("The
Last Potato"), the Civil War ("Parody
on When This Cruel War is Over"), temperance ("Parody
on Uncle Sam's Farm"), and westward expansion ("Parody
on To The West"). In most cases, the parodies can be directly compared
to the songs on which they are based.
To
the west! to the west! to the land of the free,
Where the mighty Missouria rolls down to the sea,
Where a man is a man if he is willing to toil,
And the humblest may gather the fruits of the soil,
Where children are blessings, and he who hath most
Has aid to his fortune, and riches to boast;
Where the young may exult, and the aged may rest,
Away, far away, to the land of the west.
From "To
the West."
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To
the west! to the west, I once went, do you see,
And one visit, I'm sure, was sufficient for me;
Oh, the things that I saw there, they frightened me quite,
And ever since then, sirs, I've scarcely been right.
My children got sick every day, sirs, almost,
And my wife took the chills, and got deaf as a post;
Oh, there's some may exult, but for me, sirs, I'm bless'd
If I haven't as much as I want of the west!
From "Parody
on To The West."
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- How do these parodies
use the rhyme schemes, imagery, and ideas of the original works?
- What is the effect of
this mimicry?
- How does a parody differ
from the original work?
- What is the purpose of
a parody? What are the values and ideas conveyed in a parody?
- Do you think that these
parodies are effective?
- Do you think that it is
important to have access to the original song in order to understand
the goal of a parody?
- Select a popular contemporary
song and write a parody.
Satire
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A search
on terms such as slavery, abolition, temperance,
and women's rights, produce works that seriously argue
for these causes as well as others that satirize them. For example,
the New York Tribune's "Bourbon
Ballads" claim to be a series of poems written from "what is
assumed to be the Democratic point of view, but members of that
party will perhaps hesitate to adopt the utterances as their own."
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Headline for the "Bourbon Ballads."
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Alas!
good times are bound to be my ruin!
That people are so prosperous is strange;
If crops were poor and there was nothing doin',
They might elect me in the hope of change.
Hard times are over. Discontent is ended.
It breaks the heart and blights the hope within me
To see Resumption triumph, harvests splendid,
And Providence undoubtedly agin me!
From "Providence
Appears to be Agin Me," as Sung by One of the Confederate
Democracy's Candidates for Office.
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- What elements of
the Confederacy do these songs focus on for humor?
- Do you think that
the fact that these works appeared in the New York Tribune
gives them credibility as satire?
- How does such satire
compare to song parody such as "Parody
on To The West"?
- What types of information
do you need to have regarding the Confederacy to appreciate
the satire?
- How do you think
that this historical context affects how well a parody or satire
holds up over time?
- Do you think that
a culture's notion of humor changes over time?
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Stephen Foster
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Stephen Foster was
a prolific songwriter who dramatically influenced American popular
music. Before dying from alcoholism at the age of thirty-seven,
he composed over 200 songs, including "Oh! Susanna," "My Old Kentucky
Home," and "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair." Browse the Name
Index for Stephen
Foster to find songs such as "Hard
Times Come Again No More," "Bring
My Brother Back to Me," and the minstrel song "Camptown
Racers." Additional Stephen Foster songs are available in
the American Memory collection, Music for the
Nation.
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Illustration from "Bring My Brother Back to Me."
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Camptown
ladies, sing dis song,
Du da, du da.
Camptown race track five miles long,
Du da, du da da.
Go down dar wid my hat caved in,
Du da, du da.
Come back home wid pocket full ob tin,
Du da, du da da.
From "Camptown
Racers."
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While
we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay,
There are frail forms fainting at the door,
Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say,
Oh! Hard times come again no more.
Tis the song and the sigh of the weary,
Hard times come again no more,
From "Hard
Times Come Again No More."
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- What types of themes and
feelings does Foster address in his work?
- How does Foster use rhyme
schemes, dialect, and images to convey a specific theme?
- What role do the narrators
play in Foster's work?
- How does alliteration
such as "frail forms fainting" contribute to the song, "Hard
Times Come Again No More"?
- What other types of stylistic
decisions appear throughout Foster's work?
- Why might Foster might
have been such a popular and influential songwriter?
Lyrics and Poetry
The song sheets in this collection
contain a number of lyrics that employ poetic devices to explore various
themes. Searches on terms such
as love and war, result in songs featuring different
styles and images.
Yes,
I love thee, and how dearly,
Words but faintly can express,
This fond heart beats too sincerely
E'er in life to love thee less.
No! my fancy never ranges,
Hopes like mine can never soar;
If the love I cherish changes,
'Twill but be to love thee more,
From "I
Love Thee."
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Dead
upon the field of battle,
Husbands, sons and brothers lie;
Friends are waiting--wives and mothers,
Looking for them by and by.
Far away from home forever,
Many a noble boy lies slain;
Look not for thy child, fond mother,
Thou shalt see him not again.
From "Yes,
I Would the War Were Over."
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Illustration from "The Lake-Side Shore."
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Other songs such as
"The
Lake-Side Shore" describe the nature of song itself: "Now
the night-bird's song comes floating / Sweetly down the midnight
air, / Waking all the depths, to listen / To the birds that thus
should dare."
- How do these songs
use rhyme schemes and line length to establish a rhythm?
- How do the word
choices relate to the story or sensation that the song is trying
to convey?
- In "The
Lake-Side Shore," how does the bird's song compare to the
actions of the bird itself?
- How would you imagine
the melodies of these songs?
- What do you think
is the relationship between the poetic devices such as rhyme,
meter, alliteration, and the themes of a song?
- Do you think that
contemporary love songs use similar poetic devices?
- How do contemporary
love songs compare to works such as "I
Love Thee"?
- Select a theme and
write a song in the style of the examples, keeping in mind rhyme
schemes, imagery, and melody.
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Patriotic Songs
Francis Scott Key's "Star
Spangled Banner," is a fixture at public ceremonies, sporting events,
and other community events. Before its official adoption as the National
Anthem in 1931, however, Key's poem shared the unofficial title of "national"
song with "Hail
Columbia, Happy Land!"
Hail Columbia! happy
land! hail, ye heroes! heaven-born band!
Who faught and bled in Freedom's cause,
Who faught and bled in Freedom's cause,
And when the storm of war was gone, enjoyed the peace your valor won.
Let independence be our boast, ever mindful what it cost;
Ever grateful for the prize, let its alter reach the skies.
Firm united let us be, rallying
round our liberty;
As a band of brothers joined, peace and safety we shall find.
Both of these songs were
originally poems that were later set to music. Subsequent verses of
the "Star
Spangled Banner," however, are not as familiar as the first. For
example, the second of four parts elaborates on the flag of the title.
Illustration from "Star-Spangled Banner."
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On
the shore, dimly seen through the mist of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes
What is that which the breeze o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream;
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. |
Other patriotic standards
in this collection include the "Original
Yankee Doodle Dandy" and the "Battle
Hymn of the Republic."
- What types of images are
used in these songs to create a sense of patriotism?
- How do the two poems differ
in their style and tone?
- Why do you think that
these poems were set to music?
- Why do you think that
only the first verse of the "Star
Spangled Banner" is usually performed at public events?
- What are the differences
in how these four patriotic songs are used? When do you generally
hear these songs? How do they reflect certain public sentiments or
themes?
- Why do you think that
"Star
Spangled Banner" and "Hail
Columbia, Happy Land!" were deemed to be appropriate "national
anthems"?
- What kind of melody do
you think is appropriate for a National Anthem?
- Why do you think that
the "Star
Spangled Banner" was chosen to be the official National Anthem?
- How might the nation's
patriotic language and symbolism at public events have changed if
"Hail
Columbia . . ." had been selected as the National Anthem?
First-Person Narration
First-person narrative is
often an effective way to portray an event or theme. A number of songs
in this collection relating to the Civil War use the first-person perspective
to dramatize on an element of the conflict. For example, the rallying
cry of "I
Want to be a Soldier" is tempered by songs depicting the tragedy
of war such as "Battle
of Spottsylvania, 'I Am Left Here to Die'" and "Soldier's
Wife."
Weep
not for me, my Mother dear,
When the sad tidings you shall hear,
That I am numbered with the slain,
On Spottsylvania's battle plain.
The battle's fought, the victory's won,
But oh! "I am left to die alone...."
The battle's fought, the victory's won,
But oh! "I am left to die alone."
From "Battle
of Spottsylvania."
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They
tell me he has gone to fight
For honor of our land;
For Freedom's cause, our soldiers brave
March onward, hand in hand.
'Tis well indeed, in such a cause
Such gallant hearts to find!--
Forgive my tears! why should I weep,
Tho' I am left behind?
From "Soldier's
Wife."
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- What is the plot
of each song and who is the narrator?
- What elements of
the plot are described and what elements are left to the listener's
imagination?
- How does the first-person
perspective dramatize the events in a way that a third-person
perspective cannot?
- What do you think
is the intended effect of a line such as "Forgive my tears!
why should I weep, / Tho' I am left behind?" Who is the narrator
addressing? Do you think that this is a rhetorical question?
- What do you think
are the benefits of using a first-person perspective? What do
you think are the limitations of this perspective?
- Choose a scenario,
such as an event in the Civil War, and write a poem describing
the event from a first-person perspective. Who is your main
character? How will you convey the details of that person's
job or role in society through the poem?
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Illustration from the "Soldier's Wife."
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