'O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?The rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,Gave proof, through the night, that our flag was still there.O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?'
'O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?The rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,Gave proof, through the night, that our flag was still there.O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?'
'O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?The rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,Gave proof, through the night, that our flag was still there.O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?'
On the return to Baltimore he wrote the remaining stanzas and the poem appeared in the Baltimore 'American' of September 21, 1814, as a 'broadside.' The stirring measures of the song have never lost their hold on the American people, and the piece has taken its place among the great national anthems of the world.
The next national song, in chronological order, is the popular 'Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean' ('The Red, White and Blue'). Its history is not so romantic. Thomas à Becket, an English actor in 1843, playing at that time in Philadelphia, wrote both the verses and the music, after rejecting a set of verses written by David T. Shaw, a singer then appearing at the 'Museum,' also in Philadelphia. It first appeared, however, as the work of Shaw—until à Becket convinced the publisher of his authorship—after which it was so published, with the inscription 'Sung by D. T. Shaw.' When the author of the song visited England in 1847 he found the song already 'naturalized' as 'Britannia, the Pride of the Ocean,' and it has since become a favorite of the British army and navy.
The national song répertoire received no further notable accessions till the Civil War, a period terribleand wonderful, that called forth expressions of exalted feeling on both sides of the struggle, North and South. 'The Star Spangled Banner' was at first claimed by both sides. But all attempts to adapt the song by the addition of new verses seem to have failed. The South found an early substitute in such songs as 'Maryland, My Maryland,' which James Ryder Randall wrote to suit the melody of the old German folk-tuneO Tannenbaum. The occasion for this effusion was the attack on the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment while marching through Baltimore.
Of all the other Southern war songs only one has survived, and that was of Northern origin. 'Dixie's Land' was, we have already seen, originally a 'walk-around' dance, written for Bryant's Minstrels by one of their number, Dan Emmett. There has been so much discussion of the circumstances of its birth that it may be well to quote an eye-witness, so to speak, namely, Charley White, the minstrel, whose diary has already furnished us with some facts:
'One Saturday night in 1859, when Dan Emmett was a member of Bryant's Minstrels at Mechanics' Hall, New York, Dan [Bryant] said to Emmett: "Can't you get us up a walk-around dance? I want something new and lively for next Monday night." At that date, and for a long time after, minstrel shows used to finish up the evening performance with a walk-around dance, in which the whole company would participate. The demand for this especial material was constant, and Dan Emmett was the principal composer of all, especially for the Bryant Minstrels. Emmett, of course, went to work, and, as he had done so much in that line of composition, he was not long in finding something suitable. At last he hit upon the first two bars, and any composer can tell you how good a start that is in the manufacture of a melody. The next day, Sunday, he had the words commencing "I wish I was in Dixie." Thiscolloquial expression is not, as most people suppose, a Southern phrase, but first appeared among the circus men in the North. In early fall, when nipping frost would overtake the tented wanderers, the boys would think of the genial warmth of the section they were heading for and the common expression would be, "Well, I wish I was in Dixie." This gave the title or catch line; the rest of the song was original. On Monday morning the song was rehearsed and highly recommended, and at night, as usual, the house was crowded and many of the auditors went home singing "Dixie." The song soon became the rage and several other minstrel organizations ... applied to Emmett for copy and privilege of using it.... Not only was Emmett robbed of the copyright, but the authorship of it was disputed as well.'
In secession days the song was branded in the North as a Rebel song, and a Maine editor attacked Emmett as a Secessionist. It next bobbed up in New Orleans in 1861 as a 'Zouave march' in 'Pocahontas,' appropriated for the occasion by Carlo Patti, the brother of the prima donna, who acted as conductor. When the war broke out, the Washington Artillery had it arranged as a quick-step and soon 'saloons, parlors, and the streets rang with the Dixie air.' The contagious nature of the tune easily accounts for its rapid spread and ultimate universal popularity. It is undoubtedly the most original of all American national songs.
Turning to the North, the first tune we meet is the famous 'John Brown's Body,' one of the most stirring marching songs ever written, a favorite among soldiers the world over. Its origin is humble—a camp-meeting song among many, sung by the negroes in the South years before the War, to religious words. It may be, indeed, a negro folk-song, though its authorship is claimed for William Steffe, a composer of Sunday-school music. It was started on its patriotic careerby the 'Tigers,' a battalion in the 12th Massachusetts Regiment. The words 'Say, brothers, will you meet us?' were taken from the lips of recruits by Captain Hallgreen, the author of the poem. John Brown, the hero of the song, was not the John Brown of Harper's Ferry, but a good-natured Scotchman, who was the subject of a current joke among the men. The words were prophetic, for John Brown of the 'Tigers' lost his life during a retreat of the Union forces. All attempts of the superior officers to substitute a name with more dignity and fame miscarried, and John Brown was made immortal by his fellows. The 'Twelfth' sang the song from city to city and the swing of it set people wild. Later, when heard in camp, the tune appealed so strongly to James Freeman Clarke, that he induced Julia Ward Howe to dignify it with more serious words. 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' was the result.
A composer whose Civil War songs achieved almost the rank of national songs is George F. Root (1820-1895). His 'Battle Cry of Freedom,' 'Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching,' and 'Just Before the Battle, Mother' became favorites during the war and have enjoyed an afterglow of popularity since. Dr. Root was an exponent of the Lowell Mason system,[85]and was a convention leader who had followed Mason in his method of diffusing music among the masses. He was a pupil of George J. Webb and also pursued the study of his art in Paris.
As a final word we must recall Henry Clay Work's 'Marching through Georgia,' which is perhaps the best of the tunes written expressly as war songs. It is a stirring melody with all the qualities of a national anthem, though unfortunately its partisan inspiration and associations will not allow it to be such. There is nothing to record in the way of patriotic songs since the stormy days of the Civil War. Peaceful times haveturned composers' attention elsewhere, and progress in the higher forms of art music has gone on apace. Accordingly, it now becomes our duty to record the achievements of American musicians in the field of conscious creative endeavor.
C. S.