As my Aunt Olive reminded me when I called her this week and thanked her for giving me Popular Songs of Nineteenth-Century America back in 1977, today's song was one that my Grandfather Lightfoot enjoyed singing quite a bit. She also reminded me that goober peas, known to us today as peanuts, were fairly plentiful, … Continue reading Goober Peas
The Flying Trapeze
Betsy said this song is a sad song with a happy melody. It is probably a song that is more well known than some from the era, but I am not sure that people know the full story that it tells. There are several things about this song that would be different if it were … Continue reading The Flying Trapeze
Dixie’s Land
The lyrics to this one were written for a minstrel show, and thus are laden with a lot of negro dialect. The original sheet music included five verses, shown below, most of which I am unfamiliar. It seems that the first and last are the most common today. The lyric of the middle verses, and … Continue reading Dixie’s Land
Poor use of comparison: lack of context before making a judgment
Lately our power company, KCP&L, has been sending out bimonthly letters telling us how we rate in power consumption among 100 neighbors. The 100 neighbors is "approximately 100 occupied, nearby homes that are similar in size to yours (avg. 1,832 sq ft). What amazes me is over the past 6 months we have varied from … Continue reading Poor use of comparison: lack of context before making a judgment
Prancing through De Camptown Races
Today I continue my series on 19th century American folk songs, taken from Popular Long of Nineteenth-Century America complete with original sheet music. Today's song is Gwine to Run all Night or De Camptown Races One of the interesting things about these songs, is the piano settings given for them. Most people today from a … Continue reading Prancing through De Camptown Races
Beautiful River
Another one of the songs it my 19th century American Song book is this Religious Favorite. Written By Rev. Robert Lowry, minister at Hanson Place Baptist Church, this song was sung by 40,000 children in Brooklyn during a parade. While his most famous creation, he was not especially proud of it, preferring All the Way … Continue reading Beautiful River
A Toy and a Song Book
The family was sitting around on Thanksgiving Evening, after hosting the extended family Thanksgiving dinner. My son was in the playroom digging through an old toy chest, looking for stray Lego pieces he was missing, when he came across a toy he was unfamiliar with. It was a windup clock that played a song, old … Continue reading A Toy and a Song Book
Cultures in Conflict
I almost suspended my blog series to publish this post earlier. Instead, I am writing it on Wednesday for release on Friday. It is showing my perspective from Wednesday, to see how well it holds up to the light of Friday. I am befuddled by the reaction of the protestors. Why they take such an … Continue reading Cultures in Conflict
With a Song of Thanksgiving
Here is the lyric and sound tracks for the Medley "With a Song of Thanksgiving" that I sang Sunday at Avondale United Methodist Church. At the end I include the track from the choral anthem, "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken." Come, ye thankful people, come – Raise the song of harvest-home; All is safely … Continue reading With a Song of Thanksgiving
Witchfinder — the multi-tasking mind of the writer
(This is part five of a blog series on the discussion between Sarah A. Hoyt and the Avondale United Methodist Church Book Club about Hoyt’s book Witchfinder, the art of writing, and what it is like to publish a book as both a traditional and “indie” author.) Mark W.: You mentioned that you read 2-3 … Continue reading Witchfinder — the multi-tasking mind of the writer
At The Rainbow 