Scan 104
The American history and encyclopedia of music, 1908
17 lines. Read by computer on 11 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1The first popular sentimental song printed in America appeared in the Philadelphia Ledger in 1775, and was known as the "Banks of the Dee." It is a tender little love song, adapted to the old Irish air of "Langolee" and tells of a young Scotchman who left his native land for the purpose of joining the British forces in America, having bade his fiancée adieu on the banks of the Dee. The song-writer, John Tait, pictures the girl's sadness and despair, as well as her admiration for her brave lover.
3But now he's gone from me, and left me thus mourning,
4To quell the proud rebels, for valiant is he.
5But ah! there's no hope for his speedy returning,
6To wander again on the banks of the Dee.
7He's gone, hapless youth, o'er the rude, roaring billows,
8The kindest, the sweetest of all his brave fellows;
9And left me to stray 'mongst these once loved willows,
10The loneliest lass on the banks of the Dee.
12Its great popularity rested, perhaps, in the fact that it resolved itself into a direct appeal to many a colonial maiden's heart, for lovers marched to the field in the Revolutionary forces and bravely and valiantly performed their part, while the girls they loved, like the Scottish maiden, remained at home to wait, and, perchance, to weep.
14With few exceptions, the popular music of the colonial and Revolutionary period, whether vocal or instrumental, was adapted from other countries, chiefly from Great Britain. It has been customary to date the evolution of America's popular music from the period of the Civil War and the decades that followed, but song-music by this time already had become familiar to the people by way of the minstrels, while banjo, flute, violin, melodion and piano had come into common use in the home.
16Few popular songs survive, however, beyond the particular period for which they are written. Many of them are as evanescent as thistle-down, wafted hither and yon by a gentle zephyr of sentiment, and then banished by the stronger under-current of popular opinion. As a rule, songs
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