[size=4]The History of 'Dixie'[/size=4]

The composer of "Dixie", Daniel Decatur Emmett, was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, on October 29, 1815.... When he was sixteen he ran away to join a traveling circus, his act being to present songs of his own composition, with banjo accompaniment, in the Spalding & Rogers and Oscar Brown circuses.

Later, with three stranded musicians, he traveled widely, singing and playing the banjo and violin.... Emmett was so successful that in 1842 he and his three companions formed the Virginia Minstrels, the first black-face minstrel company in the United States. To the burnt cork, they added a combination of white trousers, striped calico shirt and blue swallowtail coat, which eventually became the trademark of all minstrels. After appearances in New York and Boston, the troupe tried their luck in England, but the English did not seem to be amused by such strange antics and the engagement was not a success.

Returning to New York, Emmett earned a living as a musician in brass bands, for he found that during his absence abroad many competitive minstrel troupes had sprung up and copied his performance style. In 1858 he joined the Dan Bryant Minstrels, in which he both composed and performed comic songs and plantation Negor "walk-arounds." The latter were the songs sung at the end of the show as a solo performer walked around the stage.

One Saturday night in 1859, the manager of the company stopped him after a somewhat unsuccessful performance. The attendance had been meager all week. The numbers seemed to have gone stale, and applause was unenthusiastic and feeble.

[b]"Dan I must have a fresh tune. Can't you compose a new walk-around, something livelyin the git-up-and-git style? Make it lively, something the bands will play and the boys will whistle in the streets. I'll expect it on Monday morning at rehearsal."...[/b]

Sunday was cold and wet, and Dan sat in the kitchen without any inspiration.... When his wife Catherine came into the room, he said, [b]"What a morning! I wish I was in Dixie."[/b]

"You show people," she said, "you keep talking about being in Dixie. What does it mean?"

"Well," he replied. "it's a common expression. When it's cold we yearn to be south of the Mason and Dixon line, or in Dixie, where the weather is fair and mild. When things aren't going well where you are, you wish you were in Dixie -- in Dixie -- in Dixie."

This was the magical moment. "Suddenly, " he later told a reporter, "I jumped up and sat down at the table to work. In less than an hour I had the first verse and chorus. After that it was easy...."

At the rehearsal the next day, Mrs. Bryant, wife of the manager, expressed her fears that the first stanza might offend the religious-minded in the audience, so it was never used, though Emmett sometimes included it in souvenir copies:

Dis worl' was made in jiss six days,
An' finished up in various ways;
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land!
Dey den made Dixie trim and nice,
But Adam called it "paradise,"
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land!

Emmett sold the publication rights outright to the New York firm of Peters for the sum of five hundred dollars, all that he ever received for it.... The song was issued under the title "I Wish I Was in Dixie Land."
The first performance in the Southern states appears to have been in Charleston, South Carolina, in December, 1860.... But it was in New Orleans that "Dixie" was first accepted as a Southern war song. [b]In March, 1861, after Louisiana had seceded, the theatrical troupe of Mrs. John Wood was opening in "Pocahontas" at the Varieties Theatre.... At the first evening performance, as the last number, the gaudily dressed Zouaves marched onstage, led by Miss Susan Denim singing "I Wish I Was in Dixie." The audience went wild with delight, and demanded seven encores. From that evening "Dixie" was the favorite song of the Confederacy....[/b]

P. P. Werlein, a New Orleans publisher, had received a Northern copy of "Dixie".... Werlein wrote to the composer to secure the Southern copyright, but with the declaration of war he decided not to wait for an answer, pirated it, and published the song in thousands of copies without any payment whatever to Emmett.

Just as "John Brown's Body" spread through the North, so from New Orleans "Dixie" spread throughout the newly formed Confederacy.... The song was played at Montgomery, Alabama, when the Confederate States of America was provisionally established. At the inauguration of Jefferson Davis as President of the permanent Confederacy, on February 22, 1862, the program was so arranged that the band led off with "Dixie".... This was equivalent to its official adoption as the national song.

C. A. Browne (revised by Willard A. Heaps), The Story of Our National Ballads, New York, NY, 1960 (originally published in 1919), pp. 124-131.

See: [url]http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/dixie.html[/url]

Eric The(YouMayBeSeatedNow)Hun[>]:)]

Please rise, again!

[img]http://www.sterlingprice145.org/animatedcsflag.gif[/img]

DIXIE

I wish I was in land ob cotton,
Old times dar am 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, Hoo-ray! Hoo-ray!
In Dixie land, I'll take my stand to lib and die in Dixie;
Away, away, away down south in Dixie,
Away, away, away down south in Dixie.

Old Missus marry Will-de-weaber,
Willium was a gay deceaber;
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.
But when he put his arms around 'er
He smiled as fierce as a forty-pounder,
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.

His face was sharp as a butcher's cleaber,
But dat did not seem to greab 'er;
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.
Old Missus acted the foolish part,
And died for a man dat broke her heart,
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.

Now here's a health to the next old Missus,
And all the gals dat want to kiss us;
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.
But if you want to drive 'way sorrow,
Come and hear dis song to-morrow,
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.

Dar's buckwheat cakes an' Injun batter,
Makes you fat or a little fatter;
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.
Den hoe it down and scratch your grabble,
To Dixie's land I'm bound to trabble,
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.

[b]YeeeeHaaawww!!![/b]

Eric The(YouMayBeSeatedAgain)Hun[>]:)]

Well, ya gonna pull those pistols or whistle dixie !?!?! [img]www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/shootout.gif[/img]

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored,
He has loosed the fateful lightening of His terrible swift sword
His truth is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps
l can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps
His day is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnish`d 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.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth 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
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth 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.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

Aviator  [img]www.milpubs.com/aviator.gif[/img]

Sorry, [b]Aviator[/b], but you need to take that Southern camp meeting song to another thread, [b]Dixie's[/b] the tune here! [:D]

Eric The(Southern)Hun[>]:)]

BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC

Words: Julia Ward Howe, 1861, alt. This hymn was born dur­ing the Amer­i­can ci­vil war, when Howe vis­it­ed a Un­ion Ar­my camp on the Po­to­mac Riv­er near Wash­ing­ton, D. C. She heard the sol­diers sing­ing the song “John Brown’s Body,” and was tak­en with the strong march­ing beat. She wrote the words the next day:

I awoke in the grey of the morn­ing, and as I lay wait­ing for dawn, the long lines of the de­sired po­em be­gan to en­twine them­selves in my mind, and I said to my­self, “I must get up and write these vers­es, lest I fall asleep and for­get them!” So I sprang out of bed and in the dim­ness found an old stump of a pen, which I re­mem­bered us­ing the day be­fore. I scrawled the vers­es al­most with­out look­ing at the p­aper.

The hymn ap­peared in the At­lant­ic Month­ly in 1862. It was sung at the fun­er­als of Brit­ish states­man Win­ston Church­ill, and Amer­i­can sen­a­tor Rob­ert Ken­ne­dy.

Music: “John Brown’s Bo­dy,” 19th Cen­tu­ry Amer­i­can camp meet­ing tune. John Brown was an Amer­i­can abo­li­tion­ist who led a short lived in­sur­rect­ion to free the slaves, and was hanged for his ef­forts.



Aviator  [img]www.milpubs.com/aviator.gif[/img]

My Dear Hun,

With all due respect to my esteemed Brother from the Great Southern State of Texas; Sir, how am I to pursue my trade and remain seated at my place of employment, if I am forced to stand to attention to sing Dixie!

As I read your words, the faint strains of that lovely tune filled the air as did the faint scent of magnolia and honeysuckle.

With all humbleness Sir, I must regrettably request that you please refrain from publishing those words again.  I fear my office would accomplish nothing further today!

Your Obedient Servant,

LWilde
Col. 1st Virginia Volunteers

What year did the South Surrender Eric? My memory fails me...  [;)]


Aviator  [img]www.milpubs.com/aviator.gif[/img]

[b]Aviator[/b]......

No sig line?  [:D]



Aviator  [img]www.milpubs.com/aviator.gif[/img]

Damn!!! When I saw DIXIE I thought this topic was about a girl.

AHA AHA DUDE LOOKS LIKE A LADY AHA AHA DUDE LOOKS LIKE A LADY!

rock-n-roll baby![8P]

That song give me goose bumps.

Hey Eric YOU FORGOT THE FLAG!!!!!!!!

Five years after we ran out of food.

If there is a next time let see you Yankees fight a littel better........ok[:D]

We didn't surrender...just taking a break
[smoke]

I stood up to read the post out of respect and pride. [smoke]

Well, remain standing [b]Brother BeauBeaux![/b]
[:D]

[img]http://www.sterlingprice145.org/animatedcsflag.gif[/img]

Eric The(Forget?Hell!)Hun[>]:)]

Yeah, Battle Hymn of the Republic does that to me also... [:D]



Aviator  [img]www.milpubs.com/aviator.gif[/img]

Break? I thought Y'all were just waiting on supplies?


Aviator  [img]www.milpubs.com/aviator.gif[/img]

I love the good ole' Stars and Stripes, but the Stars and Bars is one of the best looking flags ever envisioned.
How about we use the Stars and Bars as our national battle flag ?? [:D]

That tune was played and sung at every home football game during my 4 years at the Citadel, as it had been since the war between the states.

I heard rumblings during senior year, now it and the battle flag are verbotten.

At a school that carries 9 battle streamers for direct participation in that war by students, not graduates.  Revolting.

What sickens me most about PC is when people, yes, I said and consider them people (preemptive strike against the current witch trials) DECIDE to be offended by something.

Offensive is offensive, and I respect that, but to say nothing between 1865 and 1987, then, suddenly DECIDE that something bothers you, that's just manipulation.    

Post from CITADELGRAD87 -

Well, I think 'manipulation' is an altogether too nice a word for what it really is!

But in the interests of comity, I, too, shall refrain from saying what I really think! [:D]

Eric The([b]B[/b]utYou[b]S[/b]houldReadBetweenTheLines)Hun[>]:)]

Monuments at Bull Run (Manassas National Battlefield)

[img]http://memory.loc.gov/ndlpcoop/nhnycw/ad/ad33/ad33015v.jpg[/img]

North Wall of Fort Sumpter
[img]http://memory.loc.gov/ndlpcoop/nhnycw/ad/ad28/ad28030v.jpg[/img]

Last but not least....

General Robert E. Lee!!!!

[img]http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwplee2.gif[/img]

Well Lets not forget this one ETH.[:D]

The Bonnie Blue Flag  MUSIC

THE BONNIE BLUE FLAG
Lyrics by Harry Macarthy (d. 1880)


We are a band of brothers
  And native to the soil,
Fighting for the property
  We gained by honest toil;
And when our rights were threatened,
  The cry rose near and far--
"Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
  That bears a single star!"

CHORUS: Hurrah! Hurrah!
  For Southern rights hurrah!
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
  That bears a single star.

As long as the Union
  Was faithful to her trust,
Like friends and like brothers
  Both kind were we and just;
But now, when Northern treachery
  Attempts our rights to mar,
We hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag
  That bears a single star.--CHORUS

First gallant South Carolina
  Nobly made the stand,
Then came Alabama,
  Who took her by the hand.
Next quickly Mississippi,
  Georgia and Florida
All raised on high the Bonnie Blue Flag
  That bears a single star.--CHORUS

Ye men of valor, gather round
  The banner of the right;
Texas and fair Louisiana
  Join us in the fight.
Davis, our loved president,
  And Stephens statesman are;
Now rally round the Bonnie Blue Flag
  That bears a single star.--CHORUS

And here's to old Virginia--
  The Old Dominion State--
Who with the young Confederacy
  At length has linked her fate;
Impelled by her example,
  Now other states prepare
To hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag
  That bears a single star.--CHORUS

Then cheer, boys, cheer;
  Raise the joyous shout,
For Arkansas and North Carolina
  Now have both gone out;
And let another rousing cheer
  For Tennessee be given,
The single star of the Bonnie Blue Flag
  Has grown to be eleven.--CHORUS

Then here's to our Confederacy,
  Strong are we and brave;
Like patriots of old we'll fight
  Our heritage to save.
And rather than submit to shame,
  To die we would prefer;
So cheer for the Bonnie Blue Flag
  That bears a single star.--CHORUS  

                   
     The Bonnie Blue Flag

The older I get the more I think
the South should have won the war.

This country would definitely be better
off now.


NOT FOR SLAVERY. SLAVERY BAD!

But for the freedom and states rights
that they were fighting for. They really
had it right in my opinion. They cherished that freedom and were willing to fight and die for it. Alot more than I can say for the nation that we've become.

Damn ETH! 228 posts in like a week, its not gonna be long before you hit 100,000

[}:)]Mahabali the (damn thats alot a posts)  type guy

Why...WHY YOU ARE CORRECT SIR!!

Hun, do you remember when high schools and public gatherings could not play Dixie. As a kid we played Theme from Tara, at the opening of such gatherings. It too brought a tear to all. This was in the Empire State of the South, the Great State of Georgia.

Sir I hate to disagree with you but I think you might have meant to say 228 post a day......[:D]

General Robert E. Lee!!!!

[url]http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwplee2.gif[/url]


I thought the General was an orange Charger?

[flame]

More than a few of us didn't (Sterling Price, Shelby)........

BHotR?......[puke]  

COOL!! Those are Stereoscope Pictures!! If you touch your nose on your monitor and squint just right it is just like being there!!

Long live THE SOUTH![:D]


ByteTheBullet  (-: