Remembering Stephen Foster
I am making this Stephen Foster Memorial Day to commemorate the day he died in 1864. What sad and beautiful songs he wrote.
Foster died tragically from accident, suicide, or some other trauma that left him bleeding from the neck at the age of 37. None can know what he would have become or how he would have evolved.
What he was was a poet and a musician who left a large body of heartfelt mournful and joyful music.
Was he an abolitionist? No one knows. Was he a critic of society? Not as it would seem. Was he a reformer? Not yet, yet, yet was yet to be.
He was an observer and interpreter of the hearts, lives, experiences, and emotions of people.
That was a great contribution in and of itself.
Foster taught my soul to mourn and celebrate at the same time.
Things are as they are and to know that is to both grieve and to rejoice.
Sad, that he died so early. Glad, that he left so much of himself with us.
Notable works
"Beautiful Dreamer"
"Camptown Races"
"Hard Times Come Again No More"
"My Old Kentucky Home"
"Oh! Susanna"
"Old Black Joe"
"Old Folks at Home
among others...
Excerpts
I dream of Jeanie with the light brown hair,
Borne, like a vapor on the summer air;
I see her tripping where the bright streams play,
Happy as the daisies that dance on her way.
Many were the wild notes her merry voice would pour.
Many were the blithe birds that warbled them o'er:
Oh, I dream of Jeanie with the light brown hair,
Floating, like a vapor, on the soft summer air.
I long for Jeanie with a day-dawn smile,
Radiant in gladness, warm with winning guile;
I hear her melodies, like joys gone by,
Sighing round my heart over the fond hopes that die:—
Sighing like the night wind and sobbing like the rain,—
Wailing for the lost one that comes not again:
Oh, I long for Jeanie, and my heart bows low,
Never more to find her where the bright waters flow.
I sigh for Jeanie, but her light form strayed
Far from the fond hearts round her native glade;
Her smiles have vanished and her sweet songs flown,
Flitting like the dreams that have cheered us and gone.
Now the nodding wild flowers may wither on the shore
While her gentle fingers will cull them no more:
Oh, I sigh for Jeanie with the light brown hair,
Floating, like a vapor, on the soft summer air.----------------------
Weep no more, my lady, oh! weep no more today!
We will sing one song
For the old Kentucky Home,
For the old Kentucky Home, far away.----------------------
Gone are the days when my heart was young and gay,
Gone are my friends from the cotton fields away,
Gone from the earth to a better land I know,
I hear their gentle voices calling "Old Black Joe".----------------------
All up and down de whole creation
Sadly I roam,
Still longing for de old plantation,
And for de old folks at home.
Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me,
Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee;
Sounds of the rude world, heard in the day,
Lull'd by the moonlight have all passed away!
Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song,
List while I woo thee with soft melody;
Gone are the cares of life's busy throng,
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
2.Beautiful dreamer, out on the sea,
Mermaids are chanting the wild lorelei;
Over the streamlet vapors are borne,
Waiting to fade at the bright coming morn.
Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart,
E'en as the morn on the streamlet and sea;
Then will all clouds of sorrow depart,
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
The bluebird is singing his lay,
To all the sweet flow'rs of the dale,
The wild bee is reaming at play,
And soft is the sigh of the gale;
I stray by the brookside alone,
Where oft we have wander'd before,
And weep for my lov'd one, my own,
My Willie has gone to the war!
Chorus:
Willie has gone to the war,
Willie, Willie my lov'd one my own;
Willie has gone to the war,
Willie, Willie my lov'd one is gone!'Twas here, where the lily bells grow,
I last saw his noble young face,
And now while he's gone to the foe,
Oh! dearly I love the old place;
The whispering waters repeat
The name that I love o'er and o'er,
And daisies that nod at my feet,
Say Willie has gone to the war!
Chorus:The leaves of the forest will fade,
The roses will wither and die,
But spring to our home in the glade
On fairy like pinions will fly;
And still I will hopefully wait
The day when these battles are o'er,
And pine like a bird for its mate,
Till Willie comes home from the war!
Biography
Stephen Collins Foster, 1826-1864
Performing Arts Reading Room, Library of Congress.
As one of America's principal and most influential songwriters, Stephen Foster shares his birthday with that of the nation. Born on 4 July 1826 in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, Foster revealed an early interest in music but received little formal training. Primarily self-taught, Foster displayed an affinity for "Ethiopian" and minstrel songs (he performed in minstrel shows as a boy), yet he also incorporated characteristics of Irish melodies, German songs, and Italian operas in his compositions. He was eighteen when his first song was published, "Open Thy Lattice, Love" (1844), set to a poem by George P. Morris; however, its title page erroneously credited the composer as "L. C. Foster." Subsequently, Foster served as both composer and lyricist to his songs, which numbered over two hundred.
Some of Foster's earliest songs were modeled on those he heard performed in minstrel shows. His first big hit, "Oh! Susanna" (1847), which launched Foster's career as a songwriter, became a favorite with minstrel troupes. The song also became associated with the California Gold Rush of 1849, as the forty-niners adapted a parodied version as their unofficial anthem. In 1850, Foster composed "De Camptown Races," which was introduced by the Christy Minstrels (founded by Edwin P. Christy), the most famous minstrel troupe of the day. Like "Susanna," "De Camptown Races" was also used by the forty-niners en route to California in a parody entitled "Sacramento." On 22 July 1850, Foster married Jane Denny McDowell; their daughter Marion was born nearly one year later. Foster's romantic ballad, "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" (1854), is perhaps the most famous of the songs he composed for his bride.
In 1851, Foster sent Christy a sentimental song, "Old Folks at Home," more commonly known as "Swanee River." By November 1854, the song had sold over 130,000 copies, making it one of Foster's most popular and successful compositions. The song's position in history was solidified when it became the official state song of Florida in 1935. Another of Foster's melodies, "My Old Kentucky Home" (1853), was also adopted as an official state anthem. Foster's only melody to be inspired by his actual visit to the state, it became Kentucky's state song in 1928.
Even though by 1853 Foster had an exclusive contract with music publisher Firth, Pond, and Company, his financial situation became unstable, due in part to the lack of copyright protection for his songs. His personal life also suffered, and after numerous conflicts with his wife, the couple separated in 1854. Burdened with the loss of his parents the following year, as well as with his declining health and alcoholism, the quality of Foster's creative output greatly diminished. In the 1860s, he focused on sentimental ballads rather than minstrel songs, and of the many songs penned during his last years, only "Beautiful Dreamer" (1864) has achieved the status of his earlier works. Although penniless when he died on 10 January 1864, Foster bestowed on America a rich legacy of memorable songs.
Further Reading
Austin, William W. "Susanna", "Jeanie", and "The Old Folks at Home": The Songs of Stephen C. Foster from His Time to Ours. 2d ed. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1988.
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