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Quiz about Oldtime US Songs Stephen Foster and Others
Quiz about Oldtime US Songs Stephen Foster and Others

Old-time US Songs: Stephen Foster and Others Quiz


The 19th Century was an era with different humor and different ideas about offensiveness, but many of the songs have stood the test of time, at least among music historians. Some of these are Stephen Foster's, some aren't. How many do you recognize?

A multiple-choice quiz by littlepup. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
littlepup
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
384,274
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
355
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Question 1 of 10
1. One of the many variations of this popular song had a chorus: "Jim crack corn, I don't care," repeated several times. The song was all about being troubled by an insect. What was the title? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. In the title of this sad song, who or what what did Stephen Foster hope would "Come Again No More"? The chorus began "Tis the song, the sigh of the weary..." Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. In another Stephen Foster song, he dreamed of, longed for and sighed for this woman, "With the Light Brown Hair." What was her name? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. In this wildly popular song, the singer wishes he could return to the place he was born "early on one frosty mornin'" and urges the listeners to look in that direction. What song is it? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Another sad Stephen Foster song recalls a friend who is "gentle, he is kind; / I'll never, never find / a better friend than" who? The friend's name is also the title. Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. George F. Root wrote this song in 1862, in the midst of the Civil War. The chorus included a line that was sometimes adapted as a title, "While we rally round the flag," but what was the well-known title that the singers were "shouting" in the last line of the chorus? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. If I said the chorus to this Stephen Foster song included "Doo-dah, doo-dah," could you pick it out from the choices? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. What sweet and patriotic song, written during the Civil War, began with the title, which was followed by these three lines:

"I am thinking most of you,
While upon the field we're watching
With the enemy in view"?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. The singer's girl is Sal, but he keeps mentioning Polly. He's going to Louisiana to see someone else named Susyanna. Please name the title of this confusion! Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. What song begins with these three and a half lines, followed by the title? It was written just at the end of the Civil War.

"Bring the good old bugle, boys, we'll sing another song
Sing it with a spirit that will start the world along
Sing it as we used to sing it, 50,000 strong
While we were ..."
Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. One of the many variations of this popular song had a chorus: "Jim crack corn, I don't care," repeated several times. The song was all about being troubled by an insect. What was the title?

Answer: Blue-Tail Fly

There were different versions, but one that's familiar to modern people was "Jim Crack Corn or the Blue tail Fly," published in Baltimore by F. D. Benteen in 1846. Many believe that version was written by Dan Emmett, but it could even have been a true folk song published as sheet music. Abraham Lincoln is supposed to have liked it, calling it "that buzzing song," and there's room to imitate the buzzing of a fly with a banjo or other instrument between verses.

The meaning has been widely debated. It's just close enough to nonsense to be unclear, but real-sounding enough that it ought to have meaning, even if coded.

The fly somehow was involved in the master's death--that's about all we know.
2. In the title of this sad song, who or what what did Stephen Foster hope would "Come Again No More"? The chorus began "Tis the song, the sigh of the weary..."

Answer: Hard Times

Published in 1854, the song tapped into the love of sentimentality that seemed a guarantee of success. In the song, poor people endure stoically, wishing that hard times would not come again, while "we," who are comfortable, "seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay." During the Civil War, the title was perfect for a parody, "Hard Crackers [or Hard Tack] Come Again No More," complaining of the tough, bland staple of the soldiers' mess.
3. In another Stephen Foster song, he dreamed of, longed for and sighed for this woman, "With the Light Brown Hair." What was her name?

Answer: Jeanie

Stephen Foster aimed the song toward his real-life estranged wife, Jane, or Jenny, McDowell. They separated in 1853 after three years of marriage and he published the song a year after they parted. Ironically, "Jeanie" inherited the rights to the song when Foster died in 1864, but it wasn't popular at the time.

It picked up popularity through the 20th Century and is one of those old-time songs heard occasionally in classic movies and TV shows.
4. In this wildly popular song, the singer wishes he could return to the place he was born "early on one frosty mornin'" and urges the listeners to look in that direction. What song is it?

Answer: Dixie

Dan Emmett is usually credited as the author, but there have been many competing claims. There have also been endless additional verses, parodies and adaptations, as well as arguments about where or what Dixie's Land actually was. There's no doubt the song has become a symbol of the U.S South, especially during the Civil War, when it and "The Bonny Blue Flag" stood out as anthems of the Confederacy. Since then, it has been used as a football fight song, a cheerful marching tune, an offensive reminder of slavery, and a car horn in the "Dukes of Hazard" TV show and on some car that goes down our road every few weeks. No kidding.
5. Another sad Stephen Foster song recalls a friend who is "gentle, he is kind; / I'll never, never find / a better friend than" who? The friend's name is also the title.

Answer: Old Dog Tray

"Old Dog Tray" from 1853 has become iconic among dog lovers. The only thing about the song may be its over-sentimentality, but people get that way about dogs they've loved. Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) wrote a poem, "The Harper," probably eventually set to music, about "poor dog Tray" in Ireland, and Foster may have used it as an idea on which to base his song.
6. George F. Root wrote this song in 1862, in the midst of the Civil War. The chorus included a line that was sometimes adapted as a title, "While we rally round the flag," but what was the well-known title that the singers were "shouting" in the last line of the chorus?

Answer: Battle Cry of Freedom

The song proved popular immediately, and a Confederate version of the lyrics were soon written by W. H. Barnes. It was also adapted as a campaign song for Lincoln in 1864, and later as a labor union song.

The chorus ended:
"While we rally round the flag, boys, we rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!"

"Battle Cry of Freedom" appeared on the cover of early sheet music, but more recently as the title of a history book about the Civil War by James McPherson.
7. If I said the chorus to this Stephen Foster song included "Doo-dah, doo-dah," could you pick it out from the choices?

Answer: Camptown Races

The song was published in 1850 by F. D. Benteen of Baltimore, Maryland, who must have found it profitable, as he published it again in 1852, now claiming it was a "celebrated" song. One of the famous troups, Christy's Minstrels, introduced it, which didn't hurt the popularity, but the song stood on its own merit as silly and enjoyable to sing.
8. What sweet and patriotic song, written during the Civil War, began with the title, which was followed by these three lines: "I am thinking most of you, While upon the field we're watching With the enemy in view"?

Answer: Just Before the Battle, Mother

Published in 1863 by Root & Cady of Chicago, the success of this song about soldiers facing death bravely, showed once again the sentimentality of the era. It is mentioned in the lyrics another song by George F. Root published the year after:

"Hear the 'Battle-Cry of Freedom,'
How it swells upon the air,
Oh, yes, we'll rally 'round the standard..."

It seems rather self-promoting to assume the soldiers would be hearing a Root song as they prepared to die in another Root song, but I guess Root & Cady figured they might as well promote where they could. And their previous song was truly popular.
9. The singer's girl is Sal, but he keeps mentioning Polly. He's going to Louisiana to see someone else named Susyanna. Please name the title of this confusion!

Answer: Polly Wolly Doodle

The song probably goes back to 1843, when it was sung by Dan Emmett's Virginia Minstrels, though only the title was listed then and the full lyrics don't appear in print until a Harvard student songbook dated 1880. Some credit Emmett as the author, though there's no way to know for sure. The song is often considered a children's tune today, though it was performed for adults originally.
10. What song begins with these three and a half lines, followed by the title? It was written just at the end of the Civil War. "Bring the good old bugle, boys, we'll sing another song Sing it with a spirit that will start the world along Sing it as we used to sing it, 50,000 strong While we were ..."

Answer: Marching through Georgia

Henry Clay Work wrote the song, which contains an odd paradox, because it references Sherman's March to the Sea in the past tense, yet is written as if it was actually a song sung then:

"Hurrah! Hurrah! the flag that makes you free!
So we sang the chorus from Atlanta to the sea"

Was "Hurrah! the flag that makes you free!" the chorus of an earlier song actually sung during the march? I don't think so. I think it was written as part of this song, after the march was finished, and we're just supposed to ignore such things.

William T. Sherman said he became tired of the song, because it was played at nearly every one of his public appearances. Its snappy tune has made it retain its popularity for marching bands, though, at least for those not in the US South. In various countries and wars, for cartoon shows or football games, the song continues to be played.
Source: Author littlepup

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