Old-time US Songs: Stephen Foster and Others Quiz

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.