This month is our third installment of songs about US States or with US state names. Our first installment in March 2003, covered Alabama through Idaho and the second installment in May 2003 presented songs from Illinois to Mississippi. As in those issues, this issue and the final issue to be published later this year, there is a wide variety of songs about states or with state names. You'll also see that some states had many songs written about them and some had very few. In some cases, we've had to stretch the point a little when we could not find a specific song in our collection or obtain a new one that specifically named the state in the title. This month's stretch was for North Dakota. We were unable to find a song about that fine state so I had to settle for one that represents the "wild west," a great march titled Let 'er Go. Our apologies to Dakotans in advance. If any of you have a better song, send it to me and I'll add it later.
We also want to say again that this series is not about official state songs. Though you may find one or two among all 50, our intent is not to provide a survey of state songs. Rather, we want to use the theme of states to show the variety and style of songs written about states and simply add some enjoyment and fun to our regular features.
Finally, I want to restate that if we've left out your favorite song about your state, we're sorry; that's also not our intent . We also don't want to offend any of you wonderful people with a song that you might not think is representative of your state. It is important that you know that the songs we have selected are not purported to be representative of any attribute, feature or people within the state. Remember, all of these songs were written in some cases over 100 years ago and as such, represent political and social thinking far different from today. So don't get your dander up if you don't like the song we've used for your state, this is entertainment, not social commentary. Again, our intent is not to represent each state, just show the many songs written about states. If any of you have songs you'd like presented, we'd be happy to publish a "listener" feedback" feature on state songs with any rebuttals you care to make. The "rules" for submissions can be found here, we'd love to have submissions by any of our readers, anytime and would enjoy having a "reader submission" or "favorites" feature from time to time. Heck, get involved, help us out and write a feature for us!
Come with us now as we revisit the wonderful music of America's states. As always, this issue is on two separate pages so don't miss page two of this issue.
There's A Girl In Old Missouri Who Is Waiting To Be Shown1912Music by: Alfred Solman Lyrics by: Will D. Cobb Cover artist: Unknown
A number of songs about Missouri seem to use the state's "show me" theme as a basis for their lyrics. In 2000, we published the 1902 song I'm From Missouri (And You Gotter Show Me) (MIDI) and now, this song that has a young lady just waiting to be shown. Shown what? Well, shown that a certain boy loves her and will end his "rover days" of course! Billed as "The Great Show-Me Ballad", this song has a beautifully melodic verse section that leads into a completely different march style chorus. Most of the music from this era has little to no guidance and markings related to dynamics and I found this work to be uncharacteristically prolific in that regard. The composer obviously was trying to use dynamics to emphasize the song's lyrical points and uses plenty of markings to do so. They even used an anvil effect at the end of the chorus to illustrate the letter writer's vocation. This is a quite good song from a pair of talented writers.
The Missouri territory was much larger than the state that was admitted to the Union in 1821. Known as the "Show Me" state, the term is said to have originated in 1899 when Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver stated, "I'm from Missouri and you've got to show me." The state animal is a mule which seems to go well with the "show me" theme. A state of contrasts between wilderness and cosmopolitan sophistication, Missouri offers a great deal of variety to her residents and visitors. Her largest city St. Louis; is also called, "The Gateway to the West" and "Home of the Blues" although those of us from Memphis would argue the blues issue vigorously. Her state bird is the Bluebird and the state tree, the beautiful flowering dogwood. The state song is the beautiful Missouri Waltz (Scorch format) The state website can be found at: http://www.state.mo.us/
Alfred Solman (1868 - 1937) Was one of Tin Pan Alley's more prolific lyricists who collaborated with a number of composers. In spite of his output, little biographical information is available for him. His most successful work is probably his 1916 song, There's a Quaker Down in Quaker Town. Other works from his pen include; The Bird On Nellie's Hat, 1906; Why Did You Make Me Care, 1912; In the Sweet Long Ago, 1916; The Heart You Lost in Maryland, You'll Find in Tennessee, 1907; My Lonely Lola Lo (In Hawaii), 1916 and In the Valley of the Moon, 1913.
Will D. Cobb (1876 - 1930) Cobb, a Philadelphia native was educated at Girard College there. He was a department store salesman who wrote song lyrics on the side. One of his earliest works was Goodbye Dolly Gray with Paul Barnes in 1897. His career really took flight when he met Gus Edwards and they began collaborating on songs. Their greatest hit is probably School Days (scorch format) in 1906 but they had many other hit songs as a team. Cobb also collaborated with other important composers of the period. Cobb died in New York City in 1930.
Hear this great Missouri song Printable sheet music (scorch format only)
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Montana Anna1909
Admitted to the Union as the 41 st state on Nov. 8, 1889, Montana is known as "The Big Sky" country, no doubt due to the vastness and unpopulated nature of the state. Montana's four largest industries are agriculture, which includes both crops and livestock; travel and tourism; timber, and mining. Her leading agricultural commodities are cattle and calves, wheat, barley, dairy products, sugar beets, hay, hogs, sheep and lambs. The mining industry includes coal production, petroleum, precious metals and natural gas. Sparsely populated, Montana claims on it's site that there are more animals than people in the state. Montana's symbols represent the plant, animal and mineral specimens that distinguish Montana. They are the western meadowlark (bird); bitterroot (flower); ponderosa pine (tree); agate and sapphire (gem stones); bluebunch wheatgrass (grass); cutthroat trout (fish); grizzly bear (animal); and Maiasaura, or duck-billed dinosaur (fossil), Treasure State (nickname) and 'Oro y Plata', Spanish for gold and silver (motto). The official state song, "Montana," has an interesting story behind it which you can read at the state site kids page about the song. This song is a delightful, novelty song by one of early Tin Pan Alley's best women composers. The song portrays the independence of Western women and their attraction as well. In spite of her wild west image, Anna still ends up bound by traditional roles of the times and it is implied she may be corralled before all is done. With a very upbeat melody and terrific lyrics, this song deserves continued exposure.
Luella Lockwood Moore (Born 1864, Pontiac, MI; died November 1927, Detroit). Usually referred to as Mrs. Luella Lockwood Moore in the press, this highly respected Michigan composer was the daughter of Timothy Lockwood, a popular music composer of the Civil War era. Her Nov. 21, 1927 obituary said that she "never received any conventional music education, but as a child she played in the churches of Pontiac after learning the hymns by ear from her mother." In 1915 the Detroit Symphony Orchestra presented Moore's orchestral suite, "My Lady's Boudoir," at one of their Wednesday night programs. Moore was the first Detroit composer ever to be so honored. By then she had several popular instrumentals and ballads to her credit.
Her father was a contemporary of Stephen Foster; composed approximately 55 songs and piano pieces, taught music and was a partner in a music business in Pontiac, MI before dying in 1870 at the age of 35. His wife, Luella's mother, also a musician, supported the family by teaching large music classes and putting on musical extravaganzas. Luella and her brother LeBaron sang in these musicals from the age of five to their upper teens.
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I'm Goin' Back To Old Nebraska1914
A somber, almost malevolent Al Jolson graces the cover of this song and his look makes one wonder what cataclysm might have made the writer want to leave town and go home. I'm sure Jolson's photographer did not intend this picture to be so sinister but the somber colors and the dark shadows around the eyes make for perhaps the least flattering Jolson image published on sheet music. The song actually does not reflect such a mood. A very upbeat song with a jaunty tune, the song tells the tale of a happy man heading back to "wild and woolly" Nebraska to see his friends and marry his sweetheart. This song is a great tribute to Nebraska as well as one that clearly is a Jolson style song that would showcase his talents. Called the Cornhusker State and whose name is based on an Oto Indian word that means "flat water," referring to the Platte River, Nebraska gained admission to the Union on March 1, 1867 as the 37th state. With a state bird the Western Meadowlark, and a state flower the Goldenrod, Nebraska emphasizes its unique natural resources and heritage. The official song for the state of Nebraska is Beautiful Nebraska (50states.com) with music by Jim Fras and words by Jim Fras and Guy G. Miller. You can learn much more about Iowa at their website at http://www.state.ne.us/ .
Bert Rule & Ray Sherwood seem to be temporarily lost to us.
A search of my library as well as the internet returns but this one song
by Rule and a very few other songs with lyrics by Sherwood including Hawaiian
Slumbertime (1922) with music by Carl Vandersloot and Hawaiian
Twilight (1920) also with Vandersloot.
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In
The Gold Fields Of Nevada
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Over On The Jersey Side1908
The third of the original 13 colonies, New Jersey became our third state
on Dec. 18, 1787. The birthplace of my mother (Freehold, 1913), New Jersey
is often judged based on the area proximate to New York yet there is so
much more to the state that may surprise many people who have never been
there. Topographically diverse, her Appalachian valley in the northwest
has the highest elevations comprised of flat topped mountain ranges. She
has low plains with ridges (no, not like Ruffles) and a coastal plain
that covers nearly two thirds of the state in the southeast. Surprisingly
rural, sparsely populated and wooded in areas, she offers a great deal
of beauty and recreational opportunities for the outdoors oriented visitor.
I suppose were I from new Jersey, I might find this song a bit off putting. A novelty song in every sense, it does make New Jersey the butt of a joke, yet does so with good nature. One of the things we seem to have lost over the last few decades is the ability to laugh at ourselves. Everyone seems to take offense to everything and our collective sense of humor has gone the way of many other things that used to make the country what it was. Regardless of my opinions about that, the song is another of Norworth's best. With a great melody and very funny lyrics, Norworth has managed to capture the essence of the (unfair) opinions of New Jersey that abounded then and even continue to this day. The melody is a catchy tune that carries the novelty mood of the song. The words are a bit cutting but through them, you can see his real admiration for the state. A good natured rib and pot shot comes across less offending than you might think. Of course all you New Jerseyites might disagree but I hope you can still enjoy the song as a great song from the history of American popular music..
Jack
Norworth ( 1879, Philadelphia - d. 1959, Laguna Beach, Ca.) Norworth
was a famed vaudevillian who also composed and wrote songs as well as
Broadway musicals. Norworth was married to the great Nora Bayes, also
a songwriter and with her wrote one of Tin Pan Alley's greatest hits,
Shine On Harvest Moon (MIDI).
Norworth performed in a variety of modes including blackface as a minstrel
and even at sea with Nora. He starred in a number of Broadway shows (again,
with Bayes) including; The Jolly Bachelors (1909), Little Miss
Fix-It (1911) and Roly Poly (1912). Norworth collaborated with
other famed songwriters and wrote the words to baseball's greatest hit,
Take Me Out To The Ball Game in 1908. Other Norworth compositions include;
I'm Sorry, Honey Boy, Smarty and Way Down In Cuba. He collaborated with
Von Tilzer in writing the Broadway show Odds And Ends of 1917. The 1944
film, Shine On Harvest Moon portrayed the life of Bayes and Norworth and
starred Ann Sheridan and Dennis Morgan in the title roles.
Listen to this great old song (scorch format)
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Navajo1903
New Mexico joined the Union on Jan. 6, 1912 as the 47th state. New Mexico brought to the Union a strong Native American influence as well as its more recent Spanish heritage. Her flag is reflective of that heritage in that the yellow field and red symbol colors are the colors of Spain. Also: on New Mexico's flag we see a red sun with rays stretching out from it. There are four groups of rays with four rays in each group. This is an ancient sun symbol of a Native American people called the Zia. The Zia believed that the giver of all good gave them gifts in groups of four. These gifts are: The four directions - north, east, south and west. The four seasons - spring, summer, fall and winter. The day - sunrise, noon, evening and night. Life itself - childhood, youth, middle years and old age. All of these are bound by a circle of life and love, without a beginning or end. (from 50states.com) Nicknamed the Land of Enchantment, with a state flower of the Yucca and a state bird of the Roadrunner (Beep-Beep) her symbols are reflective of her resources and heritage. Her primary industries are surprisingly diverse and include; cattle, dairy products, hay, nursery stock, chilies, electric equipment, petroleum, coal products, food processing, printing and publishing, stone, glass, clay products and of course tourism. The state song is O, Fair New Mexico, words and music by Elizabeth Garrett (link to 50states.com, New Mexico state song) Written by Doralice Fontane and composed by Dr. John Croom. Learn more about this great state's history at the official New Mexico website at http://www.state.nm.us/.
This song is one that has endured for a century and probably will for many more years. Written for the musical Nancy Brown in the same year, it was popularized by the star of that show, Marie Cahill who is pictured on the cover. Cahill was born in 1870 and was a very popular singer and comedienne. Said to have a "ready Irish wit" (Kinkle, V. 2, p. 662) she starred in a number of Broadway musicals. Her career started at the tender age of 16 and extended to her final performance at age 60 in the 1930 production, The New Yorkers. Though she starred in several shows prior to 1900, her widespread fame did not come till she popularized some songs from a 1902 show, Sally In Our Alley (song, Under the Bamboo Tree) and the 1903, The Wild Rose ( song, Nancy Brown). The popularity of Nancy Brown then spawned the musical of the same name where Navajo appeared. The song has that "Indian" stereotypical sound often used during those times which we saw in our essay on Native American music, bears no resemblance to true American Indian music. It is a pleasant tune and lyrically, it is more a coon song than anything else. It uses stereotypes to depict both the Navajo maiden and an African American.
Egbert Van Alstyne (b. Chicago, Ill 1882 - d. Chicago, 1951) A musical prodigy, he played the organ at the Methodist Church in Marengo, Illinois when only seven! Schooled in the public school system in Chicago and at Cornell College in Iowa, he won a scholarship to the Chicago Musical College. After graduation, he toured as a pianist and director of stage shows and performed in vaudeville. In 1902 he went to New York and worked as a staff pianist for a publisher in Tin Pan Alley and began to devote himself to writing songs teamed with Harry Williams as his lyricist. The teams first success came in 1903 with this song, Navajo, one of the earliest commercial songs to exploit Indian themes. They wrote two more "Indian Songs"; Cheyenne in 1906 and San Antonio in 1907. In 1905 they produced one of the greatest songs of that early decade, In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree which sold several million copies. For several years, the team cranked out hit after hit and music for two Broadway musicals, A Broken Doll in 1909 and Girlies in 1910.
Listen to this great old song (scorch format)
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Most of the state facts featured this month were taken from each of the state
web sites cited for each featured song. As well, the terrific US States information
site, 50states.com was
used to find additional facts about the states. See our resources
page for a complete bibliography of all other resources used to research
this and other articles in our series.