'Southern Girl's Reply' at MBMonday

Subject: 'Southern Girl's Reply' at MBMonday
From: GUEST,Murder Ballad Monday
Date: 01 Jun 13 - 12:03 PM

Our post for this past Memorial Day week provides a different take on war and remembrance, and a nation's tragedy becomes decidedly personal. Join us, as Tim Eriksen and others provide the haunted soundtrack.

"The Southern Girl's Reply"

Subject: RE: 'Southern Girl's Reply' at MBMonday
From: Greg F.
Date: 01 Jun 13 - 04:37 PM

Hmmm- more neo-Confederate Redemptionist twaddle, resurrected from a well-deserved grave of obscurity..

the foe that trampled on the colors that she wore.

Is that a reference to Southerners trampling on the rights of Blacks?

My lover was a soldier, too, he fought at God's command.

Yes, yes, we all know that God ordained and loved Chattel slavery

She is obviously young and vital, but not "happy", like her northern counterparts. How could she be?

Happy like her northern counterparts? What nonsense. Do you have any idea how many northern mothers and girls had sons and sweethearts
killed in the war? Or died of dysentery or starvation at Andersonville or Saklisbury?

Shove the original poem and this "new" song back under the rock they crawled out from under, along with "I'm A Good Old Rebel Soldier"

Subject: RE: 'Southern Girl's Reply' at MBMonday
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 01 Jun 13 - 06:15 PM

Ah yes-
Let's suppress the parts of history (and folklore) that don't fit our modern sensibilities.

Subject: RE: 'Southern Girl's Reply' at MBMonday
From: Greg F.
Date: 01 Jun 13 - 06:21 PM

Suppression of them would be silly and pointless, Dick.

CELEBRATING them, or misrepresenting them, however, is offensive and anti-historical.

Subject: RE: 'Southern Girl's Reply' at MBMonday
From: GUEST,Ben K.-G.
Date: 01 Jun 13 - 07:25 PM

Greg. You do not appear to have read the same post I did...at least not all of it.

Your use of quotes strikes me as a little selective, and misrepresents a few things itself. One of the author's key points is that the song is not best considered a patriotic ballad, that it's not really a political song. Your comments ignore all the rest in the song and in the post that contradicts your point. I came away thinking that you were implying that the post was making such a "redemptionist" argument, which I don't see any evidence for, and I hope you were not intending.

I wonder if the use of quotes around the word "happy," might be to indicate that the word is being used from inside the perspective of the song, and are not the author's position? The blogger says he is a history teacher, who spends a good bit of time teaching his students Civil War history--so, it's likely he has a very good idea of the broader context and the consequences on both sides.

The other thing that strikes me as odd about your argument is this: If the song really is what you say it is, why do you think Tim Eriksen (a New England-based singer), or Wendy Arrowsmith, who is English, choose to sing it? It seems to me that the song has more to it.

Subject: RE: 'Southern Girl's Reply' at MBMonday
From: GUEST,Pat Blackman
Date: 01 Jun 13 - 08:24 PM

As the author of the post in question, I appreciate the discussion of my little blog post. I can assure you (as I did in the post) that I chose the subject because of what I perceive as its 'murder ballad' mechanism, and I really couldn't care less about the politics.   In other words, as for either celebrating or denigrating the South, frankly, I don't give a damn. (Sorry, I had to do that.) I live in Vermont and I'm in it for the music. And though I don't know for sure, I imagine Eriksen had nothing else on his mind when he recorded this song.

I would think my somewhat 'feminist' read on the ballad would be one likely source of debate, as I really couldn't offer direct evidence. Oh, Ben, you're spot on in figuring about my use of the word "happy". I'm just trying to get in to the writer's head, and so I pull that line from the lyrics (and others as well.) We often get in to the issue of 'reliable narrators' in the blog. As I'm arguing the Pearl Rivers is doing something more than celebrating Southern pride, it was worth a bit of study as to whether we might actually believe what she was saying personally. I think we can. In that of course, I could be quite wrong, and THAT could certainly be another topic of legitimate debate.

Subject: RE: 'Southern Girl's Reply' at MBMonday
From: GUEST,Pat Blackman
Date: 01 Jun 13 - 08:47 PM

Greg, not that it matters, but if you question my declaration of perspective, there was another post recently wherein my fellow blogger used a song I wrote several years ago as the basis of his post...   check it out if you want. I imagine you'll find it more in line with your politics (though I won't guarantee that it's actually good music, like Eriksen's!)

Who Killed Fred Hampton?