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Origins: Away Here in Texas / Song of Texas DigiTrad: THE SONG OF TEXAS
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Subject: Origins: Away Here in Texas From: Burke Date: 18 Aug 03 - 11:06 AM There's a tune in the 1860 Sacred Harp and still in the Cooper Edition called A Son of Texas It has two verses: A SONG OF TEXAS. 11, 8. S. W. Palmer & H. S. R. Away here in Texas, the bright Sunny South, The cold storms of winter defy, The dark, lurid clouds that envelope the North, Scarce darken our beautiful sky. Away here in Texas, the sun shines so bright, The stars in their beauty appear; The full moon in splendor illumin's the night, And the seasons roll round with the year. The positioning of S.W. Palmer & H.S.R. on the page usually indicate a composer. H.S.R. is probably H.S. Rees(e), the arranger of the tune on the previous page, in the book as well as quite a few others. Many of Rees' pieces seem to be of folk origin. I don't know anything about Palmer. Recently a manuscript has turned up on Ebay, dated 1862 that is clearly the same song, but longer. The seller speculates about Texas Civil War origin, but it's earlier publication in Sacred Harp disproves this. The other interesting bit is that the manuscript was found in Alabama and the Sacred Harp was a Georgia/Alabama publication. I'm interested in any sources, especially mid 19th cent. word books that anyone might have. The Google search results a princially for a recent Texas Sacred Harp newsletter that derives its name from the first line. Ebay 1. Away here in Texis as the bright sunny south The coald stormy winter defy The darke lowring clouds that incircle the north Seldom darke our beautiful skies 2. Away heare in Texis the sun shines so bright The stores in their beauty appeare The full mon in splendor illumins the night And the seasons roll round with yeare 3. Away heare in Texis the beautiful flowers Peculiar brilliant and gay The birds with thiere music beguile the dull hours They enchantingly sing all the day 4. Away heare in Texis a stranger I roam Unknown unto all but a few But I travil in hope of a fair beter world When I will take my last sad adieu 5. Away hear in Texis my journey shal end My body be laide in the ground But I hope to arise and to glory asend When Gabrel his strumpet shal sound 6. The a ransom from Texas I'll rise from my tombe To mete my deare lorde in the air For the word of his promise will bare me safe home And forever will dwell with him thare. Jan the 1 1862 John T McCall. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Away Here in Texas From: masato sakurai Date: 18 Aug 03 - 08:35 PM The tune (also titled SONG OF TEXAS) was adopted for "Ye objects of sense and enjoyments of time" (Benjamin Francis) in C.H. Cayce's Good Old Songs (1913, 538). It is quoted in Jackson's Down-East Spirituals and Others (no. 201). James W. Palmer (probably a different person) of Lexington, Kentucky, compiled the Western Harmonic Companion in 1826 (Jackson, White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands, p. 43). |
Subject: RE: Origins: Away Here in Texas / Song of Texas From: GUEST,Robert Vaughn Date: 05 May 04 - 10:43 AM Burke, have you discovered any more concerning the origins of this poem since your post last August? Thanks. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Away Here in Texas / Song of Texas From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 05 May 04 - 11:39 AM 20 Aug. 2003, John Garst posted this song in Forum for Ballad Scholars, from the same Ebay notice. I don't believe that he got an answer. During the Civil War, many poems-songs with the words "bright sunny South" appeared, similar in form to the one here, and probably originally inspired by the Sacred Harp or other printing of a pre-Civil War song. "Song of Texas," in the DT, is a different song. |
Subject: RE: Origins: Away Here in Texas / Song of Texas From: Burke Date: 05 May 04 - 03:23 PM Robert, I'll be sending you and e-mail. We were discussing this on fasola discussions last Aug. I thought there were some people here at Mudcat who'd be interested in the song & might be able to provide some additional information. That's the source of this thread. B.E.S. |
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