The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #8328 Message #1890251
Posted By: Goose Gander
21-Nov-06 - 05:45 PM
Thread Name: Origin: The Girl I Left Behind Me
Subject: RE: Old US Army tune 'The Girl I Left Behind Me'
This may be where that 1650 date came from . . .
From contemplator.com
"Theodore Raph (see citation below) writes that the tune was known in America as early as 1650 and indicates it was a traditional fife tune, imported from England as Brighten Camp. The tune became generally popular during the Revolution."
I haven't seen Raph's book, so I don't know if these comments accurately reflect his notes in American Song Treasury (Dover, 1986).