Or "The PICKET-GUARD" By Ethel Lynn BEERS (1827 - 1879).

Yes, a very pretty, sad song - one of the earliest of the "War Protest" songs.

I do it in "G", which works pretty well for my voice range (Baritone). I think that it is in 6/8 time, but don't quote me on that; it has a very waltzlike meter. I play it on guitar with a soft, melodic fingerpicking style.

It would take me all night to line up lyric and chord notation, so I'll give you a string of the chords which I worked out by ear (probably not to be found in any reputable book) and you can figure out where to plug them in. There are several "Pop-Chords" covering only one or two beats, and I will mark them with an (*).

Verse: G, C*-G, D*- G*-C*-G, D, (D7), G. G, D*-G, D*-G, D, A7@"Hid", D. D, D7, G, D(2bts),G , C@"Count", D7; C, D7, C*-AM*-B7*-C ("..ONE OF THE MEN") C, G, D, D7*-G.

Refrain (not written in all versions):

"All Quiet... along.... the Poto-mac to-night..." G, G7, D7, G (C, G, D Instr. "trailer")

The last verse is truncated, using the melody lines of the first and last two lines of the verse. I like to use the first verse as the last to kind of "hammer it in". Apparantly this piece was inspired by a newspaper account which reported, then seemed to trivialize, the killing of a lone Picket or Sentry. This is a great late-night campfire song!

Uncle Jaque, Musician, 3rd Reg't Maine Vol. Inf.