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1897 song

"On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away"
Sheet music cover (1897)
Song
Published	Howley, Haviland & Co., October 1897
Genre	Tin Pan Alley Mother-and-Domicile songs
Songwriter(s)	Paul Dresser

"On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" was amidst the acknowledged songs of the 19th century, earning over $100,000 from sheet-music revenues. Written and composed by American songwriter Paul Dresser, it was published by the Tin Pan Aisle business firm of Howley, Haviland and Company in October 1897. The lyrics of the ballad reminisce about life well-nigh Dresser's babyhood home by the Wabash River in Indiana, Usa. The song remained popular for decades, and the Indiana General Associates adopted it every bit the official country song on March 14, 1913. The song was the ground for a 1923 picture show of the aforementioned title. Its longtime popularity led to the emergence of several lyrical versions, including an 1898 anti-war song and a Swedish version that was a number-one striking.

The song was composed during a transitory fourth dimension in musical history when songs beginning began to be recorded for the phonograph. Information technology was among the earliest pieces of popular music to be recorded. Dresser's inability to control the distribution of phonograph cylinders led him and his company to join other composers to petition the U.s.a. Congress to aggrandize federal copyright protections over the new technology.

Dresser'southward ballad was the subject of some controversy after his decease in 1906. His younger brother, novelist Theodore Dreiser, publicly claimed to have authored part of the song, but the validity of his claim was never proven. The ambiguity of United States copyright laws at the time and the poor management of Dresser'south manor left the song vulnerable to plagiarism. The 1917 song "Dorsum Home Once more in Indiana" borrowed heavily from Dresser's song, both lyrically and musically, and led to a dispute with Dresser's estate that was never resolved.

Background and limerick [edit]

Paul Dresser, a prominent 19th-century lyricist and music composer, was born in Terre Haute, Indiana.^{[1] [n i]} Dresser'south boyhood home was near land adjacent to the Wabash River, the principal internal waterway in the state of Indiana. He later became a traveling musician, comedian, and thespian who likewise composed music for the acts.^{[1] [2]} In 1893 Dresser joined Howley, Haviland and Company, a Tin Pan Alley music publisher based in New York Metropolis, as a silent partner.^[three] In 1896, later on more than twenty years of traveling the state as a performer, Dresser grew tired of the theater and turned his attention to composing music and his music publishing business.^{[1] [4]} By that fourth dimension Dresser was a nationally-known talent who had traveled throughout the United States.^[1] While he occasionally returned to Terre Haute for performances and brief visits, Dresser'due south songs and messages to his friends ofttimes reminisced about Indiana and his childhood habitation.^{[ane] [5]}

Dresser officially dedicated the song to fourteen-year-one-time Mary S, a native of Terre Haute, whom he had never met.^[half-dozen] The 2nd verse of "Wabash" contains reference to "Mary", but Dresser told a reporter that the name was "fictitious" and used only for "rhythmical purposes", and denied that the inspiration for the name came from a girl he once courted in his youth.^{[7] [eight]} When asked what led him to write the song Dresser said, "The same sugariness memory that inspired that other Hoosier, James Whitcomb Riley, to sing of the 'Old Swimmin' Hole' ... I was born on the banks of the Wabash at Terre Haute ... My fondest recollections are of my female parent and of my early days along this stream."^{[one] [9]}

In the first one-half of 1897 Dresser began to write the song "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" in remembrance of his Indiana home. He tended to compose songs over the course of months, normally in individual during the evening hours. He refined his songs by playing the melody repeatedly, making changes and altering notes until it reached his satisfaction.^{[1] [10] [11]} It is believed that Dresser began "Wabash" in New York City in Apr 1897; continued working on it in May, when he was on vacation at Westward Baden Springs, Indiana; and completed the ballad in Chicago, while staying at the Auditorium Hotel in the summertime of 1897.^{[12] [13]}

Release [edit]

It is believed that the song'southward offset public performance took place at the Alhambra Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, probably in June 1897.^[14] After "professional copies" (printed samples of the sheet music) of the vocal were released in July, the last version was published in October as part of a serial of "mother-and-home" songs.^{[i] [12] [fifteen]} To spur interest in the song, Howley, Haviland and Company, the song's publisher, distributed 5,000 copies of the sheet music to singers, musicians, theaters, and other musical venues in the month later on the song was released. Restaurants, theaters, and street musicians were paid to play the song, while handbills with the lyrics were distributed when the song was performed publicly to help listeners to quickly learn the vocal.^[16] Using the nationwide network of music distribution controlled by Tin Pan Alley, Dresser'south publishing company was able to have the song well advertised, which pushed sales on a large scale.^[17]

"Wabash" became an firsthand success. One Chicago section shop claimed to have sold 1,471 copies of the song in a unmarried day.^[1] In its first year, over 500,000 copies of sheet music for the vocal were sold.^[18]

Dresser'south biographer, Clayton Henderson, attributed the success of the song to the "perfect matrimony of words and music."^[19] An Indiana newspaper compared the song in popularity to "Swanee River" and wrote, "Mr. Dresser ... has endeavored to perpetuate the beauties of the Wabash every bit did Stephen Foster that of the Suwannee River, and certainly no song since the latter has awakened and so much interest among lovers of a proficient song, nor has any other American author seemed every bit capable of filling the void left vacant past Foster. The song is a gem and a welcome relief from some of the so-called popular songs sprung on the public from fourth dimension to time."^[1]

Ane example attesting to the widespread popularity of Dresser's vocal occurred in June 1900, when the lighting failed at the Coney Island arena during a prize fight between Terry McGovern and Tommy White. The journalist calmed the panicking crowd of v,000 by whistling the tune of "On the Banks of the Wabash" and the oversupply began to sing along in the dark until the lighting was repaired.^{[1] [twenty]}

Past the end of 1898 Dresser reported that nearly one million copies of sail music would soon exist sold, making "Wabash" a "sensation", the "great striking of the day."^[21] In a newspaper interview Dresser said, "I tin can't tell you just how much I have cleared off of the song, but the $50,000 judge I have seen in some papers is very pocket-sized. You see I am a publisher besides as a composer and have a big printing firm of my own in New York. I also write the words for all my songs, dictate the circumstances and stage settings for their public introductions, write my ain ads, and sometimes sing my own songs. Now what exercise you lot think of that for a monopoly. Eh?"^[1] Dresser earned a substantial income from the song, including royalties through the auction of sheet music.^[22]

The music industry was in a period of transition at the time the song was published as new technologies allowed music to be recorded. U.S. copyright laws at the time did not let music composers to control the distribution of phonograph cylinders or music rolls for player pianos. Edison Records paid popular singers like Harry Macdonough to sing the songs and and so sold the recordings without paying any royalties to the composer or publisher of the music.^[23] Dresser joined with other prominent composers to seek a change in U.S. copyright laws. In 1902 Dresser met with U.South. senators and the Secretary of State in Washington, D.C. He too submitted papers with the U.S. State Department request for an extension of copyright protection outside the Us, especially in Canada and England.^{[16] [24]}

Later years [edit]

By 1900 "Wabash" had sold millions of copies, becoming the best selling vocal of its fourth dimension in terms of sheet music sold.^[25] The carol remained pop during the 1920s, becoming a staple song in many singing acts, including male quartet performances.^[19] In add-on, J. Stuart Blackton directed a 1923 silent film of the same title that was based partially on the song's lyrics.^[26] The vocal appears in the West. C. Fields one-act Human on the Flying Trapeze (1935), in which the house owner Fields, two thieves who broke into his house and the arresting policeman sing the song together. It had appeared in an before pic of Fields' It's a Gift (1934), sung by The Avalon Boys in an car army camp where Fields was staying. The vocal was also featured prominently in the 1942 motion picture My Gal Sal, the title of another song by Dresser.^[1]

Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album Bring together Bing and Sing Forth (1959).

Lyrics and analysis [edit]

The canvas music to the chorus

The ballad speaks of the Wabash River, which flows through Indiana, and reminisces most events that occurred there. The vocal has ii verses and a chorus. The start verse is about the narrator'southward childhood on a farm and his dearest for his mother. The second poetry is about his lost love, Mary.^{[27] [28]} While the subjects of the verses are continued, the narrative of the chorus is detached from the verses equally it seemingly reminisces nostalgically.^[15]

Without speaking directly of decease, both verses indicate the absence of a loved one, and the narrator'southward sadness and inability to cope with the grief. In the second verse, the narrator cannot bring himself to come near to his lost love'southward grave. The effort to avoid the subject of death and the focus on addicted memories is typical of songs and societal sensibilities at the fourth dimension.^[15]

The melody of the song is a memorable tune made easy to learn because of its combination of harmonic repetition and contrast—elements that make music easy to retrieve while avoiding monotony.^{[29] [30]} The recurrence and contrast inside the melody is similar to the patterns in many popular folk songs. Dresser, however, avoided the mutual 19th-century practice of using a portion of the refrain's melody in the verse. With little formal training in music theory, it is unlikely that Dresser purposefully fabricated any methodical calculations when he composed the melody.^{[1] [11] [xix]}

Written for piano, guitar, and mandolin, the music begins in the key of G major with an Andante Moderato tempo. The verses follow a chord progression of G–C–G. The chorus transitions to B minor, and progresses as B–E–E, before returning to K–C–G in its terminal bars.^[27] Although the tune of the chorus is unique within the piece, it is in harmonic unity with the verses. An upbeat version played at a Andantino tempo was also adapted for play by small orchestras and large bands.^[thirty]

On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away ^[27]
(Verse)
Round my Indiana homestead wave the cornfields,
In the distance loom the woodlands clear and cool.
Often my thoughts revert to scenes of babyhood,
Where I first received my lessons, nature's school.
Merely one thing in that location is missing from the picture,
Without her face it seems then incomplete.
I long to encounter my mother in the doorway,
Every bit she stood there years ago, her male child to greet.

(Chorus)
Oh, the moonlight's fair tonight along the Wabash,
From the fields at that place comes the breath of newmown hay.
Through the sycamores the candle lights are gleaming,
On the banks of the Wabash, far away.

(Verse)
Many years have passed since I strolled past the river,
Arm in arm, with sweetheart Mary by my side,
It was there I tried to tell her that I loved her,
It was in that location I begged of her to exist my bride.
Long years have passed since I strolled thro' the churchyard.
She'south sleeping there, my angel, Mary love,
I loved her, simply she thought I didn't mean it,
Still I'd give my future were she merely here.

Disputes and plagiarism [edit]

A twelvemonth after the vocal was published Dresser'due south brother Theodore, who later became a famous novelist, privately claimed to accept authored its lyrics.^{[31] [32]} In 1917, subsequently Dresser's 1906 decease, Theodore made his controversial claim public in a newspaper article. Already a controversial figure because of his open support for communism and tendency to make negative comments about his home state, Theodore'due south claims were ridiculed in many papers and by prominent Hoosiers who dismissed information technology as a hoax.^{[12] [33]} Although Theodore never retracted his exclamation that he wrote the commencement verse and chorus of the song, he downplayed the importance of his declared contribution in afterward years. It is possible that Theodore did give his brother the idea for the song, and may have even authored a portion of the lyrics, some of which reflect his writing manner.^{[one] [34] [35]} The line stating "where I first received my lessons, nature'due south schoolhouse" is a possible link, reflecting Theodore's obsession with nature during his youth and his belief that it held the answers to life, a topic he wrote of on several occasions.^[8]

Dresser died penniless later his publishing business failed. Known for his generosity, he also had a tendency to overspend and requite coin to his friends and family.^[36] In addition, copyrights to Dresser'southward music were poorly managed later the Haviland and Dresser Company went bankrupt in 1905.^[37] Maurice Richmond Music, who purchased the bankrupt visitor'south copyrights, gave Ballard MacDonald and James Hanley permission to use two confined from Dresser'south ballad in a song they published in 1917. MacDonald and Hanley's "Dorsum Home Again in Indiana" has since eclipsed "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" in public use. Their vocal borrowed heavily from "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" in the chorus, both musically and lyrically, using far more than than just the two confined granted to them.^{[38] [39]}

Twenty-half-dozen bars from the concluding 2 lines of the chorus are copied most identically. The lyrics of these same lines, "Through the sycamores the candle lights are gleaming, On the banks of the Wabash, far away" is also borrowed from, and changed to "the gleaming candle lights, are nonetheless shining bright, through the sycamore trees". The offset part of the chorus, "Oh the moonlight's fair tonight along the Wabash", is also reused and changed to "When I remember about the moonlight on the Wabash, then I long for my Indiana home". Under Theodore's guidance, Dresser's manor accused Hanley of plagiarism and threatened to bring a suit against Paull-Pioneer Music Corporation, the publisher of "Back Home Again in Indiana". Despite lengthy discussions, no activity was ever taken to resolve the dispute, largely due to the ambiguous nature of U.Southward. copyright laws in the early 20th century and the manor's lack of finances.^{[ane] [34] [39]}

Land song [edit]

On March 14, 1913, the Indiana General Associates adopted "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" as the official country song.^[40] The song's lyrics and required uses were added to the Indiana Code.^{[40] [41]} The state vocal was the first official symbol of Indiana, adopted four years before the state flag.^{[i] [forty]} In 1925 Indiana General Assembly passed legislation that required Indiana'due south public school teachers to teach the vocal every bit office of their curriculum. That same year the New York Times reported that twenty,000 copies of the song were distributed to the country's public school teachers.^[ane] The song is often played at major sporting events, including the Indianapolis 500.^[42]

Although "On the Banks of Wabash, Far Away" is Indiana's official song, "Back Home Again in Indiana" is more widely used and is falsely believed by many to exist the state song.^[42] 1 of the leading causes of the state song's fall into obscurity was a alter in its apply at the Indianapolis 500 during the 1940s. "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Abroad" is played at the result equally the race cars move into their starting positions, a menstruation that receives little goggle box coverage, while "Back Home Again in Indiana" is sung but before the start of the race and is broadcast publicly. The change to singing "Back Habitation Again in Indiana" at public events continued in the following years, and it is ofttimes played in the place of "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" at state college football game games and other prominent events.^[42] In 1997, to commemorate the song'south centennial anniversary, the Indiana Full general Assembly passed a resolution reconfirming "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Abroad" every bit the state's official song and urged state institutions to make more use of it and render it to popularity.^[42]

Adaptations [edit]

In 1898 Andrew B. Sterling wrote a folk adaptation of the song nearly the Spanish–American War, entitled "On the Shores of Havana, Far Away".^[43] The lyrics consisted of a poesy lamenting the expressionless from the explosion of the USS Maine, a 2nd hoping to avoid the draft, and a third criticizing and ridiculing the war. The chorus expressed sorrow for soldiers who had to occupy Havana and those who died in the war. Howley, Haviland and Company published the song, giving Sterling credit for the words, but paying royalties to Dresser for use of the melody.^[44]

In 1914 Karl-Ewert Christenson wrote Swedish-language lyrics to the melody of Dresser'due south vocal. Christenson titled the new song "Barndomshemmet" ("The Childhood Home"). The Swedish lyrics describe emigration from Sweden to the The states and was made pop by cabaret and revue artist Ernst Rolf, who had one of his first major hits with the song.^[45] A 1970 version of "Barndomshemmet" sung past Dan Eriksson reached number one on Svensktoppen, the Swedish hit list.^[46]

Notes [edit]

1. ^ Paul changed the spelling of his last name from "Dreiser" to "Dresser" to Americanize it afterwards beginning his amusement career. (Loving, p. 12)

References [edit]

1. ^ ^{a b c d eastward f g h i j k l m n o p q r} Henderson, Clayton. "Paul Dresser". Indiana Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2010-08-28. Retrieved 2010-03-30 .
2. ^ Henderson, p. 360–61
3. ^ Henderson, p. 153
4. ^ Henderson, p. 199
5. ^ Henderson, p. 50, 121–22, and 173
6. ^ Henderson, p. 206
7. ^ Dowell, p. 101–2
8. ^ ^{a b} Loving, p. 118
9. ^ Loving, p. two
10. ^ Henderson, p. 212, 332–35
11. ^ ^{a b} Henderson, p. 283
12. ^ ^{a b c} Dowell, Richard W. (June 1970). "'On the Banks of the Wabash': A Musical Whodunit". Indiana Magazine of History. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University. 66 (two): 108–9. Retrieved 2013-01-29 .
13. ^ Henderson, p. 204
14. ^ Dowell, p. 109
15. ^ ^{a b c} Finson, p. 120
16. ^ ^{a b} Gitelman (1997), p. 274
17. ^ Gitelman (1997), p. 275
18. ^ Gitelman (1999), p. 129
19. ^ ^{a b c} Henderson, p. 212
20. ^ Henderson, p. 213
21. ^ Henderson, p. 210 and 227
22. ^ Henderson, p. 210
23. ^ Henderson, p. 241
24. ^ Henderson, p. 252
25. ^ Henderson, p. 219
26. ^ Janiss Garza (2012). "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2012-ten-twenty. Retrieved 2009-03-xv .
27. ^ ^{a b c} Dresser, Paul (1897). On The Banks Of The Wabash, Far Away. New York: (Canvass Music) Howley, Haviland & Co.
28. ^ Henderson, p. 211
29. ^ Henderson, p. 211–12
30. ^ ^{a b} Henderson, p. 282
31. ^ Henderson, p. 202–3
32. ^ Loving, p. 116
33. ^ Henderson, p. 208
34. ^ ^{a b} Loving, p. 117
35. ^ Henderson, p. 205–6
36. ^ Henderson, p. 56, 57, 69, 221, 228, 262, and 285
37. ^ Henderson, p. 320–21
38. ^ Henderson, p. 323
39. ^ ^{a b} Henderson, p. 246
40. ^ ^{a b c} "Indiana Land Song". Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved 2013-02-11 .
41. ^ Indiana Code:IC i-two-vi-1
42. ^ ^{a b c d} Bennett, Marking. "Terre Haute'southward Top 40: Paul Dresser". Tribune-Star . Retrieved 2009-03-15 .
43. ^ Henderson, p. 366
44. ^ Henderson, p. 205
45. ^ Myggans nöjeslexikon (in Swedish). Vol. 2. Höganäs. 1989. p. 15.
46. ^ "List of songs at Svensktoppen during 1971 at the website of the Swedish national radio (SR)" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 2010-01-04 .

Sources [edit]

• Finson, Jon W. (1997). The Voices That Are Gone: Themes in 19th-century American Pop Song . Oxford University Press US. ISBN0-19-511382-9.
• Gitelman, Lisa (1997). Reading Music, Reading Records, Reading Race: Musical Copyright and the U. S. Copyright Human action of 1909. Musical Quarterly. Oxford University Press. ISBN90-5755-004-0.
• Gitelman, Lisa (1999). Scripts, Grooves, and Writing Machines. Stanford University Printing. ISBN0-8047-3270-1.
• Henderson, Clayton West. (2003). On the Banks of the Wabash: The Life and Music of Paul Dresser . Indiana Historical Guild Printing. ISBN0-87195-166-5.
• Loving, Jerome (2005). The Last Titan: A Life of Theodore Dreiser . Academy of California Press. ISBN0-520-23481-ii.

External links [edit]

• MacDonough, Harry (Edison Gilt Moulded 1570 (c. 1910). "On the Banks of the Wabash". Library of Congress—Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Projection. Retrieved 2010-04-02 .
• "Indiana State Song". Retrieved 2010-04-02 .
• ""On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" performed past the Shannon Quartet". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2010-04-02 .
• "IN Harmony: Canvas Music from Indiana". Indiana University. Retrieved 2010-04-05 .

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Banks_of_the_Wabash,_Far_Away