Dixies Land ( I Wish I Was in Dixie ) preformed by 2nd South Carolina String Band Countless lyrical variants of Dixie exist, but the version attributed to Dan Emmett and its variations are the most popular. Emmetts lyrics as they were originally intended reflect the mood of the United States in the late 1850s toward growing abolitionist sentiment. The song presented the point of view common to minstrelsy at the time, say critics, that slavery was overall a positive institution. The pining slave had been used in minstrel tunes since the early 1850s, including Emmetts I Aint Got Time to Tarry and Johnny Roach. The fact that Dixie and its precursors are dance tunes only further made light of the subject. In short, Dixie made the case, more strongly than any previous minstrel tune had, that slaves belonged in bondage. This was accomplished through the songs protagonist, who, in comic black dialect, implies that despite his freedom, he is homesick for the plantation of his birth: Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton, Old times there are not forgotten. Look away, look away, look away Dixie Land! In Dixie Land, where I was born in, early on one frosty mornin. Look away, look away, look away Dixie Land! I wish I was in Dixie, Hooray! Hooray! In Dixie Land Ill take my stand, to live and die in Dixie. Away, away, away down south in Dixie! Away, away, away down south in Dixie! Theres buckwheat cakes and Injun batter, Makes you fat or a little fatter. Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land Then hoe it down and scratch your gravel, To Dixies Land Im bound to travel. Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land I wish I was in Dixie, Hooray! Hooray! In Dixie Land Ill take my stand, to live and die in Dixie. Away, away, away down south in Dixie! Away, away, away down south in Dixie! The lyrics use many common phrases found in minstrel tunes of the day—I wish I was in ... dates to at least Clare de Kitchen (early 1830s), and Away down south in ... appears in many more songs, including Emmetts Im Gwine ober de Mountain (1843). The second stanza clearly echoes Gumbo Chaff from the 1830s: Den Missus she did marry Big Bill de weaver / Soon she found out he was a gay deceiver. The final stanza rewords portions of Emmetts own De Wild Goose-Nation: De tarapin he thot it was time for to trabble / He screw aron his tail and begin to scratch grabble. Even the phrase Dixies land had been used in Emmetts Johnny Roach and I Aint Got Time to Tarry, both first performed earlier in 1859. As with other minstrel material, Dixie entered common circulation among blackface performers, and many of them added their own verses or altered the song in other ways. Emmett himself adopted the tune for a pseudo-African American spiritual in the 1870s or 1880s. The chorus changed to: I wish I was in Canaan Oaber dar—Oaber dar, In Canaans lann de colord man Can lib an die in cloaber Oaber dar—Oaber dar, Oaber dar in de lann ob Canaan. Both Union and Confederate composers produced war versions of the song during the American Civil War. These variants standardized the spelling and made the song more militant, replacing the slave scenario with specific references to the conflict or to Northern or Southern pride. This Confederate verse by Albert Pike is representative: Southrons! hear your country call you! Up! lest worse than death befall you! ... Hear the Northern thunders mutter! ... Northern flags in South wind flutter; ... Send them back your fierce defiance! Stamp upon the cursed alliance! Compare Frances J. Crosbys Union lyrics: On! ye patriots to the battle, Hear Fort Moultries cannon rattle! Then away, then away, then away to the fight! Go meet those Southern traitors, With iron will. And should your courage falter, boys, Remember Bunker Hill. Hurrah! Hurrah! The Stars and Stripes forever! Hurrah! Hurrah! Our Union shall not sever! The Confederate States of America War Song has these lyrics: Southern men the thunders mutter! Northern flags in South winds flutter! To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie! Send them back your fierce defiance! Stamp upon the cursed alliance! To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie! Advance the flag of Dixie! Hurrah! Hurrah! In Dixies land we take our stand, and live or die for Dixie! To arms! To arms! And conquer peace for Dixie! To arms! To arms! And conquer peace for Dixie Fear no danger! Shun no labor! Lift up rifle, pike, and saber! To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie! Shoulder pressing close to shoulder, Let the odds make each heart bolder! To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie! Advance the flag of Dixie! Hurrah! Hurrah! In Dixies land we take our stand, and live or die for Dixie! To arms! To arms! And conquer peace for Dixie! To arms! To arms! And conquer peace for Dixie! Swear upon your countrys altar Never to submit or falter-- To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie! Till the spoilers are defeated, Till the Lords work is completed! To arms! To arms! To arms, in Dixie![citation needed] The New Dixie!: The True Dixie for Northern Singers takes a different approach, turning the original song on its head: Den Im glad Im not in Dixie Hooray! Hooray! In Yankee land Ill took my stand, Nor lib no die in Dixie Soldiers on both sides wrote endless parody versions of the song. Often these discussed the banalities of camp life: Pork and cabbage in the pot, / It goes in cold and comes out hot, or, Vinegar put right on red beet, / It makes them always fit to eat. Others were more nonsensical: Way down South in the fields of cotton, / Vinegar shoes and paper stockings. Aside from its being rendered in standard English, the chorus was the only section not regularly altered, even for parodies. The first verse and chorus, in non-dialect form, are the best-known portions of the song today: I wish I was in the land of cotton, old times there are not forgotten, Look away, look away, look away, Dixie Land. In Dixie Land where I was born in, early on a frosty mornin, Look away, look away, look away, Dixie Land. Then I wish I was in Dixie, hooray! hooray! In Dixie Land Ill take my stand to live and die in Dixie, Away, away, away down South in Dixie en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_%28song%29
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 14:05:01 +0000
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