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(Pages 1 and 3 featuerd. Full document available through McFarlin Library's Special Collections)
This document is the full sheet music for Edward Madden's "Blue Bell," published in 1904. The song opens with a young soldier paying his farewells to his sweetheart, Blue Bell, and encouraging her to be brave in his absence. When the other soldiers return from the war, however, Blue Bell's lover does not. The figure of Blue Bell is a very passive one, conforming to the traditional image of the young maiden waiting for her hero to return from his conquests; contrasted with the changing roles of women during this time, the song is a strong reminder that popular notions of femininity were still very much alive.
Of equal interest to the lyrics of the song itself are the advertisements that accompany "Blue Bell," first for other songs written by Madden, then for others composed by Morse. Madden's lyrics are quite traditional, pastoral, and conservative, whereas Morse seems to have dealt with lyricists who wrote much more playful, even suggestive songs than Madden's, such as "Oh! What a Night to Spoon," which coaxes "Cuddle up, Pearle, like a good little girl / Honest and truly, my heart's in a whirl / I'd just love to fondle you…" (p. 6). At first glance, Morse's playful tones seem to offer a more modern, uninhibited set of gender roles, but even here, the female figure is passive, more a figure for male pleasure than an actual individual.
Alongside the more romantic songs, "The Good Old U.S.A." comes across as a token addition of patriotism, meant to convey that these artists are good citizens interested in their country's cause, which in turn legitimizes their music for the general public.
Creator
Theodore F. Morse (1873 - 1924)
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The United States of America
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Text
Where the Southern Roses Grow
Where the Suawnee river's twining,
I can see the home lights shining,
Like stars of hope they glimmer in the valley far below,
And as twilight time come's stealing,
I can see my sweetheart kneeling, And I
Daddy's Little Girl
"I'm Daddy's little girlie,
I love him tenderly,
Long, long ago, my mamma, you know,
Was happy with daddy and me;
Now she has gone, for-
Just a Rocking Chair and You
I don't want a little cosy corner,
I don't want a hammock built for two,
I don't want a palm tree tall and shady,
I don't want a little birch canoe,
===
Blue Bell
Blue Bell, the dawn is waking
Sweetheart you must not sigh,
Blue Bell my heart is breaking
I've come to say goodbye,
Hear how the bugle's calling
Calling to each brave heart,
Sweetheart your tears are falling
Blue Bell we two must part.
Blue Bell, they are returning,
Each greets a sweetheart true,
Blue Bell, your heart is yearning,
Never a one greets you,
Sadly they tell the story,
Tell how he fought and fell
No tho't of fame or glory,
Only of his Blue Bell.
Chorus:
Goodbye my Blue Bell,
Farewell to you
One last fond look into your eyes so blue
'Mid campfires gleaming 'mid shot and shell
I will be dreaming of my own Blue Bell.
===
Oh! What a Night to Spoon
Oh! what a night to spoon,
Oh! what a lovely moon,
Cuddle up, Pearl, like a good little girl,
Honest and truly, my heart's in a whirl,
I'd just love to fondle you,
Crocodile Isle
"Don't go away and leave me,
Why don't you stay and spoon?
If you should go 'twould grieve me,
Stay 'neath the silv'ry moon;
I like your stylish
The Good Old U.S.A.
Makes no diff'rence where you wander,
Makes no diff'rence where you roam,
You don't have to stop and ponder,
For a place to call your home,