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{ 212 } CONCLUSION THE SINGING ELEMENT I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong, The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam, The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work, The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck, The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands, The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown, The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing, Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else, The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly, Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs. —WALT WHITMAN, “I Hear American Singing,” 1892 The same year Whitman published the ninth edition of Leaves of Grass, which included this ode to America’s various professions and music, the Journal of American Folklore featured an article entitled “Folk Songs of the Civil War.” The author , Alfred M.Williams, began by noting, “Of collections and criticisms of the songs and poetryof the civil war in this country there is no lack. Newspaper files and popular song-books have been ransacked.” Yet, he was dismayed that these collections frequently gave precedence to what he termed as “polite literature” and observed, “If popular songs . . . have been included, it has usually been with an apology for their uncouthness.” For Williams, songs such as “Dixie,” “John Brown’s Body,” “Just before the Battle, Mother,” and “When This Cruel War Is Over,” suffered because they lacked the “indefinable fascination” on paper that “they had to the ears of the men who sung them.”1 Attempting to discern why these songs had such resonance during the war and in the 1890s, Williams reasoned that it might be “due to the memory of Conclusion { 213 those who heard them, and in whose mind they were the voice of the war, as the flags, the arms, and the uniforms were its visible insignia,” but he concluded that this alone “does not entirelyaccount for their fascination and permanence. There was something about them which endowed them with vital life, which gave them a hold upon every tongue and upon every heart, a quality distinct from obvious meaning, to say nothing of literaryexcellence, and which can only be described as the singing element.” These pieces served to “relieve the heart through the lungs, without reference to the mind, to emphasize and lighten the buoyant or weary march, and give voice to the pervading impulse, which kept these songs alive and made them a practical part of the war.”2 Williams understood that this resonance could not last forever.There would come a day when “John Brown’s Body” would “be no more than a set of unmeaning jingles” but the “death” of these songs would “come at a loss of a vital element of the war, as representing its living and human sentiment, and history will miss its function if it exclude them.” This book has been largely an attempt to illuminate this aspect of the Civil War. Historians and collectors have been rescuing war songs for generations, but few have considered the roles they played during the conflict. Williams considered them a “vital” part of soldiers’ and civilians’ wartime experiences, and surely they were.3 The music of the Civil War brought Americans together and tore them apart. It taught them about remote events and personalities and shaped their perceptions of the conflict and its causes. It showed them how to feel about the losses and victories they experienced and expressed their innermost desires and fears. What Williams called “The singing element” set songs apart from other literary and artistic forms. The freedom offered by music, both in content and performance , made it extremely valuable to Civil War–era Americans. Newspaper editors, poets, and authors certainly had their impact, but songwriters reached their audiences on emotional and intellectual levels that were unmatched. Between 1861 and 1865 Americans used music effectivelyand often. Amateur and professional songwriters created pieces that expressed their thoughts and feelings about the war. In turn, they influenced the opinions and sentiments of their readers and listeners. Americans of all classes and ethnicities performed...

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