The Voices That are Gone: Themes in Nineteenth-century American Popular Song - Hardcover

Finson, Jon W.

9780195057508: The Voices That are Gone: Themes in Nineteenth-century American Popular Song

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195057503 ISBN 13: 9780195057508

Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc, 1994

In this unique and readable study, Jon Finson views the mores and values of nineteenth-century Americans as they appear in their popular songs. The author sets forth lyricists' and composers' notions of courtship, technology, death, African Americans, Native Americans, and European ethnicity by grouping songs topically. He goes on to explore the interaction between musical style and lyrics within each topic. The lyrics and changing musical styles present a vivid portrait of nineteenth-century America. The composers discussed in the book range from Henry Russell ("Woodman, Spare That Tree"), Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna"), and Dan Emmett ("I Wish I Was in Dixie's Land"), to George M. Cohan and Maude Nugent ("Sweet Rosie O'Grady"), and Gussie Lord Davis ("In the Baggage Coach Ahead"). Readers will recognize songs like "Pop Goes the Weasel," "The Yellow Rose of Texas," "The Fountain in the Park," "After the Ball," "A Bicycle Built for Two," and many others which gain significance by being placed in the larger context of American history.

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Review:

"Finson's work represents a superior addition to a body of literature..."--American Music
"Finson's history of the racial, societal, and theatrical factors that went into minstrel show stereotypes is a brilliant and perceptive overview....he arranges it in a framework that enlarges and brightens our understanding of the human forces at play in the fields of song."--Notes
"Finson's work represents a superior addition to a body of literature..."--American Music
"Finson's history of the racial, societal, and theatrical factors that went into minstrel show stereotypes is a brilliant and perceptive overview....he arranges it in a framework that enlarges and brightens our understanding of the human forces at play in the fields of song."--Notes
"Finson's work represents a superior addition to a body of literature..."--American Music
"Finson's history of the racial, societal, and theatrical factors that went into minstrel show stereotypes is a brilliant and perceptive overview....he arranges it in a framework that enlarges and brightens our understanding of the human forces at play in the fields of song."--Notes
"Finson's work represents a superior addition to a body of literature..."--American Music

"Finson's history of the racial, societal, and theatrical factors that went into minstrel show stereotypes is a brilliant and perceptive overview....he arranges it in a framework that enlarges and brightens our understanding of the human forces at play in the fields of song."--Notes

"Finson's work represents a superior addition to a body of literature..."--American Music

From the Back Cover:

In this unique and readable study, Jon Finson views the mores and values of nineteenth-century Americans as they appear in their popular songs. He presents a guided tour of topically arranged, select songs, pointing out the most important landmarks, as well as lesser sights that provide color and context, and obscure but treasurable parts of the scenery overlooked. Finson explores the interaction between musical style and lyrics within each topic, offering a vivid and novel portrait of nineteenth-century America.

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