Show famous southern song had origin in new york daniel decatur emmett fa famous ms organizer of the first minstrel show in 1843 wrote dixie for dan bry ants minstrels in 1859 he was a native of mount vernon ohio and his father a virginian of irish descent was an abolitionist in his sympathies the young man became a musician attached to a traveling circus and his work included the composing or adapting of many negro melodies one saturday night after the minstrel show in new y york ork bryant asked him to write a walk around for monday next day it was cold and rainy and as he looked out of his window he remembered the oft expressed wish of negroes with the circus when fall days came 1 I wish I 1 was in dixie he wrote the song in halt half an hour it was popular in the north before it was even sung in th the e south the melody was adapted by him from an old tune his mother used to sing to him after it was picked up by the south emmett declared that his song was responsible for the prolongation lon gation of the war its stirring refrain stimulating discouraged men to further effort one writer says the new republic needed a song something that would call men from their plows and stir their hearts into a frenzy of emotion the band played the bonny blue flag I 1 and the crowd cheered mildly and then dixie the crowd caught its breath and then went mad women pressed around the musicians and showered them with flowers the song was the soul of the people after appomattox ended the war northern attention was called to the song when president lincoln said that the famous tune now belonged to the nation having been captured in the war it lost its sectionalism becoming almost a national anthem |