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Show 'Kathleen' a Kentuckian, Not From 'Green Island' Despite the fact that the song, "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen," Kath-leen," tells of a home "across the ocean wild and wide," the fact is that it was written by a native of Virginia, Thomas Paine Westendorf. "In the fall of 1875," states James J. Geller in "Famous Songs and Their Stories," "he (Westendorf) and his family were residing in Louisville, Ky., but the sudden death of a son brought illness to Mrs. Westendorf and caused her physician to prescribe a change in surroundings. "While reading to her one evening, eve-ning, Westendorf suddenly laid down his book and both began to discuss their future plans. His wife indicated indicat-ed a desire to join her mother in New York, but dreaded the long winter journey and the husband tenderly ten-derly promised to accompany her there; in the spring. Having thus assured her, he continued with his book until she retired for the night. In the stillness of the following hours, Westendorf began slowly to improvise at random on the piano. Suddenly his eye lit upon a frayed copy of an old composition written by one George Parsely and titled, 'Barney, I'll Take You Home Again.' The title of this song yielded yield-ed the very sentiment and thought talked over earlier in the evening. In an hour he had written the words and music of 'I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen.' "... The new ballad went off to a Cincinnati publisher . . . Westen-dorf's Westen-dorf's song was introduced in Macaulay's theater in Louisville at a benefit for a Catholic church hy a local tenor singer. The words and sentiment of the ballad revived fond memories of the Emerald Isle in most of the parishioners, who were of Irish extraction, and their countrymen coun-trymen soon adopted 'I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen.' " |