From: "Old time songs and poems,"written by Edith LaFrancis

"Oh I wish I was in the land of cotton,
Simmon seed, and sandy bottom.
Look away! Look away!
Look away, Dixie Land!"

Daniel Decatur Emmett, a performer in Bryant's Minstrels, in New York City, laid down his pencil--but not for long. Mister Bryant had, on this particular Saturday night, assigned him the task of writing words and music for a new song to be used on their show for the very next week. Daniel kept at it that week-end in 1859 and on Monday came to a rehearsal with the required song completed.

As he sang it, the other singers began singing, and the banjos began a-strumming. Thus the song "Dixie" started along its journey to national popularity.

It was what was called a "walk around" song in the minstrels.

Some time later, at an entertainment in New Orleans, when performers were looking frantically for a marching song for their chorus, they pounced on the new tune of "Dixie" . Still further was this song destined to go, for in 1861 General Pike wrote the stirring words which made "Dixie" the battle song of the South.

"Dixie"--The Southland. Why was it ever called that?

Thirty years before its appearance in song, the word "Dixie" was in common use in New Orleans, among bankers, tradesmen, gamblers, workmen, in fact everyone who used money.

In 1830 paper money was being issued, but there was no stable system for establishing value. Every state, county and bank issued its own notes, and often these were worthless in the next town beyond the place where they were issued.

However, there was in New Orleans one bank which gained such a reputation for honesty and reliability that its notes were accepted anywhere in the country. In all of the towns along the Mississippi and its tributaries, in New York and Philadelphia, were known and honored the ten dollar bills of the Banque de Citoyens de la Louisiane in New Orleans.

This was a French speaking country, and the Creoles printed the money with English on one side and on the other the very large letters D I X. Dix is the French word for ten.

Up the river on the steamboats came these ten dollar bills, for all of the boatmen did their banking at the Banque des Citoyens in New Orleans.

Boatmen wanted their pay in "Dixies,"as they called them, using an English pronunciation for a French word. They would say: "A Dixie is bon-bon as those French fellows say down south!"

The business man would say: "I bought the cotton down in Dixie country," or: "I'll buy a race horse down in Dixie."
As time went on, the use of this term spread until it included the whole territory of the South, and the term stuck when the firing on Fort Sumpter signaled the beginning of the war between the states.

Thus, the walk-around song dreamed up by Daniel Emmett for the New York minstrel traveled North, South, and West. It served as a battle song, and after the war the original words and tune were sung again until they reached the farthest mountain cabin where the old banjo hung on the kitchen wall.

"Dar's buckwheat cakes an' Injun batter,
Makes you fat, or a little fatter,
Look away! Look away! Look away, Dixie Land!

Den I wish I was in Dixie, Hooray! Hooray!
In Dixie Land I'll take my stand,

I'll live and die in Dixie;
Away! Away! Away down South in Dixie!"

General Albert Pike wrote these words to the original tune, which was used as the battle cry of the South.

Southerns, hear your country call you!
Up! lest worse than death befall you:
To Arms! To Arms! To Arms in Dixie!

Lo, all beacon fires are lighted,
Let all our hearts be now united
To arms! To arms! To arms in Dixie!
Advance the flag of Dixie!

Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Dixie's land we'll take our stand,
To live and die for Dixie
To arms! To Arms!

And conquer peace for Dixie!
To arms! To arms!
And conquer peace for Dixie!

Hear the Northern thunders mutter!
Northern flags in south winds flutter!
To Arms! To Arms! To arms in Dixie!
Send them back your fierce defiance!

Stamp upon the cursed alliance!
To arms! To arms in Dixie!
Fear no danger, shun no labor!
Lift up rifle,pike and sabre!

To arms! To arms in Dixie!

Week Eight July 20-24

This is the next-to-last week of the Sightlines blog tour. Watch the featured video with guest Greg McNey (see full story), an expert on licensing and copyrighting. Comment on the video and win a chance for a free copy of "Sightlines: A Family Love Story in Poetry and Music."

20 Bookland Heights features Janet's audio book in a short interview. This is a follow-on to last week's post on Elder Power and Collaboration on WOOF!

21 Damaria Senne (pronounced Da-maria Sen-nay) interviews Janet on “Story Pot: A Writer’s Online Journal”. Story Pot cooks the complexities of modern African life with traditional spice.

Damaria is an award-winning writer based in Johannesburg where I visited her in August 2008. She kindly arranged for me to visit her family in her home village. We are long-time blogging buddies, exchanging posts.

Damaria’s current focus includes relationships, HIV and AIDS, and career development. Damaria's first children’s book The Doll That Grew was published by Macmillan SA in 1993. Her second reader, Boitshoko (“perseverance” in Setswana) was listed by Heinemann SA in 1996 and translated into 4 languages.

22 Hal Manogue interviews Janet on his blog where he shares insightful thoughts for the 21st century and considers that the now is waiting.

Hal’s main website http://www.shortlseeves.net invites us to live an ordinary life in a non-ordinary way. Hal is a poet and essayist who authored the books: Short Sleeves Insights, Short Sleeves Spirit Songs, and Short Sleeves: A Book for Friends.

Hal is a long-time blogging buddy. He read the introduction to Janet’s audio book. He lunched with Janet and Yvonne at the Yellow Porch on her first trip to Nashville when she recorded the studio portion of Sightlines and met Scott Kidd, her audio engineer. Hal met with Janet again when Janet returned to Nashville this year for her celebration launch dinner with the team that made the project possible.

FEATURED VIDEO

This is the eighth and final video in the series.

Title: Sightlines Blog Tour Video #8: Interviews with Greg McNey (stage 4, legal) & Yvonne Perry
Description: Interview with Greg McNey who makes the licensing and copyright phase crystal clear.

Watch for Yvonne Perry coming in around 7:25 marker. Yvonne owns the writing service “Writers in the Sky” (WITS). Yvonne and I became blogging buddies after “Sightlines: A Poet’s Diary” came out in 2006. Hal Manogue, my other Nashville blogging buddy introduced me to Yvonne and suggested I contact her about being a guest on her weekly podcast.

I had planned a trip to meet with both Yvonne and Hal in 2008 which led to the beginning of the audio book project. Yvonne was my lucky rabbit’s foot that led me to my audio engineer Scott Kidd…Yvonne's son-in-law.

Length: 9:57 minutes with Yvonne Perry appearing at 7:25 marker
Videographer: Scott Kidd