The Key West Citizen

FOSTER'S SONGS

A little more than 100 years ago there was born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Stephen Collins Foster, whose best known songs have stirred the emotions of four generations, and live today in the hearts of his countrymen as do those of no other American.

Millions who have sung and heard them never knew the name of their author. He was of a quiet and retiring disposition, delicate as a child and never robust. He began writing songs at the age of 13, and by the time he was 20 his compositions had gained considerable favor. He wrote in all about 152 songs, of which the most famous have a Southern setting, although he was born, lived and died in the North.

Among Foster's songs which had a universal appeal may be mentioned "Old Black Joe," "Old Folks at Home," "Massa's in the Cold, Cold Ground," and the exquisite vocal quartette "Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming." These and others have been popular on both sides of the Atlantic and their words have been translated into many tongues. Great musicians incorporated several of these melodies into elaborate concert fantasias.

Foster wrote both words and music of his songs, which made an epoch in popular music. He died in poverty in New York in 1864, but his plaintive, haunting melodies seem destined for immortality.

A magnificent memorial, costing half a million dollars, has been erected near his birthplace.