On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away
Encyclopedia
"On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" was among the best-selling songs of the 19th century in terms of sheet music
sold. Written and composed by American songwriter Paul Dresser
, it was published by the Tin Pan Alley
firm of Howley, Haviland & Co. in October 1897. The lyrics of the ballad reminisce about life near Dresser's childhood home by the Wabash River
in Indiana
. It remained popular for decades and the Indiana General Assembly
adopted it as the official state song on March 14, 1913. The song was the basis for a 1923 film by the same title
. Its longtime popularity led to the emergence of several different lyrical versions, including an 1898 anti-war song and a Swedish
version that was a number one hit.
The song was composed during a transitory time in musical history when songs first began to be recorded for the phonograph
. It was among the earliest pieces of popular music to be recorded. Dresser's inability to control the distribution of phonograph cylinders led him and his company to join other composers to petition the United States Congress
to expand federal copyright protections over the new technology.
Dresser's ballad was the subject of some controversy after his death in 1906. His younger brother, novelist Theodore Dreiser
, publicly claimed to have authored part of the song; the validity of his claim was never proven. The ambiguity of United States copyright law
s at the time and the poor management of Dresser's estate left the song vulnerable to plagiarism. The 1917 song "Back Home Again in Indiana
" borrowed heavily from Dresser's song, both lyrically and musically, and led to a dispute with Dresser's estate that was never resolved.
, a prominent 19th-century song and music composer, grew up near the city of Terre Haute, Indiana
.Paul changed the spelling of his last name from "Dreiser" to "Dresser" to Americanize it after beginning his entertainment career. (Loving, p. 12) His family's home and farm was on land adjacent to the Wabash River
, the primary internal waterway in the state
of Indiana. Later in life, Dresser began traveling with acting troupes and began composing his own music for the acts. In 1896, he ended his acting career and began to focus solely on composing music. He had his music published by Howley, Haviland & Co., a New York City
based Tin Pan Alley
music firm in which he was a silent partner. He never returned to his childhood home to visit because of personal disputes with his father. Being away from his family caused him to reminisce often, and in first half of 1897 he began to write the song "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" in remembrance of his Indiana home. He tended to compose songs over the course of months, usually in private during the evening hours. He refined his songs by playing the melody repeatedly, making changes and altering notes until it reached his satisfaction. He completed the ballad
while staying at the Auditorium Hotel in Chicago
during the middle of that year and published it in October as part of a series of Mother-and-Home songs.
Dresser officially dedicated the song to fourteen-year-old Mary South, a native of Terre Haute and the likely the inspiration for the name Mary mentioned in the song. When asked what led him to write the song Dresser said, "The same sweet memory that inspired that other Hoosier
, James Whitcomb Riley
, to sing of the 'Old Swimmin' Hole' ... I was born on the banks of the Wabash at Terre Haute ... My fondest recollections are of my mother and of my early days along this stream."
To spur interest in the song, 5,000 copies of the sheet music were distributed by the publishing company to singers, musicians, theaters, and other musical venues in the month after the song was released. Restaurants, theaters, and street musicians were paid to play the song, and handbills were created with the lyrics to be distributed when the song was performed publicly, allowing listeners to quickly learn the song. Using the nationwide network of music distribution controlled by Tin Pan Alley, Dresser's publisher was able to have the song well advertised and pushed sales on a large scale. The work was an immediate success and became nationally popular. One Chicago department store claimed to have sold 1,471 copies of the song in a single day. In its first year, over 500,000 copies of sheet music for the song were sold.
Dresser's biographer, Clayton Henderson, attributed the success of the song to the "perfect marriage of words and music." An Indiana newspaper compared the song in popularity to "Swannee River
" and wrote of the song, "Mr. Dresser ... has endeavored to perpetuate the beauties of the Wabash as did Stephen Foster
that of the Suwanee River, and certainly no song since the latter has awakened so much interest among lovers of a good song, nor has any other American author seemed as capable of filling the void left vacant by Foster. The song is a gem and a welcome relief from some of the so-called popular songs sprung on the public from time to time."
Attesting to the widespread popularity of the song, when the lighting failed at the Coney Island
arena during a June 1900 prize fight between Terry McGovern
and Tommy White, the announcer calmed the panicking crowd of 5,000 by whistling the tune of "On the Banks of the Wabash". The crowd began to sing along in the dark until the lighting was repaired.
By the end of 1898, nearly one million copies of sheet music had been sold, making Dresser nationally famous. In a newspaper interview, Dresser said, “I can’t tell you just how much I have cleared off of the song, but the $50,000 estimate I have seen in some papers is very modest. You see I am a publisher as well as a composer and have a big printing house of my own in New York. I also write the words for all my songs, dictate the circumstances and stage settings for their public introductions, write my own ads, and sometimes sing my own songs. Now what do you think of that for a monopoly. Eh?” Dresser earned a substantial income from the song, predominantly from royalties through the sale of sheet music. "Wabash" was responsible for a third of Dresser's lifetime income, and it is estimated that he earned over $100,000 from sheet music revenues.
The music industry was in a period of transition at the time the song was published as new technologies allowed music to be recorded. Copyright laws at the time did not allow music composers to control the distribution of phonograph cylinders or music rolls for player piano
s. Edison Records
paid popular singers like Harry Macdonough
to sing the songs and then sold the recordings without paying any royalties to the composer or publisher of the music. Dresser joined with other prominent composers to seek a change in copyright laws. They submitted a petition to the United States Congress
in 1902 asking them to extend copyright protection to include recording of their works.
By 1900 the song had sold millions of copies, becoming the best selling song of its time in terms of sheet music sold. The ballad remained popular during the 1920s, becoming a staple quartet
song used in many singing acts. A 1923 silent film
of the same title
based partially on the lyrics of the song was directed by J. Stuart Blackton
. The song was later featured prominently in the 1942 film My Gal Sal
, the title of another song by Dresser.
Without speaking directly of death, both verses indicate the absence of a loved one, and the narrator's sadness and inability to cope with the grief. In the second verse, the narrator cannot bring himself to come near to his lost love's grave. The effort to avoid the subject of death and the focus on fond memories is typical of songs and societal sensibilities at the time.
The melody
of the song is a memorable tune made easy to learn because of its combination of harmonic
repetition and contrast—elements that make music easy to remember while avoiding monotony. The recurrence and dissimilarity within the melody is similar to the patterns in many popular folk songs. Dresser, however, avoided the common 19th-century practice of using a portion of the refrain's melody in the verse. Not being educated in music, it is unlikely that Dresser purposefully made any methodical calculations when he composed the melody.
Written for piano, guitar, and mandolin
, the music begins in the key of G major
with an Andante Moderato tempo
. The verses follow a chord progression of G–C–G. The chorus transitions to B minor
, and progresses as B–E–E, before returning to G–C–G in its final bars. Although the melody of the chorus is unique within the piece, it is in harmonic unity with the verses. An upbeat version played at a Andantino tempo was also adapted for play by small orchestras and big band
s.
The year that the song was published, Dresser's famous novelist brother, Theodore
, privately claimed to have authored its lyrics. In 1917, after Dresser's 1906 death, Theodore made his controversial claim public in a newspaper article. He was already a controversial figure because of his open support for communism
and proclivity to speak and write negatively of his home state. His claims were ridiculed in many papers and by prominent Hoosier
s who dismissed it as a hoax. Although Theodore never retracted his assertion that he wrote the first verse and chorus of the song, he downplayed the importance of his alleged contribution in later years. It is possible that Theodore did give his brother the idea for the song, and may have even authored a portion of the lyrics, some of which reflect his writing style. The line stating "where I first received my lessons, nature's school" is a possible link, reflecting Theodore's obsession with nature during his youth and his belief that it held the answers to life, a topic he wrote of on several occasions.
Paul Dresser had died penniless because of overspending and his tendency to give money liberally to his friends and family. His music copyrights were poorly managed after Haviland & Dresser Co. went bankrupt in 1905. The rights of the company were purchased by Maurice Richmond Music who gave Ballard MacDonald and James Hanley permission to use two bars
from Dresser's ballad in a song they published in 1917, "Back Home Again in Indiana
". The song has since eclipsed "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" in public use. It borrowed heavily from "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" in the chorus, both musically and lyrically, using far more than just the two bars granted to them.
Twenty-six bars from the last two lines of the chorus are copied almost identically. The lyrics of the same lines, "Through the sycamores the candle lights are gleaming, On the banks of the Wabash, far away" is also borrowed from, and changed to "the gleaming candle lights, are still shining bright, through the sycamore trees". The first part of the chorus, "Oh the moonlight's fair tonight along the Wabash", is also reused and changed to "When I think about the moonlight on the Wabash, then I long for my Indiana home". Under Theodore's guidance, Dresser's estate accused Hanley of plagiarism
and threatened to bring a suit against Paull-Pioneer Music Corporation, publisher of "Back Home Again in Indiana". Despite lengthy discussions no action was ever taken to resolve the dispute, largely due to the ambiguous nature of United States copyright laws in the early 20th century and the estate's lack of finances.
, and a bill containing its lyrics was signed into law by Governor
Winfield T. Durbin
on March 14, 1913. Durbin was a major proponent of the song's adoption. Its lyrics and required uses were added to the Indiana Code
. After the passage of the law, the song was sung by a joint session of both houses of the state legislature. It was the first official symbol of Indiana, adopted four years before the first state flag
. In 1925, legislation was passed that required Indiana schools teach the song as part of their curriculum and 20,000 copies of the song were distributed to the state's public schools. The song is often played at government ceremonial events including the Governor's inauguration.
Although "On the Banks of Wabash, Far Away", was the official song of the state, "Back Home Again in Indiana" became more widely used, and is falsely believed by many to be the state song. One of the leading causes of the state song's fall into obscurity was a change in its use at the Indianapolis 500
during the 1940s. "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" is played at the event as the race cars move into their starting positions, a period that receives little television coverage, while "Back Home Again in Indiana" is sung just before the start of the race and is broadcast publicly. The change to singing "Back Home Again in Indiana" at public events continued in the following years, and it came to be played in the place of "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" at state college football games and other prominent events. Following the 1997 centennial anniversary of the writing of the song, the Indiana General Assembly passed a resolution reconfirming Dresser's song as the state's official song. Their resolution urged state institutions to make more use of it and return it to popularity.
. The lyrics consisted of a verse lamenting the dead from the explosion of the USS Maine
, a second hoping to avoid the draft, and a third criticizing and ridiculing the war. The chorus expressed lament for soldiers who had to occupy Havana
and those who died in the war. Howley, Haviland & Co. published the song, giving Sterling credit for the words, but paying royalties to Dresser for use of the melody.
In 1914 Karl-Ewert Christenson wrote Swedish lyrics to the melody of Dresser's song. Christenson titled the new song "Barndomshemmet" ("The Childhood Home"). The Swedish text is about emigration from Sweden to the United States
and was made popular by cabaret
and revue artist Ernst Rolf
, who had one of his first major hits with the song. A 1970 version of "Barndomshemmet" sung by Dan Eriksson reached number one on Svensktoppen
, the Swedish hit list.
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
sold. Written and composed by American songwriter Paul Dresser
Paul Dresser
Johann Paul Dresser, Jr. was a popular American songwriter of the late 19th century and early 20th century. As a child and adolescent he was frequently in trouble and spent several months in jail before joining a band of traveling minstrels...
, it was published by the Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
firm of Howley, Haviland & Co. in October 1897. The lyrics of the ballad reminisce about life near Dresser's childhood home by the Wabash River
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. It remained popular for decades and the Indiana General Assembly
Indiana General Assembly
The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate...
adopted it as the official state song on March 14, 1913. The song was the basis for a 1923 film by the same title
On the Banks of the Wabash (1923 film)
On the Banks of the Wabash is a silent film rural melodrama directed by J. Stuart Blackton and produced and distributed by his movie company Vitagraph. The film is very loosely based on Paul Dresser's song/poem On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away. The film was an expensive production with...
. Its longtime popularity led to the emergence of several different lyrical versions, including an 1898 anti-war song and a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
version that was a number one hit.
The song was composed during a transitory time in musical history when songs first began to be recorded for the phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
. It was among the earliest pieces of popular music to be recorded. Dresser's inability to control the distribution of phonograph cylinders led him and his company to join other composers to petition the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to expand federal copyright protections over the new technology.
Dresser's ballad was the subject of some controversy after his death in 1906. His younger brother, novelist Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of...
, publicly claimed to have authored part of the song; the validity of his claim was never proven. The ambiguity of United States copyright law
United States copyright law
The copyright law of the United States governs the legally enforceable rights of creative and artistic works under the laws of the United States.Copyright law in the United States is part of federal law, and is authorized by the U.S. Constitution...
s at the time and the poor management of Dresser's estate left the song vulnerable to plagiarism. The 1917 song "Back Home Again in Indiana
Back Home Again in Indiana
" Indiana" is a song composed by Ballard MacDonald and James F. Hanley, first published in January of 1917. While it is not the official state song of the U.S...
" borrowed heavily from Dresser's song, both lyrically and musically, and led to a dispute with Dresser's estate that was never resolved.
Composition and popularity
Paul DresserPaul Dresser
Johann Paul Dresser, Jr. was a popular American songwriter of the late 19th century and early 20th century. As a child and adolescent he was frequently in trouble and spent several months in jail before joining a band of traveling minstrels...
, a prominent 19th-century song and music composer, grew up near the city of Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
.Paul changed the spelling of his last name from "Dreiser" to "Dresser" to Americanize it after beginning his entertainment career. (Loving, p. 12) His family's home and farm was on land adjacent to the Wabash River
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
, the primary internal waterway in the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Indiana. Later in life, Dresser began traveling with acting troupes and began composing his own music for the acts. In 1896, he ended his acting career and began to focus solely on composing music. He had his music published by Howley, Haviland & Co., a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
based Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
music firm in which he was a silent partner. He never returned to his childhood home to visit because of personal disputes with his father. Being away from his family caused him to reminisce often, and in first half of 1897 he began to write the song "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" in remembrance of his Indiana home. He tended to compose songs over the course of months, usually in private during the evening hours. He refined his songs by playing the melody repeatedly, making changes and altering notes until it reached his satisfaction. He completed the ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
while staying at the Auditorium Hotel in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
during the middle of that year and published it in October as part of a series of Mother-and-Home songs.
Dresser officially dedicated the song to fourteen-year-old Mary South, a native of Terre Haute and the likely the inspiration for the name Mary mentioned in the song. When asked what led him to write the song Dresser said, "The same sweet memory that inspired that other Hoosier
Hoosier
Hoosier is the official demonym for a resident of the U.S. state of Indiana. Although residents of most U.S. states typically adopt a derivative of the state name, e.g., "Indianan" or "Indianian", natives of Indiana rarely use these. Indiana adopted the nickname "Hoosier State" more than 150...
, James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the Hoosier Poet and Children's Poet for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively...
, to sing of the 'Old Swimmin' Hole' ... I was born on the banks of the Wabash at Terre Haute ... My fondest recollections are of my mother and of my early days along this stream."
To spur interest in the song, 5,000 copies of the sheet music were distributed by the publishing company to singers, musicians, theaters, and other musical venues in the month after the song was released. Restaurants, theaters, and street musicians were paid to play the song, and handbills were created with the lyrics to be distributed when the song was performed publicly, allowing listeners to quickly learn the song. Using the nationwide network of music distribution controlled by Tin Pan Alley, Dresser's publisher was able to have the song well advertised and pushed sales on a large scale. The work was an immediate success and became nationally popular. One Chicago department store claimed to have sold 1,471 copies of the song in a single day. In its first year, over 500,000 copies of sheet music for the song were sold.
Old Folks at Home
"Old Folks at Home" is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. It was intended to be performed by the New York blackface troupe Christy's Minstrels. E. P. Christy, the troupe's leader, appears on early printings of the sheet music as the song's creator...
" and wrote of the song, "Mr. Dresser ... has endeavored to perpetuate the beauties of the Wabash as did Stephen Foster
Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
that of the Suwanee River, and certainly no song since the latter has awakened so much interest among lovers of a good song, nor has any other American author seemed as capable of filling the void left vacant by Foster. The song is a gem and a welcome relief from some of the so-called popular songs sprung on the public from time to time."
Attesting to the widespread popularity of the song, when the lighting failed at the Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
arena during a June 1900 prize fight between Terry McGovern
Terry McGovern (boxer)
Terrible Terry McGovern , born John Terrence McGovern in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States, was a boxer who held the world bantamweight and featherweight titles.-Professional career:...
and Tommy White, the announcer calmed the panicking crowd of 5,000 by whistling the tune of "On the Banks of the Wabash". The crowd began to sing along in the dark until the lighting was repaired.
By the end of 1898, nearly one million copies of sheet music had been sold, making Dresser nationally famous. In a newspaper interview, Dresser said, “I can’t tell you just how much I have cleared off of the song, but the $50,000 estimate I have seen in some papers is very modest. You see I am a publisher as well as a composer and have a big printing house of my own in New York. I also write the words for all my songs, dictate the circumstances and stage settings for their public introductions, write my own ads, and sometimes sing my own songs. Now what do you think of that for a monopoly. Eh?” Dresser earned a substantial income from the song, predominantly from royalties through the sale of sheet music. "Wabash" was responsible for a third of Dresser's lifetime income, and it is estimated that he earned over $100,000 from sheet music revenues.
The music industry was in a period of transition at the time the song was published as new technologies allowed music to be recorded. Copyright laws at the time did not allow music composers to control the distribution of phonograph cylinders or music rolls for player piano
Player piano
A player piano is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in...
s. Edison Records
Edison Records
Edison Records was one of the earliest record labels which pioneered recorded sound and was an important player in the early recording industry.- Early phonographs before commercial mass produced records :...
paid popular singers like Harry Macdonough
Harry Macdonough
John Scantlebury Macdonald was a Canadian singer and recording executive. Under the pseudonym Harry Macdonough, he was one of the most prolific and popular tenors during the formative years of recorded music....
to sing the songs and then sold the recordings without paying any royalties to the composer or publisher of the music. Dresser joined with other prominent composers to seek a change in copyright laws. They submitted a petition to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in 1902 asking them to extend copyright protection to include recording of their works.
By 1900 the song had sold millions of copies, becoming the best selling song of its time in terms of sheet music sold. The ballad remained popular during the 1920s, becoming a staple quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
song used in many singing acts. A 1923 silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
of the same title
On the Banks of the Wabash (1923 film)
On the Banks of the Wabash is a silent film rural melodrama directed by J. Stuart Blackton and produced and distributed by his movie company Vitagraph. The film is very loosely based on Paul Dresser's song/poem On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away. The film was an expensive production with...
based partially on the lyrics of the song was directed by J. Stuart Blackton
J. Stuart Blackton
James Stuart Blackton , usually known as J. Stuart Blackton, was an Anglo-American film producer of the Silent Era, the founder of Vitagraph Studios and among the first filmmakers to use the techniques of stop-motion and drawn animation...
. The song was later featured prominently in the 1942 film My Gal Sal
My Gal Sal
My Gal Sal is a 20th Century Fox musical starring Rita Hayworth and Victor Mature. The film is a biopic of 1890s composer and songwriter Paul Dresser and singer, Sally Elliot. The story it was based on was written by Paul Dresser's brother, novelist Theodore Dreiser...
, the title of another song by Dresser.
Lyrics and analysis
The ballad speaks of the Wabash River, which flows through Indiana, and reminisces about events that occurred there. The song has two verses and a chorus. The first verse is about the narrator's childhood on a farm and his love for his mother. The second verse is about his lost love, Mary. While the subjects of the verses are connected, the narrative of the chorus is detached from the verses as it seemingly reminisces nostalgically.Without speaking directly of death, both verses indicate the absence of a loved one, and the narrator's sadness and inability to cope with the grief. In the second verse, the narrator cannot bring himself to come near to his lost love's grave. The effort to avoid the subject of death and the focus on fond memories is typical of songs and societal sensibilities at the time.
The melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
of the song is a memorable tune made easy to learn because of its combination of harmonic
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
repetition and contrast—elements that make music easy to remember while avoiding monotony. The recurrence and dissimilarity within the melody is similar to the patterns in many popular folk songs. Dresser, however, avoided the common 19th-century practice of using a portion of the refrain's melody in the verse. Not being educated in music, it is unlikely that Dresser purposefully made any methodical calculations when he composed the melody.
Written for piano, guitar, and mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, the music begins in the key of G major
G major
G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
with an Andante Moderato tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
. The verses follow a chord progression of G–C–G. The chorus transitions to B minor
B minor
B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. The harmonic minor raises the A to A. Its key signature has two sharps .Its relative major is D major, and its parallel major is B major....
, and progresses as B–E–E, before returning to G–C–G in its final bars. Although the melody of the chorus is unique within the piece, it is in harmonic unity with the verses. An upbeat version played at a Andantino tempo was also adapted for play by small orchestras and big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
s.
Disputes and plagiarism
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of...
, privately claimed to have authored its lyrics. In 1917, after Dresser's 1906 death, Theodore made his controversial claim public in a newspaper article. He was already a controversial figure because of his open support for communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and proclivity to speak and write negatively of his home state. His claims were ridiculed in many papers and by prominent Hoosier
Hoosier
Hoosier is the official demonym for a resident of the U.S. state of Indiana. Although residents of most U.S. states typically adopt a derivative of the state name, e.g., "Indianan" or "Indianian", natives of Indiana rarely use these. Indiana adopted the nickname "Hoosier State" more than 150...
s who dismissed it as a hoax. Although Theodore never retracted his assertion that he wrote the first verse and chorus of the song, he downplayed the importance of his alleged contribution in later years. It is possible that Theodore did give his brother the idea for the song, and may have even authored a portion of the lyrics, some of which reflect his writing style. The line stating "where I first received my lessons, nature's school" is a possible link, reflecting Theodore's obsession with nature during his youth and his belief that it held the answers to life, a topic he wrote of on several occasions.
Paul Dresser had died penniless because of overspending and his tendency to give money liberally to his friends and family. His music copyrights were poorly managed after Haviland & Dresser Co. went bankrupt in 1905. The rights of the company were purchased by Maurice Richmond Music who gave Ballard MacDonald and James Hanley permission to use two bars
Bar (music)
In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined by a given number of beats of a given duration. Typically, a piece consists of several bars of the same length, and in modern musical notation the number of beats in each bar is specified at the beginning of the score by the top number of a...
from Dresser's ballad in a song they published in 1917, "Back Home Again in Indiana
Back Home Again in Indiana
" Indiana" is a song composed by Ballard MacDonald and James F. Hanley, first published in January of 1917. While it is not the official state song of the U.S...
". The song has since eclipsed "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" in public use. It borrowed heavily from "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" in the chorus, both musically and lyrically, using far more than just the two bars granted to them.
Twenty-six bars from the last two lines of the chorus are copied almost identically. The lyrics of the same lines, "Through the sycamores the candle lights are gleaming, On the banks of the Wabash, far away" is also borrowed from, and changed to "the gleaming candle lights, are still shining bright, through the sycamore trees". The first part of the chorus, "Oh the moonlight's fair tonight along the Wabash", is also reused and changed to "When I think about the moonlight on the Wabash, then I long for my Indiana home". Under Theodore's guidance, Dresser's estate accused Hanley of plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
and threatened to bring a suit against Paull-Pioneer Music Corporation, publisher of "Back Home Again in Indiana". Despite lengthy discussions no action was ever taken to resolve the dispute, largely due to the ambiguous nature of United States copyright laws in the early 20th century and the estate's lack of finances.
State song
"On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" was adopted as the official state song by the Indiana General AssemblyIndiana General Assembly
The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate...
, and a bill containing its lyrics was signed into law by Governor
Governor of Indiana
The Governor of Indiana is the chief executive of the state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term, and responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide...
Winfield T. Durbin
Winfield T. Durbin
Winfield Taylor Durbin was the 25th Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1901 to 1905. His term focused on progressive legislation and suppression of white cap vigilante organizations operating in the southern part of the state...
on March 14, 1913. Durbin was a major proponent of the song's adoption. Its lyrics and required uses were added to the Indiana Code
Indiana Code
The Indiana Code is the code of laws for the US State of Indiana. The contents are the codification of the all the laws currently in effect within Indiana...
. After the passage of the law, the song was sung by a joint session of both houses of the state legislature. It was the first official symbol of Indiana, adopted four years before the first state flag
Flag of Indiana
The flag of Indiana was designed by Paul Hadley and officially adopted by the state of Indiana on May 31, 1917. It was the state's first official flag and has remained unchanged since then except for the creation of a statute to standardize the production of the flag.-History:To commemorate the...
. In 1925, legislation was passed that required Indiana schools teach the song as part of their curriculum and 20,000 copies of the song were distributed to the state's public schools. The song is often played at government ceremonial events including the Governor's inauguration.
Although "On the Banks of Wabash, Far Away", was the official song of the state, "Back Home Again in Indiana" became more widely used, and is falsely believed by many to be the state song. One of the leading causes of the state song's fall into obscurity was a change in its use at the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
during the 1940s. "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" is played at the event as the race cars move into their starting positions, a period that receives little television coverage, while "Back Home Again in Indiana" is sung just before the start of the race and is broadcast publicly. The change to singing "Back Home Again in Indiana" at public events continued in the following years, and it came to be played in the place of "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" at state college football games and other prominent events. Following the 1997 centennial anniversary of the writing of the song, the Indiana General Assembly passed a resolution reconfirming Dresser's song as the state's official song. Their resolution urged state institutions to make more use of it and return it to popularity.
Adaptations
A folk adaptation of the song about the Spanish–American War, entitled "On the Banks of Havana, Far Away", was written in 1898 by Andrew B. SterlingAndrew B. Sterling
Andrew B. Sterling was an American lyricist.Born in New York City, after he graduated from high school, he began writing songs and vaudevilles. An important event was his meeting with the composer Harry Von Tilzer in 1898...
. The lyrics consisted of a verse lamenting the dead from the explosion of the USS Maine
USS Maine (ACR-1)
USS Maine was the United States Navy's second commissioned pre-dreadnought battleship, although she was originally classified as an armored cruiser. She is best known for her catastrophic loss in Havana harbor. Maine had been sent to Havana, Cuba to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt...
, a second hoping to avoid the draft, and a third criticizing and ridiculing the war. The chorus expressed lament for soldiers who had to occupy Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
and those who died in the war. Howley, Haviland & Co. published the song, giving Sterling credit for the words, but paying royalties to Dresser for use of the melody.
In 1914 Karl-Ewert Christenson wrote Swedish lyrics to the melody of Dresser's song. Christenson titled the new song "Barndomshemmet" ("The Childhood Home"). The Swedish text is about emigration from Sweden to the United States
Swedish emigration to the United States
During the Swedish emigration to the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries, about 1.3 million Swedes left Sweden for the United States...
and was made popular by cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
and revue artist Ernst Rolf
Ernst Rolf
Ernst Rolf, real name Ernst Ragnar Johansson, , was a Swedish revue actor and singer. In the 1920s he was famous for producing revues that were acclaimed for their dazzling sets, first class actors and stirring music. He was also a lyricist and composer...
, who had one of his first major hits with the song. A 1970 version of "Barndomshemmet" sung by Dan Eriksson reached number one on Svensktoppen
Svensktoppen
Svensktoppen is a record chart at Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982-1985. Svensktoppen airs once a week...
, the Swedish hit list.