To Live and Die In Dixie

From: http://www.civilwarheritagetrails.org/American_Civil_War/Dixie.html... more

by Lianne Schneider

Title

To Live and Die In Dixie

Artist

Lianne Schneider

Medium

Digital Art - Digital Painting/photographic Art

Description

From: http://www.civilwarheritagetrails.org/American_Civil_War/Dixie.html

Loved by many, despised by others, "Dixie" is still among the most recognizable of all American songs. Ironically, it was written by a Northerner, Daniel Decatur Emmett. Bryant's (blackface) Minstrels premiered it in New York City on April 4, 1859. "I Wish I Was in Dixie's Land" was an instant hit, and its popularity spread quickly. By 1860 it was especially enjoyed in Southern states and soon also among Confederate army bands. However, many Union bands also played Dixie during the war, or versions of it, and President Lincoln included Dixie among his favorites.

I wish I was in the land of cotton,
Old times there are not forgotten;
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.
In Dixie's Land where I was born in,
Early on one frosty mornin,
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.

I wish I was in Dixie, Hooray! Hooray!
In Dixie's Land I'll take my stand
to live and die in Dixie.
Away, away, away down south in Dixie.
Away, away, away down south in Dixie.

(First verse and chorus only included)

From Wikipedia:
"Dixie", also known as "I Wish I Was in Dixie", "Dixie's Land", and other titles, is a popular American song. It is one of the most distinctively American musical products of the 19th century, and probably the best-known song to have come out of blackface minstrelsy. Although not a folk song at its creation, "Dixie" has since entered the American folk vernacular. The song likely cemented the word "Dixie" in the American vocabulary as a synonym for the Southern United States.

Most sources credit Ohio-born Daniel Decatur Emmett with the song's composition; however many other people have claimed to have composed "Dixie", even during Emmett's lifetime. Compounding the problem of definitively establishing the song's authorship are Emmett's own confused accounts of its writing, and his tardiness in registering the song's copyright. The latest challenge has come on behalf of the Snowden Family of Knox County, Ohio, who may have collaborated with Emmett to write "Dixie".

The song originated in the blackface minstrel shows of the 1850s and quickly grew famous across the United States. Its lyrics, written in a comic, exaggerated version of African American Vernacular English, tell the story of a freed black slave pining for the plantation of his birth. During the American Civil War, "Dixie" was adopted as a de facto anthem of the Confederacy. New versions appeared at this time that more explicitly tied the song to the events of the Civil War. Since the advent of the North American Civil Rights Movement, many have identified the lyrics of the song with the iconography and ideology of the Old South. Today, "Dixie" is sometimes considered offensive, and its critics link the act of singing it to sympathy for the concept of slavery in the American South. Its supporters, on the other hand, view it as a legitimate aspect of Southern culture and heritage and the campaigns against it as political correctness. The song was a favorite of President Abraham Lincoln: he had it played at some of his political rallies and at the announcement of General Robert E. Lee's surrender.

My sincere thanks to the following for featuring this image:
BEST ARTWORK COLLECTION - KRISTA
COLLECTORS TREASURES - KRISTA
3 A DAY GREETING CARDS - DARREN
MOTIVATION MEDITATION INSPIRATION - BARBARA
TODAYS BEST ART - DAVID
RAISED COUNTRY RAISED RIGHT - JOHN
WHY NOT GROUP - EVERETT
VISUAL VOICE - ANNIE
REVOLUTIONARY AND CIVIL WAR ERA ART - BRIAN
HISTORY AROUND US - MARINESCU
DAILY DOSE OF WISDOM - ETI
SIGNATURE STYLE ART - SHARON
ART FROM THE PAST - JOUKO
ARTISTS NEWS - NADINE AND BOB
BOOK COVERS 1 PER DAY - JO ANN
ROCK THE SALES - JOETTA
ARTISTIC EXPRESSION - JOETTA
FORGOTTEN BY TIME - AMANDA
PHOTOGRAPHY AND TEXTURES...DARREN
3 A DAY WAITING ROOM ART - DARREN
ALL FINE ART AMERICA ARTWORKS - NADINE AND BOB


Composite image digitally hand painted from several reference photos of Civil War re-enactments. Original images are copyright free by virtue of being taken by National Park Service employees and placed in the public domain.

Copyright Lianne Schneider 2013

All images and my personal poetry/prose are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced, downloaded, distributed, transmitted, copied, reproduced in derivative works, displayed, published or broadcast by any means or in any form without prior written consent from the artist. Copyright on works derived from or based on images in the public domain applies only to the subsequent manipulation or painting resulting from my changes. The original image remains in the public domain and such images are used with in accordance with international copyright laws.

Uploaded

December 5th, 2013