“Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me,
Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for
thee,
Sounds of the rude world, heard in the day,
Lull’d by the moonlight have all passed
away …”
~ “Beautiful Dreamer”
~parlor song by American
songwriter
Stephen Foster
~ 1826-1864
~published posthumously in March 1864
~ one of Foster’s most memorable
ballads
& best loved works
~ recorded by Bing Crosby in 1940
&
various other artists
~
Foster, known as “the father of American music,” was an American songwriter
known primarily for his parlor music. He wrote more than 200 songs, including “Oh!
Susanna,” “Hard Times Come Again No More,” “Camptown Races,” “Old Folks At Home”
(“Swanee River”), “My Old Kentucky Home,” “Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair”
and “Beautiful Dreamer.” Many of his compositions remain popular today. He has
been identified as “the most famous songwriter of the nineteenth century” and
may be the most recognizable American composer in other countries. His
compositions are sometimes referred to as “childhood songs” because they have
been included in the music curriculum of early education. Most of his
handwritten music manuscripts are lost, but editions issued by publishers of
his day can be found in various collections.
The grace, beauty and memory of The Old
South dreamily bloom in these beautiful pink and white Confederate Roses on an
October afternoon in the Lowcountry of Beaufort County, South Carolina.
The Legend Of The Confederate Rose
Once the Confederate Rose was pure white.
During the Civil War, a soldier was fatally wounded in battle. He fell upon the
rose as he lay dying. During the course of the two days he took to die, he bled
more and more on the flower, till at last bloom was covered with his blood.
When he died, the flower died with him. Thereafter, the Confederate Rose (or
Cotton Rose), opens white, and over the course of the two days the bloom lasts,
they turn gradually from white to pink to almost red, when the flower finally
falls from the bush.
The Confederate Rose or hibiscus mutablis
is actually a Chinese import. Brought into English gardens in the 1600’s, it is
said to have gained favor in the South due to its ease of cultivation during
the hard financial times after the Civil War. The hibiscus mutablis is a member
of the hibiscus family which includes both the tropical hibiscus and the
hardier Rose of Sharon. It is considered a large bush or a small multi-stemmed
tree. The plant roots easily from cuttings and grows vigorously during the
summer. Once established it is drought resistant. The blooms appear in the
fall.
