xt74b853fp6z https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt74b853fp6z/data/mets.xml Combs, Josiah Henry, 1886-1960. 1915  books b92-31-26573055 English John P. Morton, : Louisville, Ky. : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky Poetry American poetry. All that's Kentucky : an anthology / edited by Josiah Henry Combs. text All that's Kentucky : an anthology / edited by Josiah Henry Combs. 1915 2002 true xt74b853fp6z section xt74b853fp6z 







                  ALL'


THAT'S KENTUCKY



             gn antbologq




                   EDITED BY
         JOSIAH HENRY COMBS
Member of the Kentucky Folk-Lore Society; Member of the
  American Folk-Lore Society. Author of "The Ken-
     tucky Highlanders;" "A Syllabus of Kentucky
         Folk-Songs," (in conjunction with
                H. G. Shearin.)


    Ahl dans le Kentucky les arbres sont bien beaux;
    C'est la terre de sang, aux indiens tombeaux,
    Terre aux bellesforets, aux seculaires chanes,
    Aux bois suivis de bois, aux magnifiques scenes.
                                 -Rouquette.



       JOHN P. MORTON  COMPANY

              LOUISVILLE, KY.
                    1915.



2 2G-IZ

 

   Skos






















     COPYRIGHTED 1915
JOHN P. MORTON  COMPANY
       INCORPORATED
   LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

 
























             TO

        CREDO HARRIS
             AND

ANDERSON CHENAULT QUISENBERRY

 
















The hurricane fair earth to darkness changing,
  Kentucky's chambers of eternal gloom,
The swift-pac'd columns of the desert ranging,
  Th' uneven waste, the violent simoon-.
                 -"On Sublimity," Alfred Tennyson.





     Dr. Josiah H. Combs          'r-
     Dies In Texas At 74          C-4
     FORT WORTH, Texas, June 3
     (A - Dr. Josiah H. Combs, 74,   (A
     chairman of the Texas Christian  ,_  
     University department of foreign   0 0
     languages from 1927-1947 and an       .
     author, died Thursday night.
     Dr. Combs was born in the O
     Eastern Kentucky mountains and  
     his volumes included "The Ken-
     tucky Highlanders" and "A I I      t
     That's Kentucky-an Anthology."
     He was graduated from Tran-
     sylvania University, Lexington,
     Ky.


 








                     CONTENTS

                                                   PAGE
My Old Kentucky Home, Stephen Collins Foster ..... ....   1
"My Old Kentucky Home," Richard W. Miller .....   ....   2
The Hunters of Kentucky, Samuel Woodworth ...........    3
"Old Kaintuck," Thomas H. Arnold ........  ............  6
To Old Kentucky, William J. Lam pton ......... ........  8
The Shield, James Lane Allen .........   .................  11
In Kentucky, James H. Mulligan ........    ...............  13
Kentucky, Madison Cawein .............................   15
Kentucky, B. B. Iluntoon ...........   ...................  17
Souvenir de Kentucky, Adrien E. Rouquette .............  18
Kentucky, Ulysses Grant Foote ........   .................  21
Feud Time in Kentucky, James Foley, Jr ......   .........  22
Kentucky, Ben L. Cox ..................................  24
Noon in a Bluegrass Pasture, Julia Stockton Dinsmore....  25
Kentucky, Madison Cawein ..............   ..............  26
Kentucky, Henry T. Stanton ............................  28
The Beautiful Bluegrass Land, Herbert Leland Hughes ...  40
Aristocratic Kentucky, Frank Waller Allen ...... ........  42
The Bluegrass Club, Will S. Hays .......................  43
After a Visit, Paul Lawrence Dunbar ....................  45
Cotter's Response to Dunbar, Joseph Seamon Cotter ......  46
"Ashland," the Home of Henry Clay, Lula Clark Mlarkham   48
A Kentucky Welcome, G. Allison Holland ......   .........  50
Bryan's Station, Madison Cawein ......... .............  51
Kentucky State Anthem, Mary Florence Taney ..........   55
The Town of Lexington, Herbert Cox ....................  56
Our Highlanders, Wilbur R. Thirkield, Harvey W. Wiley,
   Woodrow Wilson ...................................   57

 


CONTENTS



                                                  PAGE
Back to Old Kentucky, James Tandy Ellis ..............  58
Centennial Poem, Henry T. Stanton .60
Old Kentucky, A. Fairhurst .65
The Old Kentucky Home in Summer,
         George Dallas Mosgrove .67
Proem, William Lightfoot Visscher .73
On Leaving Kentucky, Mrs. Horace Holley .74
The Feud, Madison Cawein .76
Kentucky, Col. Nathan Ward Fitz-Gerald .78
Kentucky, William Lightfoot Visscher .79
In Old Kentucky, Anonymous .81
The Mountain Still, Madison Cawein .82
The Kentucky Mountaineer, Anonymous .84
The "Pennyrile," Mrs. Kate Surges G  rar .85
The Voice from Old Kentucky, Anonymous .87
Song of the Night-Riders, Madison Cawein .90
The Kentucky Colonel, H. J. Lunger .92
Kentucky Souvenir, Mollie H. Turner .93
In Far-Famed Old Kentucky, Anonymous .96
The River in Mammoth Cave, George D. Prentice      97
The Vanished Days, Anonymous .99
Kentucky, Capt. Jack Harding .........  ................. 102
The Women of Bryan's Station, Henry T. Stanton ....... 103
"Dry" Wit, Anonymous ...........    ..................... 111
The Ballad of Whisky Straight, Young E. Allison ....... 111
Take Me Home, Anonymous ..........     .................. 113
Kentucky to the Front, Will J. Lampton ................ 114
When Ben Brush Won the Derby,
        William Lightfoot Visscher ...... .............. 115
The Battleship Kentucky, Madison Cawein .............. 118
Kentucky, Percival D. McCallum ........................ 119
We are Coming, Old Kentucky, Will J. Lampton..         120



Vi

 


CONTENTS



                                                   pAGE
 Kentucky, Anderson Chenault Quisenberry ............... 121
 A Kentucky Sunrise, Harrison Conrard .................. 123
 Sunset in Breathitt, Cotton Noe ......................... 123
 A Kentucky Sunset, Harrison Conrard .......  ........... 124
 Noon in Kentucky, Charles J. O'Malley ....... .......... 124
 The Naming of Lexington, Alan Pegram Gilmour ........ 125
 Once a Kentuckian, Always a Kentuckian,
         Henry Watterson .............................. 128
A Kentucky Giant, Charles Dickens ........ ............. 131
Kentucky, Thomas Johnson ............................. 133
The Heroines of Bryan's Station,
         Mrs. Jennie Chinn Morton ................... 134
Joy in Old Kentucky, Anonymous ...................... 138
Elkhorn, Alexander Hynd-Lindsay ...................... 139
To Dixie, Percival D. McCallum ........................ 140
The Haughs o' Auld Kentuck, Hew Ainslie ............ 141
"Spirit," Grace McGowan Cooke ........................ 142
Back to Sweet Clark County, James H. Mulligan ....... 143
Lines in the State Cemetery at Frankfort,
         Bessie Hutchins Smith ......... .............. 144
In the Kentucky Hall of Fame, Mrs. Jennie Chinn Morton  145
Lincoln and Davis, Charles Hamilton Musgrove ......... 146
A Chicago Diagnosis of Kentucky, W. D. Nesbit ........ 147
Kentucky Corn, Alexander Hynd-Lindsay .............. 148
"Marse" Henry Watterson, Joseph S. Cotter ............ 149
The Mothers of the West, William D. Gallagher ........ 150
Richmond on the Pike, John Coghlan .............      152
Mammoth Cave, Julia Stockton Dinsmore .............. 153
The "Rain of Law," Will J. Lampton .................. 153
Kentucky's "Orphan Brigade" at Chickamauga,
         Joseph M. Tydings .............. 154
Ann McGinty's Grave at Harrodsburg, Anonymous ..... 155



vii

 


CONTENTS



                                                   PAGE
 Song of the Raid, Basil W. Duke ....................... 156
 Kentucky, D. Roy Mathews ............................ 157
 The Kentucky "Home-Coming," Anonymous ........... 158
 My Old Kentucky Home, Karl D. Kelly ................ 160
 Old Frankfort Town, Ella Hutchison Ellwanger ......... 161
 Equus Kentuckiensis, Josiah H. Combs .................. 162
 Kentucky's Soldier Bard: O'Hara,
         Mrs. Jennie Chinn Morton ................... 163
Angelico Grotto, in Mammoth Cave, Rev. Horace Martin. 166
The Kentuckians, F. W. Eberhardt ..................... 167
The Little Town in Mercer, Frances Simrall Riker ...... 167
Moon of Young Bluegrass, Anonymous ................. 169
The Grave of John Fitch, Anonymous .................. 170
Some Achievements of Kentucky Men, "Savoyard".... . 173
Reminiscences, Charles Marvin ......................... 175
Kentucky, Leigh Gordon Giltner ........................ 181
Our Own Kentucky Girl, Alan Pegram Gilmour ......... 181
Kentucky, John A. Joyce ............. ................. 183
In Kentucky, Edwin C. Ranck ......................... 185
At the Entrance of Mammoth Cave,
         Marion Morgan Mulligan ...................... 188
Kentucky, John Crittenden Bolin ....................... 189
The Night-Riders Might Get You, J. Frank Boyd. . .... 192
Up in Old Kentucky, Judge J. B. Wyatt ................ 194
Kentucky, Alan Pegram Gilmour ....................... 196
The Pennyrile, Anonymous ............................. 197
The Kentucky Pioneers, C. E. Blevins .................. 198
A Returned Exile's Toast, Alan Pegram Gilmour ....... 201
Answers to Criticisms on Kentucky, George G. Gilbert... 202
Kentucky's Evening Song, A. S. Behrman .............. 208
Kentucky, H. E. Folsom ............................... 209
A Kentucky Toast, Anonymous ........................ 210



viii

 



CONTENTS



                                                  PAGM
Lexington, Alan Pegram Gilmour ....................... 210
Mah Old Kentucky Home, Anonymous ......... ....... 211
A Kentuckian Kneels to None but God,
         Mary E. Wilson Betts ........................ 212
The Kentucky Home-Coming of 1906, Capt. Jack Harding 214
Kentucky Cliffs, Henry Cleveland Wood ................. 216
Kentucky, Marion Morgan Mulligan .................... 218
"That's for Remembrance," Julia Stockton Dinsmore... 218
The Dead Poet, Margaret Steele Anderson .............. 220
In Our Old Kentucky Way, G. Allison Holland ......... 221
Old Kentucky Home, William O'Connell Bradley ........ 222
Travel in Kentucky, Henry Cleveland Wood ............. 223
"My Old Kentucky Home," Hamilton H. Roberts ....... 225
The Kentucky Thoroughbred, James Whitcomb Riley. . . 227
Kentucky Belle, Constance Fenimore Woolson ........... 227
Down About Old Shakertown, George W. Doneghy .        235
Aunt Dalmanutha's Homesickness, Lucy Furman ....... 237
The Kentucky Magnolia, Lula Clark Markham .....7.... 27
Kentucky, M. H. Thatcher ............................. 238
The Bivouac of the Dead, Theodore O'Hara ............ 240
Ye Pioneer's Wild Strawberries, S. C. Mercer ........... 243
Upicedium, Stephen Theodore Badin .................... 245
"Good Kentuckian," Olive Tilford Dargan ...... ....... 250
Kentucky, She is Sold, J. R. Barrick ................... 250
This is Kentucky, Madison Cawein ..................... 251
Kentucky Required to Yield Her Arms, Anonymous .... 252
Kentucky, Anonymous ...............  .................. 253
Joe Johnston, John R. Thompson ....................... 254
Henry Clay, William Lightfoot Visscher ...... .......... 255
"The Almighty Smiled," Anonymous ................... 256
The Rifle in the Hall, William Lightfoot Visscher ....... 256
The Kentuckian's Lament, William Lightfoot Visscher.. 257



is

 


CONTENTS



                                                PAGE
Kentucky-A Toast, Rev. Hugh McLellan ............... 260
"Meadowland," Josiah H. Combs ........   .............. 260
The Mountaineers, John Fox, Jr ....................... 261
The Cypress Trees, Harry M. Dean .................... 262
Darling Nellie Gray, Benjamin Russell Hanby .......... 263
The Old Pioneer, Theodore O'Hara ........ ............. 265
The Bluegrass, John Fox, Jr ........................... 268
"Highland," Pewee Valley, Will S. Hays ............... 269
Kentucky! Oh, Kentucky I Anonymous ................. 270
The Hudson of the West, Will S. Hays ................. 271
A Kentucky Toast, Anonymous .........   ............... 272
In Memory of Nancy Hanks, Will J. Lampton ...... ..... 273
"Back Home," George M. Spears ....................... 274
The Bluegrass Country, Anonymous .................... 277
Ten Broeck, James Tandy Ellis .........  ............... 279
"God Might Have Made a Better State," etc.,
        Karl D. Kelly ................................ 280



S

 





                FOREWORD
                        .A
THE compiler of this little volume acknowledges
     that he is content to push the scenery for those
who have played, and are playing the role of per-
formers. He merely appears upon the stage to
announce that there has been said a great deal
concerning his subject, and that, because of this, he
feels justified in attempting this anthology. Further,
the renown of the old Commonwealth that has
elicited so much comment-favorable and unfavor-
able-seems to warrant what appears between the
covers of this book. In view of this, and bearing in
mind the nature of an anthology, the compiler trusts
that he is not dealing with material not germane to
his purpose.
   Some of the verse herein may call forth unfav-
orable criticism. The "dear public," that enfant
terrible of all literati, may propound its eternal ques-
tion, L'ouvrage, est-il bon, ou est-il mauvais There
may be those who will say, "Does the theme justify
the pains" As to the unfavorable criticism that
some of the verse may elicit, let the gentle reader be
reminded that the compiler of an anthology must,
with certain restrictions, take things as he finds them;
that all of his selections can not be of the highest



xi

 

FOREWORD



type, and that in most instances it is much easier to
criticise a work than it is to write or to compile one.
As to the theme and the pains, the anthology must
necessarily speak for itself.
   So far as the compiler knows, there has appeared,
heretofore, no volume of verse of this sort. Just
why, he knows not. Certainly the field has been
most fertile, for a long, long time, in both prose and
verse. It has been seen fit to insert here and there
in this volume a few prose sentiments, which, it is
hoped, may add to the sentiment of the -book as a
whole. It will also be noticed that Madison Cawein
has been quoted rather copiously. If any apology
should seem necessary, it would be that the deceased
Louisville man stands out pre-eminently as one of
the greatest poets of the Western world. Keen regret
is felt that certain literary men of Louisville have
failed to consider the undertaking worth while.
   In conclusion, no claim is made for the complete.
ness of this collection. Some of the material herein
is "fugitive" verse, whose authorship is difficult to
identify. Nor must it be assumed that all the verse
in this book was written by Kentuckians-or even
by Americans. The authorship extends from Massa-
chusetts to California. Singers of England, Scotland,
France, and even far-away Australia have paid their
respects to Kentucky. But, doubtless, many gems



XiU

 


FOREWOR D



have failed to come under the notice of the compiler's
eye. However, he feels that he shall have done
some little service, if this anthology finds favor with
his fellow-Kentuckians.
Lexington, Kentucky      JOSIAH H. COMBS.



sili

 












I must admit- although it hurts-
  That I was born unlucky;
I've never, literally, had
  A home in Old Kentucky.
And yet I feel, should wayward Chance
  Direct my steps to roam there,
I'd meet you all and greet you all-
And find myself at home there!
                   -Dr. James Ball Naylor.



xiv

 










   Yet we have hopes that are immortal-interests
that are imperishable-principles that are indestruc-
tible. Encouraged by these hopes, stimulated by
these interests, and sustained by and sustaining those
principles, let us, come what may, be true to God,
true to ourselves, and faithful to our children, our
country, and mankind. And then, whenever or
wherever it may be our doom to look, for the last time,
on earth, we may die justly proud of the title of
"Kentuckian," and, with our expiring breath, may
cordially exclaim: Kentucky as she was-Kentucky
as she is-Kentucky as she will be-Kentucky
forever!
                                -George Robertson.



xv

 















Of all men, saving Sylla, the man-slayer,
  Who passes for in life or death most lucky,
Of the greatest names which in our faces stare,
  Was General Boone, backwoodsman of Kentucky.
                       -"Don Juan," Lord Byron.














                     Zvi

 








        ACKNOWLEDGM ENTS

    Thanks are due the following publishers for
their kindness in giving permission for the use of
verse and prose still copyright: To Grant Rich-
ards, London, England, for selections from New
Poems, by Madison Cawein; The Macmillan Com-
pany, New York, for the excerpt from The Bride
of the Mistletoe, by James Lane Allen, and Sight
to the Blind, by Lucy Furman; E. P. Dutton
 Company, New York, for the selection from
Cawein's Nature Notes and Impressions; the
Stewart  Kidd Company, Cincinnati, for selec-
tions from Cawein's The Republic; The Bobbs-
Merrill Company, Indianapolis, for the selection
from Frank Waller Allen's The Lovers of Skye;
Doubleday, Page  Company, for the selections
from Julia Stockton Dinsmore's Verses and
Sonnets; Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York, for the
excerpts from The Little Shepherd of Kingdom
Come, and The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, both
by John Fox, Jr.
   Without the assistance of Mr. A. C. Quisen-
berry, Credo Harris, Frank Waller Allen, and
Professor Lucius M. Hammonds, this work would
have been in vain. Mr. John Wilson Townsend
and his Kentucky in American Letters have
rendered invaluable assistance. Many others
have given valuable assistance, among them the
following: Karl D. Kelly, Dr. H. G. Shearin,
Will J. Lampton, Otto A. Rothert, and Madison
Cawein. The compiler of this volume also wishes
to thank the many writers who gave him permis-
sion to use their poems.
                                   JorH. C.
October, 1915.



Xvii

 















And thought how sad would be such sound
On Susquehanna's swampy ground,
Kentucky's wood-encumbered brake,
Or wild Ontario's boundless lake.
                -"Marmion," Sir Walter Scott














                xviii

 




OUR SUBJECT



   "A mighty tableland lies southward in a hardy
region of our country. It has the form of a colossal
Shield, lacking and broken in some of its outlines and
rough and rude of make. Nature forged it for some
crisis in her long warfare of time and change, made
use of it, and so left it lying as one of her ancient
battle pieces-Kentucky."
   It is not amiss to say that this Shield has long been
a name to conjure with. Like the shield of Achilles,
wrought at the forge of Vulcan, it is a representation
of heroic deeds. Unlike the shield of the Grecian
hero, its background recognizes the victories of peace
and enlightenment-no less renowned than the
triumphs of Mars. Like the shield of the son of
Thetis, it has been the inspiration for mighty deeds.
Unlike the shield of the valiant son of Thetis, its deeds
are not legendary and far-fetched, but real.
   Had Kentucky, "by chance, or by council of the
immortal gods," been one of the ancient city states
of Hellas, doubtless some minstrel would have arisen
to chant her lofty deeds. Had Xenophon lived in
the Nineteenth Century he would have chronicled
that military feat accomplished by Colonel Alexander
W. Doniphan, a Kentuckian, who, "in the Mexican
War was made colonel of a regiment. He marched
over the Old Santa Fe Trail and captured New Mexico.



six

 


OUR SUBJECT



Then he went down the Rio Grande and to Chihuahua.
At Sacramento Rancho he fought the most remarkable
battle ever fought by American arms. With about
eight hundred men he destroyed a Mexican army of
five thousand, and all Northern Mexico lay open to
the Americans. He went to Monterey, and came
home with his regiment by New Orleans-the longest
military expedition in the annals of the whole world."
[William Elsey Connelley.] Had Herodotus, Thu-
cydides, or Livy been fortunate enough to witness
the part played by Kentucky in preserving the North-
west Territory for the United States, the Greek and
Latin languages would have teemed with mighty
"interesting reading." But it were long to connect
all the links in Kentucky's historical chain. How
pioneers from Virginia and the Carolinas pushed their
way over the mountains, keeping step with the Star
of Empire on its westward course; how Transylvania
County of Virginia pushed back the redmen and
fashioned the second State after the original thirteen;
how, in the succeeding years, Old Kentucky shone
with such steady lustre in the galaxy of American
Commonwealths.
   But let us now confine ourselves to more specific
limits. Like all Gaul in C. J. Caesar's time, the great
Shield is divided, geographically. Gaul was divided
into three parts, whereas the Shield is divided into



lX

 


OUR SUBJECT,



four parts, one of which the mountaineers inhabit;
another, the inhabitants of the smiling Bluegrass;
the third, who in their own language are called
Pennyriles and in our language the Old Gibraltar
(Bowling Green was their capital in the early days
of the war); the fourth, the Purchase-that is, the
Jackson Purchase. All these differ among themselves
as to language and institutions, but not in laws.
The River Ohio divides the Kentuckians from the
provinces that lie toward the Seven Stars; the River
Big Sandy and the Cumberlands divide them from
the barbarians toward the rising sun; the province of
Tennessee lies to the south; the River Mississippi and
the River Ohio bound them toward the setting of the
sun. The Kentucky, Licking, and Cumberland
Rivers have their headwaters among the moun-
taineers. The bravest of all these four parts are the
mountaineers, because they are farthest away from
the culture and civilization of the province, the
Bluegrass, and traders least often come among them,
for they carry in those things which tend to weaken
the mind; and they (the mountaineers) are nearest
to the people of the Bluegrass, who live in the low-
lands, with whom they are continually at strife.
From which cause the inhabitants of the Pennyrile
surpass the remaining Kentuckians in valor. One
part of them (the Pennyriles) takes its beginning



xxii

 


OUR SUBJECT



somewhere west of the Green River; it is bounded
by the River Ohio, by the Bluegrass, and by the
borders of the Tennesseans; likewise it touches the
Cumberland River on the west. The Purchase rises
from the farthest confines of the Pennyrile; it looks
toward the province of Tennessee an the south, and
between the going down of the sun and the Seven
Stars.
   These four divisions of the Shield have long been
famous in their own various ways. Nature forged
them long ago for the purpose of playing a role highly
important in the American Union. The Kentuckian
has been the object of much censure and ridicule;
likewise, by those that know him, of genuine hospi-
tality and worth. Scott, Byron, Dickens, and Tenny-
son have all made reference to the magic word-Ken-
tucky. Now, hark! and listen to H. G. Wells, in his
"The Passionate Friends," as he describes the war
in South Africa:
   "You can not imagine how amazed I felt at it.
I had been prepared for a sort of Kentucky quality in
the enemy, illiteracy, pluck, guile, and good shooting,
but to find them with more modern arms than our
own, more modern methods! Weren't we there, after
all, to teach them! Weren't we the Twentieth and
they the Eighteenth Century"'
IQuoted by Desha Breckinridge, editorially, in The Lexing-
ton Herald.
                       Xxii

 


OUR SUBJECT



   Yet will Kentucky go on. Was it for such
profanation of an unwitting outside world that Henry
Clay thundered in the American Forum Was it
for this that the grand old Commonwealth gave
Lincoln to the North and Davis to the South Was
it for this that George Robertson gave his suggestions
to the judiciary at Westminster, and Barry shed
lustre on Kentucky's legal profession Was it for
this that the silver-tongued house of Breckinridge
vied with the forensic glory of Rome That
Brashear and McDowell astonished the whole medical
world by their surgical operations That the old
Commonwealth has given to the world such literary
renown; that O'Hara sang his immortal "Bivouac
of the Dead," and Crittenden "knelt to none but
God" Was it for this that the heroines of "Bryan's
Station" risked their lives for water; that the Anglo-
Saxons of the Kentucky Mountains, shut in by
natural barriers, have struggled against the stream
for more than a century Was it for this profanation
that Kentucky has astonished the world in a thousand
other ways; that one hundred and seven of her counties
have voted out whisky
   Then let the future minstrel rise to sing the glories
of Old Kentucky. Let him tell of the days when the,
Kentucky Colonels-those "intellectual cavaliers of
the South"-read Greek and Latin for recreation;



xxiii

 


OUR SUBJECT



let him sing to the coming generations the lofty
sentiment of Kentucky's sons, and the unbounded
resourcefulness of their hospitality; let him proclaim
to the world that the Kentuckian is a pure, patriotic,
liberty-loving, law-abiding Anglo-Saxon, and an
American.
   "She (Nature) has made it sometimes a Shield of
war, sometimes a Shield of peace. Nor has she yet
finished with its destinies as she has not yet finished
with anything in the universe. While therefore she
continues her will and-pleasure elsewhere throughout
creation, she does not forget the Shield."



1v

 




     All That's Kentucky


       MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME
  [Written during a visit to "Federal Hill," near Bardstown,
Ky., 1850.]
The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home,
  'Tis summer, the darkies are gay,
The corn-top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom,
  While the birds make music all the day;
The young folks roll on the little cabin floor,
  All merry, all happy and bright,
By'n by hard times comes a-knocking at the door,
  Then my old Kentucky home, good-night!

REFRAIN:
Weep no more, my lady,
  0, weep no more to-day!
We will sing one song for the old Kentucky home,
  For the old Kentucky home far away.

They hunt no more for the 'possum and the coon,
  On the meadow, the hill, and the shore,
They sing no more by the glimmer of the moon,
  On the bench by the old cabin door.
The day goes by like a shadow o'er the heart,
With sorrow where all was delight;
The time has come when the darkies have to part,
Then my old Kentucky home, good-night!
                      1

 

ALL THAT'S KENTUCKY



The head must bow and the back will have to bend,
  Wherever the darky may go;
A few more days and the trouble all will end
  In the field where the sugar canes grow!
A few more days for to tote the weary load,
  No matter, 'twill never be light,
A few more days 'till we totter on the road,
  Then my old Kentucky home, good-night!
                            -Stephen Collins Foster.

        "MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME"
  [From a speech delivered on Foster Day, at Louisville,
June 14, 1906.]
    At the first note of the "Marseillaise," the French-
man straightens for the charge; amid the solemn
cadences of "God Save the King," the Englishman
bows to the accumulated reverence of centuries; at
the swelling rhythm of the "Star Spangled Banner,"
the eyes grow misty in the recollections of a patriot's
longing for the dawn, and we salute the flag that car-
ries a nation's history and is resplendent with the
glory of its hopes; "Yankee Doodle" stimulates and
"Dixie" stirs to madness, but one song, "My Old
Kentucky Home," alone has power to soothe the rest-
less pulse of care, and it comes like the benediction
that follows after prayer. It voices a sentiment, it
speaks a message, it stirs the deep wells of the heart
as nothing else has power to do.
                              -Richard W. Miller.
                       2

 


ALL THAT'S KENTUCKY



     THE HUNTERS OF KENTUCKY

  [Wrntten by the author of "The Old Oaken Bucket," in Corn-
memoration of the Services of the Hunters of Kentucky at the
Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815.]

    You gentlemen and ladies fair
      Who grace this famous city,
    Just listen, if you've time to spare,
      While I rehearse a ditty;
    And for the opportunity
      Conceive yourselves quite lucky,
    For 'tis not often here you see
      A hunter from Kentucky.
    O Kentucky, the hunters of Kentucky,
    The hunters of Kentucky!

    We are a hardy, freeborn race,
    Each man to fear a stranger,
    Whate'er the game we join in chase,
    Despising toil and danger;
    And if a daring foe annoys,
    Whate'er his strength and forces,
    We'll show him that Kentucky boys
    Are "alligator horses."
    O Kentucky, the hunters of Kentucky,
    The hunters of Kentucky!



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ALL THATS KENTUCKY



I s'pose you've read it in the prints
  How Pakenham attempted
To make Old Hickory Jackson wince,
  But soon his schemes repented;
For we, with rifles ready cocked,
  Thought such occasion lucky,
And soon around the General flocked
  The hunters of Kentucky.
O Kentucky, the hunters of Kentucky,
  The hunters of Kentucky!

You've heard, I s'pose, how New Orleans
  Is famed for wealth and beauty;
There's girls of every hue, it seems,
  From snowy white to sooty;
So Pakenham he made his brags,
  If he in fight was lucky,
He'd have the girls and cotton bags
  In spite of old Kentucky.
O Kentucky, the hunters of Kentucky,
  The hunters of Kentucky!

But Jackson he was wide awake,
  And wasn't scared at trifles;
He knew what deadly aim we take
  With our Kentucky rifles.
He led us down to Cypress Swamp-
  The ground was low and mucky-



4

 


ALL THAT'S KENTUCKY



There stood John Bull in martial pomp,
  But here stood old Kentucky!
o Kentucky, the hunters of Kentucky,
  The hunters of Kentucky!

A bank was raised to hide our breast-
  Not that we thought of dying,
But that we always like a "rest,"
  Unless the game is flying;
Behind it stood our little force
  None wished it to be greater,
For every man was half a horse,
  And half an alligator.
o Kentucky, the hunters of Kentucky,
  The hunters of Kentucky!

They did not let our patience tire
  Before they showed their faces;
We did not choose to waste our fire,
  So snugly kept our places;
But when so near to see them wink,
  We thought it time to stop 'em,
And 'twould have done you good, I think,
  To see Kentuckians drop 'em.
o Kentucky, the hunters of Kentucky,
The hunters of Kentucky!



5

 

ALL THAT'S KENTUCKY



    They found at last 'twas vain to fight
      Where lead was all their booty,
    And so they wisely took to flight
      And left us all our beauty.
    And now if danger e'er annoys,
      Remember what our trade is;
    Just send for us Kentucky boys,
      And we'll protect your ladies.
    0 Kentucky, the hunters of Kentucky,
      The hunters of Kentucky!
                              -Samuel Woodworth.


              "OLD KAINTUCK" t
  [It is remarkable what fraternal relation exists among
Kentuckians, especially where they meet in foreign States
and away from home; and their loyalty to each other has been
occasion for many kindly comments on the part of the outside
world, who marvel at the brotherhood that exists among
Kentuckians, wherever found.-Thomas H. Arnold, of Chicago.1

      You're just from old Kaintucky
        Well, I'll be gol durned-say,
      I'd rather live in that State
        The balance of my days
      Than be the Czar of Russia
        With his riches and his truck-
      Say, I wouldn't take his kingdom
        For one corner of old Kaintuck.



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ALL THATS KENTUCKY



I'd rather be a hopper,
  Jus' lazin' in the corn
On an old Kaintucky hillside
  Than any king that's born.
I'd rather watch the bluegrass
  Nod its dainty head and bow,
Than see the slickest pictur'
  In old Italy, I swow.

It seems to me old Natur'
  When she cut Kaintucky out,
Came pretty near a-knowin'
  The thing she was about.
So she made another Eden
  With the sweetest flowers that grew,
And christened it Kaintucky
  With a jug of mountain dew.

There ain't no other corner
  Of this hemisphere of ours,
Where old Mother Earth is kivered
  With such dainty, perfumed flowers;
Whar the teeter-birds and thrushes
  Can ejaculate such notes
As they can in old Kaintucky,
  From their little feathered throats.



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ALL THAT'S KENTUCKY



And the women, jumpin' jay birds, in the good old
      Bluegrass State:
The Lord just made 'em perfect, and lost the fashion
      plate;
I wouldn't be without 'em