Jennie, the Flower of Kildare

DESCRIPTION: "I am dreaming of Erin tonight and the little white cot by the sea, Where Jennie, my darling, now dwells...." The singer misses her, and is sure she is waiting for him; he hopes soon to return to Ireland to see her
AUTHOR: Words: Frank Dumont / Music: James E. Stewart
EARLIEST DATE: 1873 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: separation reunion love Ireland
FOUND IN: US(MW,So)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Dean-FlyingCloud, p. 81, "Jennie, the Flower of Kildare" (1 text)
Hudson-FolkTunesFromMississippi 45, "Jennie, the Flower of Kildare" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, #1104, p. 75, "Jennie, the Flower of Kildare" (1 reference)
Roud #5767
NOTES [231 words]: Although not common in tradition, this song seems to have been popular in the 1870s; the American Memory collection at the Library of Congress has three different sheet music settings from 1873-1875, and the third one is a "transcrption" -- which generally means "a stolen version rearranged a little so we can get a cut of someone else's royalties."
Frank Dumont, according to Sigmund Spaeth, A History of Popular Music in America, p. 91, reports, "Frank Dumont, originally a member of the Carncross [minstrel] company, eventually took charge of Philadelphia's Eleventh Street Opera House, which holds the record for continuous production of minstrel shows in America. Practically every star of black-face appeared there at some time in his career. Dumont himself was a versatile singer, author and compose, contributing much material to the shows of his day."
Douglas Gilbert, Lost Chords, p. 130, says of Dumont that he was "a sprightly writer of skits and lyrics. He wrote The Book Agent, a filthy vaudeville afterpiece that slopped around the dumps and slabs like stale beer. From it Charles Hoyt derived the immensely successful family farce, The Parlor Match.... Dumont wrote, too, the amazing song called 'The Aesthetic Girl; or Too Utterly Utter" -- amazing not only because it is one of the extremely few satirical songs of the '80s but also because it is clever...." - RBW
Last updated in version 4.0
File: Dean071

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