Sweet Mary Ann (Such an Education Has My Mary Ann)

DESCRIPTION: "My Mary Ann's a teacher in a great big public school, She gets one thousand dollars every year" for she teaches Greek and Latin and French and "Timbuktu." She knows etiquette. She can dance all types of dances, and play the "pianay"
AUTHOR: Words: Edward Harrigan / Music: David Braham
EARLIEST DATE: 1878 ("Malone's Night Off")
KEYWORDS: love music nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Finson-Edward-Harrigan-David-Braham, vol. I, #20, pp. 68-70, "Sweet Mary Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Emerson-StephenFosterAndCo, pp. 146-147, "Sweet Mary Ann" (1 text)
Roud #V17984
RECORDINGS:
Mick Moloney, "Such an Education Has My Mary Ann" (on HarriganBrahamMaloney)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.28(4a/b), "She's a daisy," R. March and Co (London), 1877-1884; also Firth b.28(11a/b), " She's a daisy," R. March and Co (London), 1877-1884 [both of these are really chapbooks, not broadsides, with dozens of songs]
NOTES [199 words]: For background on Harrigan and Braham, see the notes to "The Babies on Our Block."
"On September 16 [1878], Malone's Night Off; or, The German Turnverein was revived with the addition of a new song, 'Sweet May Ann (Such an Education Has My Mary Ann),' a simple diatonic patter song extemporizing on the heroine's scholarly, intellectual, and practical acumen. Evidently Mary Ann knows Greek, Latin, and a bevy of other foreign languages, she plays the piano and all sorts of card games like a professional, and she dances expertly in any and every style. The chorus of the song is especially interesting, for, instead of drawing the listener's interest to unexpected chord changes or melodic leaps -- as was his usual practice -- Braham surprises the listener by rhythmical variations in the accompaniment" (Franeschina, p. 117).
Moody, p. 68, describes the climax of "Malone's Night Out" as "a grand turnverein finale: Affulback Gilmore (Harrigan) pursues the band through the 'William Reilly Overture,' baton in one hand, a flag in the other."
Interestingly, the semi-combined Braham and Harrigan households are reported to have shared a servant named Mary Ann (Franceschina, p. 157). - RBW
Bibliography

Franceschina: John Franceschina, David Braham: The American Offenbach, Routledge, 2003
Moody: Richard Moody, Ned Harrigan: From Corlear's Hook to Herald Square, Nelson Hall, 1980

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