Sparkling and Bright

DESCRIPTION: "Sparkling and bright in liquid light, Does the wine our goblets gleam in, With hue as red as rosy bed, Which a bee would choose to dream in." The poet hopes "We’ll drink to-night with hearts as light,... As bubbles that swim on the beaker’s brim."
AUTHOR: Charles Fenno Hoffman (1806-1884)
EARLIEST DATE: before 1876 (numerous parodies in Waite); sung by Henry Sibley and friends in the 1850s
KEYWORDS: drink nonballad
FOUND IN:
Roud #V12429
SAME TUNE:
To the American Flag and Harrison ("See in the light of glory bright") (Harrison campaign song) (A. B. Norton, _Songs of the People in the Log Cabin Days of Old Tippecanoe_, p. 12)
All the following references are from Henry Randall Waite, _Carmina Collegensia: A Complete Collection of the Songs of the American Colleges_ first edition 1868, expanded edition, Oliver Ditson, 1876, part 1:
Gather Ye Smiles ("Gather ye smiles from the ocean isles, Warm hearts from river and fountain") (by F. M. Finch, [class of 18]49) (Waite, p. 47)
Smoking Song ("Floating away like the fountains' spray, Or the snow-white plume of a maiden") (by F. M. Finch, [class of 18]49) (Waite, p. 50)
Smoking Song ("With grateful twirl our smoke wreaths curl, As mist from the water-fall given") (Waite, p. 79)
A Vesper ("When the evening falls on Brunonia's walls, As the light of day is fleeting") (Waite, p. 95)
Chant Our Rhyme ("Peacefully rest, 'neath the mountain's crest, In thy sheltered vale reclining") (by George L. Raymond, [class of 18]62) (Waite, p. 114)
Bacchanalian ("Oh, bright is the gleam of the silv'ry stream, As it leaps from its native mountain") (by M. W. Fuller, [class of 18]53) (Waite, p. 124)
Mechanics ("To the solemn tricks of Mechanics We bid farewell forever") (Waite, p. 133)
Logic ("We'll poll no more for the hidden lore Within our Logic's pages") (Waite, p. 133)
Smoking Song ("Sorrow and strife leave the student's life When his pipe is kindled brightly") (by Professor T. S. Doolittle, D.D., [class of 18]59) (Waite, p. 144)
All the following references are from Henry Randall Waite, _Carmina Collegensia: A Complete Collection of the Songs of the American Colleges_ first edition 1868, expanded edition, Oliver Ditson, 1876, part 2:
Welcome to the Alumni ("Come, friendly throng, and join our song, We welcome every brother") (by A. T. Pierson [class of 18]57) (Waite, p. 19)
Parting Song ("The dewy light of the morning bright, The blush of the summer sunrise") (Waite, p. 28)
Conflagratio Conicorum ("Gather here by the dusky bier, -- Let the requiem deeply roll") (Waite, p. 35)
Evening Hours ("The twilight gaze, with its gentle rays, O'er Trinity's campus stealing") (Waite, p. 36)
Sleighing Song ("Gliding along like a fairy song, Or the mist at early dawning") (by C. H. Sweetser, [class of 18]62) (Waite, p. 42)
We Gather Here ("We gather here with festive cheer, To drown all care and sorrow") (by W. Irving Allen, [class of 18]62) (Waite, p. 45)
Joyous and Free ("Joyous and free our hearts shall be, At the festal board regaling") (by E. P. Dyer, Jr., [class of 18]61) (Waite, p. 45)
Come, Gather Near ("Come, gather near, each classmate here, Fond memories will gather") (Waite, p. 52)
While We Gather Here ("While we gather here, with song nd cheer, Our thoughts in union blending") (by George O. Whitney, [class of 18]69) (Waite, p. 82)
Hair-belles ("Here's to the maids with borrowed braids, And here's to the girls with curls, sir") (Waite, p. 96)
The following references are from Henry Randall Waite, _Carmina Collegensia: A Complete Collection of the Songs of the American Colleges_ first edition 1868, expanded edition, Oliver Ditson, 1876, part 3:
Boat Song ("Lightly afloat swims our gallant bark") (Waite, p. 11)
NOTES [172 words]: As far as I know, there are no field collections of this song, although it was found in at least one edition of the Forget-Me-Not Songster (but not the version used in the Index). There is also a report of it being sung in the future state of Minnesota in the 1850s: "The evening was spent in listening to song and recital. Boury gave us Ingoldsby's "Lord Tom Noddy" with great spirit. White, [future governor Henry] Sibley and others united in "Sparkling and bright" "Health dear woman", "Down East" "Farewell to Moore" "Starspangled banner" "Landlord fill &c", while throughout the night the greatest variety of voyageur songs inspirited the oarsmen...." (so Frank Blackwell Mayer, as quoted on p. 232 of With Pen and Pencil on the Frontier in 1851: The Diary and Sketches of Frank Blackwell Mayer, Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1986.)
This combined with the amazing number of parodies that use the tune finally caused me to decide to include it here, not for its own sake but so we could include the "Same Tune" entries. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.0
File: SparBrig

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