The American Songbag

Sandburg, Carl. The American Songbag. Harcourt Brace & Company, 1990.

It would be remiss not to include this famous collection. First published in 1927 by Harcourt, there are over 70 years of continuous publishing of this book. The edition I am writing from is from 1990. There is an introduction by Garrison Keillor to this edition who would know about Sandburg’s poetry and who writes powerfully himself telling about C.S., his industriousness, and his collection.

There is also the Introduction to the First Edition and Prefatory Notes with snippets about composers, how some songs were used and came to be, one “Too Late to Classify,” and closing with “Strictly, we have a book that is unfinished, that has oddments and remainders, that has tatters and remnants, elsewhere and far away in many ports and valleys” (Prefatory Notes).

Coming also before the actual music are sections “Data Concerning the Composers and Writers of Musical Settings, Harmonizations, and Accompaniments,” an “Apologia,” and the Table of Contents.

Each song then comes with a longish note about it revealing what Sandburg found interesting about it and had sleuthed out with tireless investigation. Songs are grouped in sections such as “Dramas and Portraits,” “Minstrel Songs,” “Pioneer Memories,” “Railroad and Work Gangs,” and other colorful sections. Songs for use in the overall topic of this blog would be in the sections “Sailorman” and “Five Wars.” This edition maintains the feel of the original 1927 edition. A beautiful book.