- H. S. Thompson
Henry S. Thompson was an American
songwriter of the mid-nineteenth century.Little is known of Thompson other than his works, mainly syrupy ballads used in
blackface minstrel show s; 48 works were published under the name H. S. Thompson between 1849 and 1885.Sunphone Records, " [http://www.james-joyce-music.com/songb_06_composer.html Lilly Dale Composer Biography: H.S. Thompson] ," "Music in the Works of James Joyce" Vol. II.]According to U.S. Census research by
Ralph Richey , Thompson was probably born in 1824 or 1825 in northernEssex County, Massachusetts . By 1851 he had moved toNewburyport, Massachusetts where he was a teacher, performer, and impresario. Later he was connected with several minstrel companies, including Morris Brothers, Pell, Huntley's, and Trowbridge's Minstrels in Boston and Morris and Wilson's Opera Troupe in St. Louis (1865-66).Works
Thompson's "Down by the River Liv'd a Maiden," published in 1863, is generally believed to be the basis for Percy Montrose's 1884 "
Oh My Darling, Clementine ."Thompson's most famous work, "
Annie Lisle ," is remembered as the melody for theCornell University alma mater "Far Above Cayuga's Waters " and other school anthems.A slightly altered version of the lyrics of "Lilly Dale," an 1852 song similarly about a young maiden felled by disease, appear in the 1916 novel "
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man " byJames Joyce .Bowen, Zack R. [http://books.google.com/books?id=srr_rtOEx5YC&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&source=web&ots=UMLdMGb7RB&sig=IFeJYepkqOTTk5IfEinADDDuO5A#PPA36,M1 "Musical Allusions in the Works of James Joyce: Early Poetry Through Ulysses"] . SUNY Press, 1974. ISBN 0873952480]Country music ianBob Wills recorded an arrangement as "Lily Dale," which itself was covered byDolly Parton as "Billy Dale."References
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