“The Homespun Dress”

Description

"Yes, I am a southern girl, and glory in the same, And boast it with far greater pride than glit'ring wealth or fame...." The girl proudly boasts that, though her dress is homespun and her clothing poor, it is all southern and better than northern finery

Notes

The authorship of this piece is disputed; several sources list a Lt. Harrington, killed at Perryville (Oct 9, 1862); others credit the song to Carrie Bell Sinclair. The notes in Brown contain an extensive, but inconclusive, discussion, which consists mostly of citations of unauthoritative sources. - RBW

Cross references

• cf. "The Bonnie Blue Flag" (tune & meter) and references there
• cf. "Young Ladies in Town" (theme)

References

1. Belden, p. 360, "The Homespun Dress" (1 text)
2. Randolph 215, "The Southern Dress" (1 text, 1 tune)
3. BrownIII 380, "The Homespun Dress" (2 texts plus a reprinting of a printed version)
4. Hudson 125, pp. 265-266, "The Homespun Dress" (1 text)
5. Scott-BoA, pp. 229-230, "The Homespun Dress" (1 text, tune referenced)
6. Arnett, pp. 78-79, "The Homespun Dress" (1 text, 1 tune)
7. DT, CNFEDGAL*
8. ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p. 224, "The Homespun Dress" (1 short text)
9. Roud #4504
10. BI, R215