Memorable Melodies: Miss Thomasina Tucker's Repertoire, Part II

As promised, here's Part Two of Miss Tommy Tucker's Repertoire! In the opening story of Kate Douglas Wiggin’s Ladies In Waiting, our heroine, aspiring singer Thomasina Tucker, finds that her repertoire of old-fashioned ballads and folk songs doesn’t always go over well with audiences, some of whom prefer more modern or sophisticated music. But happily for Tommy, it does succeed in helping her win the heart of one particular listener, the solitary and lonely Fergus, whose melancholy soul is touched by and opens up to her passionate voice!

Our first post covering some of her famous tunes focused on those of Irish origin, and here we have ballads of Scottish and English birth. Be sure to check out our article about James Hogg, the Scottish poet known as "The Ettrick Shepherd," who is widely credited with penning our first selection!

Memorable Melodies: Miss Thomasina Tucker's Repertoire, Part I

In the opening story of Kate Douglas Wiggin’s Ladies In Waiting, our heroine, aspiring singer Thomasina Tucker, finds that her repertoire of old-fashioned ballads and folksongs doesn’t always go over well with audiences, some of whom prefer more modern or sophisticated music. But happily for Tommy, it does succeed in helping her win the heart of one particular listener! His first assumption that she must be Irish undoubtedly comes from the fact that many of these songs have an Irish origin.

My Love’s An Arbutus
The lyrics to this lovely song are by Alfred Perceval Graves (1846 – 1931), who also penned many other Irish ballads, including the well-known “Father O’Flynn,” and the melody is traditional. Piano/vocal sheet music may be downloaded for free here.

Memorable Melodies: The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo

“The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo,” the song with which George Amberson Minafer loudly serenades his family in The Magnificent Ambersons, was written in 1892 and remained popular for a number of decades afterward, so it was most likely familiar to the readers of Booth Tarkington’s novel in 1918, and perhaps to moviegoers who heard it sung in the 1942 film adaptation as well. There’s a colorful story behind the song, which is believed to be inspired by a real-life gambler who succeeded in spectacularly breaking the bank at the famous Casino Monte Carlo in Monaco. (In roulette, “breaking the bank” means winning more chips than are available at the table.) Here's a clip from the 1942 film:

Memorable Melodies: Home Again, Home Again From a Foreign Shore!

Although the song “Home Again” was written around 1850, when author Mary Jane Holmes quoted it in Dora Deane in 1858 she referred to it as an “old” song. Perhaps it already seemed older than it really was because of its enormous popularity. A quick search of Google Books reveals that it was quoted or referenced in dozens of books, magazines, and even plays over the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Mark Twain mentioned it in his Life on the Mississippi. It was played, sung or quoted to celebrate countless homecomings in real life as well as in fiction. American journalist Mildred Aldrich (1853–1928) remembered going to meet friends returning from summer vacations in Europe, with bands playing “Home Again” and the crowds of people singing along as the ship docked. Only the first line was quoted in Dora Deane, but all of the lyrics fit the story and the scene beautifully: