original song of "Dixie's Land" was written as a
comic melody by Dan Emmett, a celebrated negro
minstrel, in 1859. He is said to have taken the tune
from an old plantation melody, and to have written
verses to suit his audiences. When the Civil War began
General Albert Pike wrote new words, calling on the
South to arm and defend herself, and set these to the
old air. The South at once claimed the song for her
own, and it became the best loved of all the Southern
ballads. Armies marched to it, and men went into battle
singing it.
Many new verses have been written to the old melody,
and the air is now as popular in the North as in the
South. The words most generally associated with it now
are those of the song by Dan Emmett, or variations on
them, rather than the martial words of General Pike.
by Albert Pike
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