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"when life was like a story holding neither sob
nor sigh, in the golden olden glory of days gone by"
These are the words of the Hoosier poet James Whitcomb
Riley. They are words so full of image that when I close my eyes I can
see all the places he describes as if I was looking through a window directly
into his home state of Indiana in the late 1800's. In addition to "the
days gone by" you will hear Riley's ode to autumn (as well as an
authentic 1800's Indiana dialect) in "when the frost is on the punkin."
In the poems of Emily Dickinson we hear the wonder and
magic of every-day life. From the child-like questioning of "will
there really be a morning?" to the comforting and uplifting "hope
is the thing with feathers." In her poems we hear the vast universe
of her imagination.
Eugene Field was both a journalist and a poet. Today he
is chiefly remembered for his children's poetry. We have included tow
of his most whimsical poems: "the sugar-plum tree" and "wynken,
blynken and nod." A poet of great emotional range, we have also included
Field's achingly beautiful "some time."
In "the tide rise, the tide falls" we are transported
to the small New England town of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His words
capture its busy seacoast and village. We have also included one of the
world's most famous celebrations of friendship: Longfellow's "the
arrow and the song." Best known as the creator of unforgettable tales
of horror, Edgar Allan Poe was also a brilliant poet. Many of his works
reflect his life of sadness and struggle. We have included here the adventurous
story of "eldorado" and the auto-biographical "alone."
These great American poets have their own unique voices and styles. Their
poems have been shared lovingly from generation to generation and it has
been my happy task to translate these poems into songs. -Ted Jacobs
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