'Twas Only an Irishman's Dream: The Image of Ireland and the Irish in American Popular Song Lyrics, 1800-1920

By William H. Williams

Over time, the image of the Irish in the United States changed from that of hard-drinking Paddies to genial working-class citizens.

In 'Twas Only an Irishman's Dream, William H. A. Williams traces the change in this image through more than seven hundred pieces of sheet music--popular songs from the stage and for the parlor--to show how Americans' opinions of Ireland and the Irish swung from one extreme to the other.

As Williams shows, sheet music's place as a commercial item meant it had to be acceptable to the broadest possible song-buying public. Negotiations about the image of the Irish and Irish Americans involved Irish songwriters, performers, and pressured groups on one side, and non-Irish writers, publishers, and audiences on the other. Williams ties the contents of song lyrics to the history of the Irish diaspora, revealing how societies create ethnic stereotypes and how such stereotypes evolve, and even disappear, from mainstream popular culture.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0252065514
• ISBN13: 9780252065514
• Release Date: September 1996
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating, meticulously researched, and deftly written.

Dr. Williams takes what may at first seem like a narrow subject---Irish-American song lyrics---and uses it to tell not only the story of the Irish in America, but of American popular culture as well. This book is full of revelations. Readers unfamiliar with the subject matter will be surprised to learn that not too long ago in our history, Irish-American music and popular culture were practically synonymous. Others with a more sophisticated knowledge of Irish American history will be delighted at all sorts of surprises---e.g., "The Cobbler" and "The Real Old Mountain Dew," two songs popularized by the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Maken early in their career, were actually written by Ned Harrigan, a 3rd-generation Irish-American New Yorker. Through his fascinating account of the lives and careers of Harrigan and other stars of Irish-American culture, Williams re-creates a largely forgotten era in American life. His analysis of the history and meaning of the achievements of these artists helps define this remarkable period of creativity and transition in American cultural expression.

1997 Deems Taylor Award from ASCAP.

This book won a 1997 Deems Taylor Award from ASCAP.