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The First American Song:
"My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free"
2009 marks the 250th anniversary of the first known song written in America.
It was written by Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791), a dilettante composer, lawyer, and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
His song, "My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free," was composed in 1759.
[At left: print showing
Francis Hopkinson and his signature.]
Words to the song:
My days have been so wondrous free,
the little Birds that fly,
with careless Ease from Tree to Tree
were but as blest as I,
were but as blest as I.
Ask gliding waters if a Tear of mine
increas'd their Stream,
and ask the breathing Gales if e'er
I lent a Sigh to them,
I lent a Sigh to them.
-- Thomas Parnell (1679-1718)
Hear "My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free" in two versions (soprano and organ/ soprano and harpsichord) on this special CD of
Songs by Francis Hopkinson
Also hear the magnificent baritone, Thomas Hampson,
sing the Hopkinson song at Instant Encore
![My days have been so wondrous free [manuscript]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/natlib/ihas/service/songinamerica/200035565/0001t.jpg)
From the Library of Congress website:
"The first extant art songs composed in the United States are credited to Francis Hopkinson, a friend of George Washington and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Hopkinson, the only American-born composer for whom there is evidence of having written songs prior to 1800, penned "My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free" (words by Thomas Parnell) in 1759. Scored for voice and harpsichord, this song by Hopkinson is America's earliest surviving secular composition."
AMP Links
American Music Recordings Collection (AMRC)
American Music Timeline, 1640-1890
A Century of American Songs, Part One (1759 -1859)
Essential American Recordings Survey (EARS)
New England Music Archive (NEMA)
Society For Earlier American Music (SEAM)
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American Music Recordings Archive (AMRA)
American Music Timeline, 1640-1890
A Century of American Songs, Part One (1759 -1859)
Essential American Recordings Survey (EARS)
New England Music Archive (NEMA)
Society For Earlier American Music (SEAM)
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