Parlor Music

A Soldier in the Colored Brigade

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1863

WARNING: This is a blackface minstrel song, a genre that features demeaning caricatures rooted in racism and white supremacy.

“A Soldier in the Colored Brigade” was submitted for copyright deposit on May 27, 1863, by Firth, Son & Co. George Cooper authored the lyrics.

Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway!

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1850

“Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway!” was entered for copyright deposit on April 12, 1850, by F. D. Benteen of Baltimore.

Ah! My Child!

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1851

“Ah! My Child!” is an operatic aria by Giacomo Meyerbeer with an English text by Stephen C. Foster. There is no record of copyright entry or deposit. The publisher’s plate number, 1230, and the location of Foster's drafts of the lyrics in his sketchbook suggest a date of publication in late summer 1851.

Annie My Own Love

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1853

“Annie My Own Love” was entered for copyright deposit on May 12, 1853, by Firth, Pond & Co. The lyrics of the song are by Charles Shiras.

According to Evelyn Foster Mornweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster's Family:

Away down Souf

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1848

WARNING: This is a blackface minstrel song, a genre that features demeaning caricatures rooted in racism and white supremacy.

“Away down Souf” was submitted for copyright deposit by W. C. Peters of Louisville on December 30, 1848. An advertisement published before that date on September 29, 1848, suggests it was published that day.

Beautiful Child of Song

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1860

Daughaday & Hammond entered Stephen C. Foster’s “Beautiful Child of Song” for copyright on August 25, 1860, and they deposited it for copyright on October 6, 1860. The song was originally published in Clark’s School Visitor in October 1860. A London edition published by C. Sheard erroneously claims that the lyrics were written by Rev. Alexander Clark and the music was composed by “F. C.

Beautiful Dreamer

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1864

“Beautiful Dreamer” was submitted for copyright deposit on March 10, 1864, by Wm. A. Pond & Co. of New York. 

Better Times Are Coming

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1862

There is no record of copyright entry or deposit. The song is number 8 in publisher Horace Waters’s series “Foster’s Melodies,” suggesting it was published between April and June in 1862. The song had been published by June 4 when Waters advertised it in the New York Daily News. 

Bring My Brother Back to Me

Artist (Composed By): 
Foster, Stephen C. (Collins)
1863

There is no record of copyright entry or deposit. The copyright claims on the title page and page 3 are for 1863. The author of the lyrics was George Cooper.

Christy, Edwin Pearce

Date of Birth: 
November 28, 1815
Date of Death: 
May 21, 1862

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