From the N. O. Delta.
Dixie’s Land.
In the popular mythology of New York city, Dixie’s was the negro’s paradise on earth in times when slavery and the slave trade were both flourishing institutions in that quarter. Dixie (or Dixy, as the name was spelt in those unsophisticated days when fashionable novels had not turned Sally into Sallie, Jenny into Jennie, Molly into Mollie, etc.,) owned a tract of land on Manhattan Island, and also a large number of slaves; and his slaves increasing faster than his land, an emigration of darkies ensued, such as we see going on to-day in Virginia. Naturally the negroes who left for distant parts looked to it as a place of unalloyed happiness, and hog and hominy. In fact, it was the “Old Virginny” to the negroes of that day. Hence Dixie became synonymous with an ideal locality combining every imaginable requisite of earthly beautitude; and hence the song which is not the popular musical furore in this city—one version of which we present below, composed for the occasion:
Wish I was in Dixie.
Come along boys, come out in the fields,
The moon is high and shines right cheerily,
………………..Ho, boys, for the days of yore;
Bring along the girls and we’ll have a merry time,
Never mind the dew, but come along merrily,
……………….Ho, boys, for the days of yore.
I wish I was in Dixie, yo ho, yo ho,
There is no land like Dixie all the wide world over,
The land, the land, the happy land of Dixie!
The land, the land, where all the airs were clover.
………………………………..Chorus.
…………For I was born in Dixie, yo ho, yo ho,
…………The happy land of Dixie, there I lived in clover,
…………The land, the land, the sunny land of Dixie!
…………The land, the land that beats the wide world over.
Nature, boys, kind goddess that she is,
Cares for us all, boys, tenderly, motherly,
……………….Ho, boys, for the days of yore;
Our youth flies fast, but memories last,
Then let us meet to-night right brotherly,
……………….Ho, boys, as in days of yore.
I wish I was in Dixie, yo ho, yo ho,
There is no land like Dixie all the wide world over,
The land, the land, the happy land of Dixie!
The land, the land, where all the airs were clover.
………………………………..Chorus.
…………For I was born, etc.
The locks grow white, but the heart keeps green,
And blooms like a flower, boys, type of serenity,
……………….Ho, boys, for the days of yore.
Then hand in hand, as in Dixie’s land,
Dance again to-night, boys, meet with amenity,
……………….Ho, boys, for the days of yore.
I wish I was in Dixie, yo ho, yo ho,
There is no land like Dixie all the wide world over,
The land, the land, the happy land of Dixie!
The land, the land where every air was clover.