From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water

Last updated
"From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water"
SkyBlueWater1909.jpeg
Sheet music cover, 1909
Song
Published1909
Composer(s) Charles Wakefield Cadman
Lyricist(s) Nelle Richmond Eberhart

"From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water" (1909) is a popular song composed by Charles Wakefield Cadman. He based it on an Omaha love song collected by Alice C. Fletcher. "Sky-blue water" or "clear blue water" is one possible translation of "Mnisota", the name for the Minnesota River in the Dakota language. [1]

Contents

Composition

Cadman's collaborator, Nelle Richmond Eberhart, wrote a poem as the lyrics:

From the Land of Sky-blue Water,
They brought a captive maid,
And her eyes they are lit with lightnings,
Her heart is not afraid!

But I steal to her lodge at dawning,
I woo her with my flute;
She is sick for the Sky-blue Water,
The captive maid is mute. [2]

The song became widely popular after noted American soprano Lillian Nordica performed it in concert in 1909.

Representation in other media

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References

  1. "Mnisota" Archived 2013-10-02 at the Wayback Machine , Dakota Dictionary Online. University of Minnesota Department of American Indian Studies (2010). Accessed October 6, 2016.
  2. Cadman, "From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water."
  3. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Hamms Beer Commercial - Vintage Black and White. YouTube .

Bibliography