Showing posts with label America the Beautiful. Show all posts
Showing posts with label America the Beautiful. Show all posts

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Ballad of America: Top 40 Songs

Ballad of America:

Top 40 Songs

According to their website, Ballad of America is a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to the preservation and celebration of music from American history. Their website features a music library of 40 titles, in alphabetical order, that represent American history. The website provides links to each song that offer more detailed backgrounds on the songs.

Click here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.

1. “Across the Western Ocean” (19th century)
2. “America the Beautiful” (1895)
3. “American Taxation” (1811)
4. “The Battle Cry of Freedom” (1862)
5. “Brave Wolfe” (late 1790s)
6. “The Brazos River” (1942)
7. “Buffalo Gals (Will You Come Out Tonight)” (1844)
8. “The Crawdad Song” (1917)
9. “Dem Golden Slippers” (1879)
10. “The Distressed Damsel” (1680s)

11. “Down in the Valley (Birmingham Jail)” (1835)
12. “Get on Board” (1872)
13. “Ho! For California!” (1849)
14. “Home on the Range” (1874)
15. “Home Sweet Home” (1823)
16. “Jimmy Crack Corn (The Blue Tail Fly)” (1846)
17. “Lincoln and Liberty” (1860)
18. “The Lovely Ohio” (1842)
19. “O! Say Bonny Lass” (1783)
20. “Oh Freedom!” (post-Civil War)

21. “Oh! Susanna” (1846)
22. “The Old Chisholm Trail” (1910)
23. “Old Settler’s Song” (1870s)
24. “Old Sister Phoebe” (first half of 19th century)
25. “Once More A-Lumbering Go” (1851)
26. “Paddy Works on the Railway” (1864)
27. “Railroad Bill” (1895)
28. “The Rambling Gambler” (1938)
29. “Red River Valley” (1896)
30. “Shenandoah” (1837)

31. “The Streets of Laredo” (1911)
32. “Swannanoa Tunnel” (1917)
33. “Sweet Betsy from Pike” (1851)
34. “Tenting on the Old Campground” (1864)
35. “This Little Light of Mine” (1925)
36. “Wanderin’” (1950)
37. “We Shall Not Be Moved” (1909)
38. “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” (1863)
39. “The Wisconsin Emigrant” (1931)
40. “Woried Man Blues” (1930)


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First posted 12/18/2025.

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Theodore Raph The American Song Treasury

Theodore Raph:

The American Song Treasury

First published in 1964, this book collects lyrics and offers commentary for 100 American favorites from 1620 to 1958. The book presents the songs in chronological order but I have re-ordered the songs based on how many total lists these songs appear on in the Dave’s Music Database of standards. Publication years for songs are indicated, but no specific artist is attached to each song.

Click here to see other lists from critics and individuals and here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.

1. “When the Saints Go Marching In” (1880)
2. “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)” (1906)
3. “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home?” (1902)
4. “Home on the Range” (1873)
5. “America the Beautiful” (1895)
6. “Give My Regards to Broadway” (1904)
7. “Yankee Doodle Boy” (1905)
8. “Yankee Doodle (aka ‘Yankee Doodle Went to Town’)” (1754)
9. “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (1806)
10. “Oh! Susanna” (1846)

11. “Hello Ma Baby” (1899)
12. “After the Ball” (1892)
13. “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” (1863)
14. “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” (1894)
15. “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” (1904)
16. “Camptown Races (Gwine to Run All Night)” (1850)
17. “In the Good Old Summertime” (1902)
18. “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (1853)
19. “Auld Lang Syne” (1799)
20. “Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)” (1892)

21. “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” (1873)
22. “On Top of Old Smoky” (1841)
23. “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain” (1870)
24. “Clementine” (1884)
25. “My Old Kentucky Home” (1853)
26. “Jimmy Crack Corn (The Blue Tail Fly)” (1846)
27. “The Sidewalks of New York” (1894)
28. “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” (1881)
29. “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” (1927)
30. “In My Merry Oldsmobile” (1905)

31. “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie” (1905)
32. “Skip to My Lou” (1832)
33. “My Gal Sal” (1905)
34. “Pop Goes the Weasel” (1853)
35. “The Marines’ Hymn” (1919)
36. “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” (1893)
37. “Polly Wolly Doodle (All the Day)” (1843)
38. “The Man on the Flying Trapeze” (1867)
39. “Beautiful Dreamer” (1864)
40. “The Band Played On” (1895)

41. “Red River Valley” (1896)
42. “Shenandoah” (1837)
43. “On the Banks of the Wabash” (1897)
44. “Hail Columbia (The President’s March)” (1789)
45. “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)” (1855)
46. “My Wild Irish Rose” (1899)
47. “Buffalo Gals (Will You Come Out Tonight)” (1844)
48. “Mighty Like a Rose (aka ‘Mighty Lak a Rose’)” (1901)
49. “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen” (1875)
50. “Froggie Went A-Courtin’” (1549)

51. “I Love You Truly” (1906)
52. “Greensleeves” (1580)
53. “Because” (1902)
54. “The Little Brown Jug” (1869)
55. “Dem Golden Slippers” (1879)
56. “Mary's a Grand Old Name” (1906)
57. “Go Down Moses (Let My People Go)” (1861)
58. “What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor?” (1740)
59. “Sweet Betsy from Pike” (1851)
60. “When You and I Were Young, Maggie” (1866)

61. “Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be?” (1792)
62. “Billy Boy” (1800)
63. “Vive la Compagnie (Vive l’Amour)” (1818)
64. “Oh Promise Me” (1889)
65. “Tom Dooley” (1929)
66. “Long, Long Ago” (1843)
67. “The Rosary” (1898)
68. “The Girl I Left Behind” (1650)
69. “Blow the Man Down” (1849)
70. “Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes” (1616)

71. “Love’s Old Sweet Song” (1887)
72. “Wait for the Wagon” (1851)
73. “The Wayfaring Stranger” (1807)
74. “The Foggy, Foggy Dew” (1804)
75. “I Gave My Love a Cherry” (1785)
76. “Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo (Mademoiselle from Armentieres)” (1918)
77. “There’s a Tavern in the Town” (1883)
78. “Wabash Cannonball” (1882)
79. “We Gather Together (Thanksgiving Song)” (1630)
80. “Barbara Allen” (1622)

81. “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” (1949)
82. “While Strolling Through the Park One Day (The Fountain in the Park)” (1884)
83. “Believe Me if All Those Endearing Young Charms” (1808)
84. “The Wearing of the Green” (1797)
85. “Bell Bottom Trousers” (1945)
86. “Flow Gently Sweet Afton” (1838)
87. “The Blue Bells of Scotland” (1800)
88. “The Campbells Are Coming” (1847)
89. “Dear Old Girl” (1903)
90. “Where Did You Get That Hat?” (1888)

91. “Down in the Valley (Birmingham Jail)” (1835)
92. “Careless Love Blues” (1925)
93. “Aura Lee” (1861)
94. “Annie Laurie” (1838)
95. “St. Patrick’s Day” (1865)
96. “All Through the Night” (1825)
97. “John Peel” (1820)
98. “Charlie Is My Darling” (1830)
99. “Cindy” (1857)
100. “Ida” (1903)


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First posted 12/17/2025.

 

Monday, November 17, 2025

Folk/Traditional: Top 100 Songs

Folk/Traditional:

Top 100 Songs

Originally this was a list of the top top folk and folk rock songs. However, I’ve now split it into two lists – one focused on folk rock and this one on folk and traditional songs. These lists were generated by aggregating multiple lists that focused on folk and folk rock and then reordering the songs based on their overall status in Dave’s Music Database. Songs are listed by songwriters, then title, and then year.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. George M. Cohan “You’re a Grand Old Flag” (1906)
2. Katharine Lee Bates (lyrics) and Samuel A. Ward (music) “America the Beautiful” (1910)
3. Irving Berlin “God Bless America” (1918)
4. Ella Fitzgerald, Al Feldman “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” (1938)
5. Francis Scott Key (lyrics) John Stafford Smith (music) “The Star-Spangled Banner” (1814)
6. John Newton “Amazing Grace” (1772)
7. James M. Black, Katharine E. Purvis “When the Saints Go Marching In” (1896)
8. “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” (music & lyrics: Stephen Foster, 1851)
9. Patty S. Hill & Mildred J. Hill “Happy Birthday to You” (1893)
10. Woody Guthrie “This Land Is Your Land” (1940)

11. Julia Ward Howe (lyrics), William Steffe (music) “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” (1862)
12. John Kelly, Don George, traditional “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (1853)
13. Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter “Goodnight Irene” (1933)
14. Stephen Foster “Oh! Susanna” (1847)
15. Daniel E. Kelly (music), Dr. Brewster M. Higley (lyrics) “Home on the Range” (1874)
16. Harry Dacre “Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)” (1893)
17. Louis Lambert as Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (lyrics), unknown (m) “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again” (1863)
18. Daniel Decatur Emmett “Dixie” (aka “I Wish I Was in Dixie” or “Dixie’s Land”) (1859)
19. traditional, adapted by Fred Weatherly “Danny Boy” (1913)
20. Robert Burns (adapted by) “Auld Lang Syne” (1799)

21. Stephen Foster (music/lyrics) “Camptown Races (Gwine to Run All Night)” (1850)
22. Richard Shuckburgh (lyrics), music: traditional “Yankee Doodle (aka ‘Yankee Doodle Went to Town’)” (1754)
23. James R. Shannon (music/lyrics) “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That’s an Irish Lullaby)” (1913)
24. Traditional “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” (1894)
25. Jimmie Davis, Charles Mitchell “You Are My Sunshine” (1940)
26. Hugo Peretti et al “The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)” (1939)
27. Percy Montrose “Clementine” (1863)
28. Frank Kidson (first published by) “Scarborough Fair” (1891)
29. Dave Guard “Tom Dooley” (1958)
30. Thomas D'Urfey (music), Frederick Thomas Nettleingham (lyrics) “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (1706)

31. J.A. Roff, adapted by A.P. Carter “Wabash Cannonball” (1882)
32. Wallace Willis, arranged by Henry Thacker Burleigh “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” (1872)
33. Traditional “Jimmy Crack Corn” (1848)
34. Jane Taylor (lyrics) “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (1806)
35. Traditional “She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain” (1899)
36. Cool White “Buffalo Gals (Buffalo Girls Will You Come Out Tonight)” (1844)
37. Carl Sandburg “Skip to My Lou” (1832)
38. Unknown “Greensleeves” (1580)
39. Ada R. Habershon, Charles H. Gabriel, A.P. Carter (adapted by) “Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)” (1935)
40. A.P. Carter “Wildwood Flower” (1928)

41. unknown “Baa Baa Black Sheep” (1744)
42. Daniel Decatur Emmett (music/lyrics) “Old Dan Tucker” (1843)
43. Traditional “On Top of Old Smoky” (1841)
44. Charles E. Pratt “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” (1881)
45. Effie I. Canning (music/lyrics) “Rock-a-Bye Baby” (1884)
46. Lowell Mason (music), Sarah Josepha Hale (lyrics) “Mary Had a Little Lamb” (1830)
47. Traditional “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” (1863)
48. Eliphalet Oram Lyte “Row Row Row Your Boat” (1852)
49. Anonymous “Froggie Went A-Courtin’” (1700)
50. Edith Piaf (lyrics), Louiguy (music) “La Vie En Rose” (1950)

51. Septimus Winner (music/lyrics) “O Where, O Where Has My Little Dog Gone” (1864)
52. Unknown “Frère Jacques” (aka “Brother John, Are You Sleeping?”) (1780)
53. Eugene Raymond (adapted by) “Pop Goes the Weasel” (1852)
54. Unknown “Shenandoah” (1837)
55. Daniel Decatur Emmett (music/lyrics) “Polly Wolly Doodle (All the Day)” (1843)
56. John Wesley Work Jr. “Go Tell It on the Mountain” (1865)
57. William Jerome (lyris), Harry Von Tilzer (music) “The Green Grass Grew All Around” (1913)
58. Sabine Baring-Gould (lyrics), Sir Arthur Sullivan (music) “Onward Christian Soldiers” (1871)
59. Bill Monroe “Blue Moon of Kentucky” (1947)
60. William Swords (lyrics), unknown (music) “Bingo (B-I-N-G-O)” (1780)

61. Traditional “Alouette” (1879)
62. Geoff Love (adapted) “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” (1927)
63. Traditional “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” (1709)
64. Billy Reeves (w), Frank Campbell (m), arranged by Rollin Howard “Shoo Fly Don’t Bother Me” (1869)
65. Traditional “Red River Valley” (1896)
66. William King (publisher) “Old King Cole” (1708)
67. Traditional “This Old Man (Nick Nack Paddiwack)” (1842)
68. Jay Roberts (copyrighted by) “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho” (1865)
69. Unknown “Three Blind Mice” (1609)
70. translated and arranged by Dr. Theodore Baker “We Gather Together (Thanksgiving Prayer)” (1630)

71. “The Hokey Pokey” (1826)
72. Traditional “The Farmer in the Dell” (1883)
73. Unknown “Blow the Man Down” (1849)
74. Traditional/Alan Price “The House of the Rising Sun” (1933)
75. Traditional; arranged by Harry Belafonte, William Attaway, Lord Burgess “The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)” (1956)
76. Elliott Daniel “Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly)” (1685)
77. Verna Hills “The Wheels on the Bus” (1939)
78. Traditional “Hickory Dickory Dock” (1744)
79. “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” (1910)
80. Dr. Alfred B. Smith “If You’re Happy and You Know It” (1905)

81. Unknown “The Wayfaring Stranger” (1807)
82. Traditional “Sweet Betsy from Pike” (1851)
83. Lester A. Walton, C. Lucky Roberts “Billy Boy” (1800)
84. Clarence (Tom) Ashley “The Coo Coo Bird” (1929)
85. “Ring Around the Rosie” (1881)
86. Bill Dooley “Frankie and Johnny” (1899)
87. “Rock Island Line” (1937)
88. Traditional “The Midnight Special” (1923)
89. Steve Nelson, Jack Rollins “Peter Cottontail” (1950)
90. H. Wylie “Kumbaya” (1926)

91. Jean-Jacques Rousseau “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” (1752)
92. “John Henry” (1859)
93. Ken Darby (adapted by) “Aura Lea” (1861)
94. Carl Sandburg “Down by the Riverside” (1918)
95. “Do You Know the Muffin Man” (1829)
96. Epe Sargent (lyrics), Henry Russell (music) “Follow the Drinking Gourd” (1860)
97. “Hush Little Baby” (1918)
98. “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” (1842)
99. “Over the River and Through the Woods” (1844)
100. “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” (1870)


Resources/Related Links:

First posted 4/19/2020; last updated 11/17/2025.

Tuesday, July 4, 1995

Today in Music (1895): “America the Beautiful” published

America the Beautiful

Katharine Lee Bates (lyrics), Samuel A. Ward (music)

Writer(s): Katharine Lee Bates (lyrics) and Samuel A. Ward (music) (see lyrics here)


Published: July 4, 1895


First Charted: July 11, 1925


Peak (different versions): 8 PM, 42 AC, 58 CW, 98 RB, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.)


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 28.74 video, 4.49 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.


Awards (Louise Homer):


Awards (Ray Charles):

About the Song:

Music historian Steve Sullivan says, “Next to Woody Guthrie’s ‘This Land Is Your Land,’ perhaps no patriotic anthem is more powerful and moving than ‘America the Beautiful.’” SS In the 1920s, there was an effort to make it the national anthem before Congress decided on “The Star-Spangled Banner” instead. SS

Katharine Lee Bates, an English professor at Wellesley College, WK was inspired to write the eventual song while on a train trip in 1893 to Colorado that included a stop in Chicago for the 400th anniversary of Columbus coming to America. The original title of her poem was “Pikes Peak” WK but, nearly two years later, when it was published on July 4, 1895 in a Boston church weekly called The Congregationalist, it was rechristened “America.” WK

It wasn’t until 1904 that Samuel Augustus Ward, a church organist and choir director at Grace Church in Newark, New Jersey, put it to music. He based it on a melody he composed in 1882 to accompany lyrics for the hymn “O Mother Dear, Jerusalem,” later retitled “Materna.” WK It was finally given the title “America the Beautiful” in 1910. WK Bates continued revising it, publishing the final version in 1911. SS Sadly, Ward died in 1903 and never saw the fame the song gained.

The song’s first chart appearance came in 1925 when Louise Homer took it to #8. Since then, the song has charted by Ray Charles (#98, 1972), Charlie Rich (#42 AC, 1976) and and an all-star country collective that included Vince Gill, Brenda Lee, Kenny Rogers, and others (#58, 2001).

Sullivan says “the song received its definitive rendition in the magnificently souful performance of Ray Charles.” SS He “believed in the ideals it represented, and he sang it with passion and gospel-fired organ and piano, backed by a choir, and in so doing transformed, broadened, and elevated its meaning.” SS Critic Dave Marsh says Ray turns it “into a gorgeous, ironic, sweet-tempered sermon on the land he loves.” DM


Resources:


First posted 6/24/2024.

Monday, December 31, 1973

Fred & Irwin Silber Folksinger’s Wordbook

Fred & Irwin Silber:

Folksinger’s Wordbook

First published in 1973, this book collects lyrics for nearly 1000 standards, predominantly from before the 20th century. There is no commentary or ranking of the songs in the book, but I have created a top 100 ranking by looking at how many other lists the songs in this book appeared on. Publication years for songs are indicated, but no specific artist is attached to each song.

Click here to see other lists from critics and individuals and here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.

1. “Amazing Grace” (1772)
2. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic (aka ‘Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!’)” (1861)
3. “When the Saints Go Marching In” (1880)
4. “The Star-Spangled Banner” (1814)
5. “Silent Night” (1818)
6. “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home?” (1902)
7. “Home on the Range” (1873)
8. “America the Beautiful” (1895)
9. “Jingle Bells” (1857)
10. “Yankee Doodle (aka ‘Yankee Doodle Went to Town’)” (1754)

11. “Oh! Susanna” (1846)
12. “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (1706)
13. “Hello Ma Baby” (1899)
14. “After the Ball” (1892)
15. “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” (1863)
16. “Dixie” (1859)
17. “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” (1894)
18. “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” (1904)
19. “O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)” (1751)
20. “Camptown Races (Gwine to Run All Night)” (1850)

21. “In the Good Old Summertime” (1902)
22. “Joy to the World” (1719)
23. “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” (1852)
24. “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (1853)
25. “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” (1739)
26. “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)” (1903)
27. “Auld Lang Syne” (1799)
28. “Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)” (1892)
29. “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” (1873)
30. “On Top of Old Smoky” (1841)

31. “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain” (1899)
32. “Clementine” (1884)
33. “Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping?)” (1780)
34. “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” (1868)
35. “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” (1851)
36. “Home Sweet Home” (1823)
37. “Turkey in the Straw” (1820)
38. “My Old Kentucky Home” (1853)
39. “Rock-a-Bye Baby” (1884)
40. “Danny Boy” (1913)

41. “Jimmy Crack Corn (The Blue Tail Fly)” (1846)
42. “The Sidewalks of New York” (1894)
43. “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” (1881)
44. “Rock of Ages” (1763)
45. “Away in a Manger” (1882)
46. “The First Noel” (1823)
47. “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” (1927)
48. “School Days (When We Were a Couple of Kids)” (1907)
49. “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie” (1905)
50. “Skip to My Lou” (1832)

51. “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (1868)
52. “The Battle Cry of Freedom” (1862)
53. “Ta-Ra-Ra Boom-De-Ay” (1891)
54. “Pop Goes the Weasel” (1853)
55. “This Old Man (Nick Nack Paddiwak)” (1842)
56. “Bingo (B-I-N-G-O)” (1780)
57. “Casey Jones (The Brave Engineer)” (1909)
58. “Polly Wolly Doodle (All the Day)” (1843)
59. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (1760)
60. “Hush Little Baby” (1918)

61. “The Man on the Flying Trapeze” (1867)
62. “Beautiful Dreamer” (1864)
63. “The Band Played On” (1895)
64. “Red River Valley” (1896)
65. “Shenandoah” (1837)
66. “On the Banks of the Wabash” (1897)
67. “In the Sweet By-and-By” (1868)
68. “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” (1863)
69. “Twelve Days of Christmas” (1780)
70. “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)” (1855)

71. “My Wild Irish Rose” (1899)
72. “Buffalo Gals (Will You Come Out Tonight)” (1844)
73. “Grandfather’s Clock” (1876)
74. “A Bird in a Gilded Cage” (1900)
75. “What Child Is This?” (1865)
76. “I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair” (1854)
77. “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen” (1875)
78. “Ragtime Cowboy Joe” (1912)
79. “Froggie Went A-Courtin’” (1549)
80. “Nearer My God to Thee” (1841)

81. “Alouette” (1879)
82. “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” (1867)
83. “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho” (1865)
84. “Deck the Halls” (1862)
85. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (1900)
86. “We Shall Overcome” (1963)
87. “The Green Grass Grew All Around” (1912)
88. “Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)” (1935)
89. “Greensleeves” (1580)
90. “Alabamy Bound” (1925)

91. “Old Dan Tucker” (1843)
92. “The Little Brown Jug” (1869)
93. “The Old Grey Mare” (1915)
94. “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” (1709)
95. “Onward Christian Soldiers” (1871)
96. “Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean” (1843)
97. “Give Me That Old Time Religion” (1865)
98. “Down by the Riverside” (1918)
99. “Angels We Have Heard on High” (1862)
100. “Lorena” (1857)


Resources/Related Links:


First posted 12/5/2025; last updated 12/7/2025.