'Twas Only an Irishman's Dream

The Image of Ireland and the Irish in American Popular Song Lyrics, 1800-1920

Author: William H. A. Williams

Songs and seeing Irish immigrants as Americans

Paper – $33

978-0-252-06551-4

Publication Date

Paperback: 09/01/1996

Series: Music in American Life

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About the Book

The image of the Irish in the United States changed drastically over time, from that of hard-drinking, rioting Paddies to genial, patriotic working-class citizens. In 'Twas Only an Irishman's Dream, William H. A. Williams traces the change in this image through more than 700 pieces of sheet music--popular songs from the stage and for the parlor--to show how Americans' opinions of Ireland and the Irish went practically from one extreme to the other. Because sheet music was a commercial item, it had to be acceptable to the broadest possible song-buying public. "Negotiations" about their image involved Irish songwriters, performers, and pressured groups, on the one hand, and non-Irish writers, publishers, and audiences on the other. Williams ties the contents of song lyrics to the history of the Irish diaspora, suggesting how ethnic stereotypes are created and how they evolve within commercial popular culture.

About the Author

William H. A. Williams was a professor of history at the Union Institute and the University in Cincinnati. His books include Landscape, Tourism and the Irish Character: British Travel Writers in Pre-Famine Ireland, 1750-1850.