THE BLUE JUNIATA
Ma's voice and the fiddle's music softly
died away. And Laura asked, 'Where did the voice
of Alfarata go, Ma?' ...'Oh I suppose she went
west,' Ma answered. 'That's what the Indians do.'"
-- Little House in the Big Woods, Chapter 18,
"The Tall Indian"
Marion Dix Sullivan (1802-1860) was born Marion Means Dix. In 1825, she married John Sullivan; they lived in Massachusetts. In the 1830s, Mrs. Sullivan took a trip up the Juniata branch of the Pennsylvania Canal, and she was inspired to write the song "The Blue Juniata," published in 1841. In March 1856, Harper's New Monthly Magazine included a lengthy article about the beauty of the Juniata branch and charms of Mrs. Sullivan's song. "The Blue Juniata" was a favorite of both Union and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. General Sherman even once asked a band to play the song again, he so enjoyed hearing it. After it had been played the second time, soldiers took up the tune and continued to sing it.
"The Blue Juniata" was supposedly a favorite song of Charles Ingalls. Laura Ingalls Wilder wanted to use it in Little House on the Prairie and paid to have a copyright search done, except she called the song "Bright Alforatta" [sic]. It was later identified as "Blue Juniata" and Laura was simply told that it was "a very old song" listed in an old songbook, with no publisher given.
In February 1937, two years after the publication of Little House on the Prairie, Laura wrote a letter to daughter Rose Wilder Lane, saying that she had found an old book Ma (Caroline Ingalls) had made out of wrapping paper. In it, Pa (Charles Ingalls) had written the words to "The Blue Juniata," signing the song and including the year 1860 - the year Charles and Caroline Ingalls were married. Laura wrote that the words they used in Little House on the Prairie were not the same as the ones in Pa's handwriting, but as she remembered hearing the song. This wrapping paper book has never been found. Note that the lyrics in the version copyrighted by Marion Dix Sullivan in 1844 aren't the same as those in Little House on the Prairie, lyrics which were not changed after Laura found the verses in Pa's handwriting. Perhaps this is what Laura remembered?
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THE BLUE JUNIATA
1. Wild rov'd an Indian girl, Bright Alfarata. Where sweep the waters Of the blue Juniata. Swift as an Antelope, Thro' the forest going, Loose were her jetty locks In wavy tresses flowing.
2. Gay was the mountain song Of bright Alfarata, Where sweep the waters Of the blue Juniata. Strong and true my arrows are In my painted quiver, Swift goes my light canoe A-down the rapid river.
3. Bold is my warrior good The love of Alfarata, Proud waves his snowy plume Along the Juniata. Soft and low he speaks to me, And then his war-cry sounding, Rings his voice in thunder loud From height to height resounding.
4. So sang the Indian girl, Bright Alfarata, Where sweep the waters Of the blue Juniata. Fleeting years have borne away The voice of Alfarata, Still sweeps the river on The Blue Juniata. |
The following lyrics are as Laura wrote them in an existing manuscript for Little House on the Prairie. In all editions of Little House on the Prairie published after the first (with illustrations by Helen Sewell), the first line in the text is given as "Wild roved an Indian main." Also, for Little House on the Prairie, "snowy" plumes was changed to "sunny" plumes.
THE BLUE JUNIATA
Wild roved an Indian maid Bright Alfarata Where flow the waters Of the blue Juniata Strong and true my arrows are In my painted quiver Swift goes my light canoe Adown the rapid river. Bold is my warrior good The love of Alfarata Proud wave his snowy plumes Along the Juniata Soft and low he speaks to me And then his war-cry sounding Rings his voice in thunder loud From height to height resounding So sang the Indian maid Bright Alfaraga Where sweep the waters Of the blue Juniata Fleeting years have borne away The voice of Alfarata Still flow the waters Of the blue Juniata
Use the navigation bar above to listen to "The Blue Juniata." If you do not see the midi player above, click HERE to listen. |
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