Beautiful Dreamer lives on

The tenth of eleven children, he was born in Lawrenceville, Pa. on the 50th anniversary of his country's Declaration of Independence. By the time he reached his teens, his love of music was already becoming apparent. He had written the Tioga Waltz and Open Thy Lattice, Love. This latter song was published in Baltimore, Md. when he was only 16 years old, his first published work.

Stephen Collins Foster wanted to create music. His folks wanted him to do something worthwhile with his life. Practicality won out, and he studied to be a bookkeeper. After three years in the trade, his music began bringing in money, and his life's true work was set. It is believed that he became the first American composer who was able to support himself solely by writing music.

One of his big hits was Way Down Upon The Swannee River. However, under the terms of an agreement, E. P. Christy, of Christy Minstrels fame, got to claim authorship and Foster got $500. Other of his songs were My Old Kentucky Home, Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair, Old Black Joe, Oh Susanna, and Nellie Was A Lady.

All in all, he wrote over 200 songs. Many were in the last few years of his life, when his musical talents were on the wane and hits were hard to come by. He had become a pauper. On January 13, 1864, Stephen Collins Foster died from injuries he received from a fall in his New York hotel room.

Shortly before his passing, he had completed a piece that could have changed his fortune entirely. This was the lovely and haunting Beautiful Dreamer. Published after his death, it still ranks among the most enduring songs of his legacy. This song was declared to be a part of our Heritage of Harmony, being included in the society's collection of that name in 1988. You may want to try it yourself. It's a gem of a song when done in barbershop style.

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