EC0055

This document is the full sheet music for Edward Madden's "Blue Bell," published in 1904. The song opens with a young soldier paying his farewells to his sweetheart, Blue Bell, and encouraging her to be brave in his absence. When the other soldiers return from the war, however, Blue Bell's lover does not. The figure of Blue Bell is a very passive one, conforming to the traditional image of the young maiden waiting for her hero to return from his conquests; contrasted with the changing roles of women during this time, the song is a strong reminder that popular notions of femininity were still very much alive.

Of equal interest to the lyrics of the song itself are the advertisements that accompany "Blue Bell," first for other songs written by Madden, then for others composed by Morse. Madden's lyrics are quite traditional, pastoral, and conservative, whereas Morse seems to have dealt with lyricists who wrote much more playful, even suggestive songs than Madden's, such as "Oh! What a Night to Spoon," which coaxes "Cuddle up, Pearle, like a good little girl / Honest and truly, my heart's in a whirl / I'd just love to fondle you…" (p. 6). At first glance, Morse's playful tones seem to offer a more modern, uninhibited set of gender roles, but even here, the female figure is passive, more a figure for male pleasure than an actual individual.