Silver Bell

Beneath the light of a bright starry night
Sang a lonely little Indian maid:
“No lover’s sweet serenade
Has ever won me.”
As in a dream, it would seem, down the stream,
Gaily paddling his tiny canoe,
A chieftain longing to woo
Sang her this song:

“Your voice is ringing, my Silver Bell,
Under it’s spell
I’ve come to tell you of the love I am bringing
O’er hill and dell,
Happy we’ll dwell, my Silver Bell.”

For many moons, many spoons, many tunes
Woke the echoes of the still Summer night,
As down the stream gleaming bright
They floated dreaming.
In his canoe, only two, sat to woo,
And they listened to the sigh of the breeze,
That seemed to sing in the trees
This sweet refrain:

A popular Tin Pan Alley song published in 1910. The words were written by by Edward Madden, who was responsible for a number of extremely popular songs, not least By the light of the silvery moon. It was one of a number of songs in that period which drew on romanticised racial stereotype of Native Americans. The song was imported from the States and became a key part of the repertoire of former child star Gertie Gitana in the British Music Halls. In America it was adopted by bluegrass players, and was also collected from several traditional singers in the Appalachians. It doesn’t seem to have entered the traditional repertoire in the British Isles or Ireland.

As sung by Gertie Gitana:

An instrumental version by Bob Willis and his Texas Playboys:

Sources:

• Entries in the Roud Indexes at the Vaughn Williams Memorial Library: https://archives.vwml.org/search/all:single[folksong-broadside-books]/0_50/all/score_desc/extended-roudNo_tr%3A24627
• Kilgarrif Sing Us
• Lyrics and UK Sheet Music: Empire News & The Umpire – Sunday 10 September 1911
• US Sheet Music: Levy Sheet Music Collection

Last Updated on October 10, 2022 by John Baxter | Published: October 10, 2022