There’s no place like “home sweet home”. But have you ever wondered where that phrase came from or how it impacted our history?
The phrase “home sweet home,” which implies that your home is where you’d prefer to be over all other places, dates back to a song written in 1823 for a play.Adapted from American actor and dramatist John Howard Payne’s 1823 opera Clari, or the Maid of Milan, the song’s melody was composed by Englishman Henry Bishop with lyrics by Payne. The words are as follows:
Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home;
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,
Which seek thro’ the world, is ne’er met elsewhere.
Home! Home!Sweet, sweet home!
There’s no place like home
There’s no place like home!
Listen to it here: http://www.victorianweb.org/mt/parlorsongs/2.html
Sir Henry Bishop was the first English composer to be given a knighthood, and it was said that it was awarded because Queen Victoria loved the song so much.
But the song itself is perhaps most memorable in history for its unification of troops during the Civil War.
Shortly after the Battle of Fredericksburg (Dec. 13, 1862), about 100,000 Federal soldiers and 70,000 Confederates were camped on opposite sides of Virginia’s Rappahannock River. One of the bloodiest battles had just ended with more than 17,000 combined wounded or killed. At twilight, it was customary for regimental bands to begin evening concerts to soothe the troops while they rested or wrote to loved ones back home. On one particular night, a Federal band slowly played the melodic tune. Then, the Union band joined in. And more bands from both sides joined in too. No other sounds could be heard except for the “Home, Sweet Home” melody.
After the concert ended, it was reported that everyone went wild – on both sides of the river – shouting and jumping for joy. According to Frank Mixson, a private in the 1st South Carolina Volunteers, had there not been a river between them, the two armies may have met face to face, shaken hands and ended the war right there and then.
Today, the phrase has become a reliable part of the lexicon and is popular for adorning welcome mats outside of homes.
Throughout history though, the idea of “home, sweet home” has always rung true.
After all, there really is no place quite like home.
Do you agree? Are you ready for your very own sweet home? Call me so we can talk – (858) 342-8659!
Sources: WiseGeek.com and World History Group - See more at: http://mattbrady.skylinehomeloans.com/04/12/2016/home-sweet-home-a-history-lesson/#sthash.cPfIAdx8.dpuf
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