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Our Fair Australian Maid [song by James Hardwick, 1 July 1882]

15 April 2022 · Leave a Comment

[Editor: This song by James Hardwick was published in The Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW), 1 July 1882.]

Songs, dances, and pianoforte pieces.

No. 13 — Song and chorus.

Our Fair Australian Maid.

Written and composed by the author of “Lead On! Advance, Australia!”

What beauty doth thy face adorn!
How charmingly arrayed
Is thy attire and graceful form,

Our fair Australian Maid!
My loyal heart is true to thee,
The glory of the Southern sea.

Thy sylvan songs of joy resound
Throughout the forest glade,
Thy fragrance scents the low’ry ground,

Our fair Australian Maid!
My loyal heart is true to thee,
The glory of the Southern sea.

Thy hands the precious casket hold
With sparking gems inlaid,
Thy head is crown’d with shining gold,

Our fair Australian Maid!
My loyal heart is true to thee,
The glory of the Southern sea.

Thy stately dress shall ne’er grow old,
Which Providence has made,
But time its glories shall unfold,

Our fair Australian Maid!
My loyal heart is true to thee,
The glory of the Southern sea.

SOLI.
My loyal heart is true to thee,
The glory of the Southern sea.

1ST TENOR.
Our loyal hearts are ever true to thee,
The glory of the Southern sea.

2ND TENOR.
Our loyal hearts are ever true to thee,
The glory of the Southern sea.

ALTO.
Our loyal hearts are ever true to thee,
The glory of the Southern sea.

BASS.
Our loyal hearts are ever true to thee,
The glory of the Southern sea.



Source:
The Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW), 1 July 1882, p. 27

Editor’s notes:
The State Library of New South Wales holds a copy of “Lead on Advance Australia!” [music], a patriotic song, written and composed by James Hardwick (who also wrote and composed this song).

alto = (in the context of singing) a high adult male singing voice (also known as a “countertenor”), especially one which reaches the range of a female alto by using falsetto, especially the highest adult male singing voice in a choir or group; a low female singing voice, being lower than a soprano voice and higher than a tenor voice (also known as a “contralto”); “alto” can refer to the voice, the role (or part), or the singer

crown’d = (vernacular) crowned (to wear a crown; to place a crown on someone’s head; something located or placed on the top of something else, e.g. a castle that crowned a hill)

doth = (archaic) does

low’ry = a sort of shrub, otherwise called spurge laurel (also spelt: lowa’ry)
See: 1) N. Bailey (editor), Dictionarium Britannicum: Or a More Compleat Universal Etymological English Dictionary than any Extant, London: T. Cox, 1730, [page not numbered; see entry “low’ry”]
2) John Ash, The New and Complete Dictionary of the English Language (Volume I), London: Edward and Charles Dilly, and R. Baldwin, 1775, [page not numbered; see entry “low’ry”]

ne’er = (vernacular) an archaic contraction of “never”

pianoforte = piano (the full, or formal, name for a piano)

Providence = (usually capitalized) God, or benevolent care from God; care, guidance, or protection as provided by God, or as provided by coincidental circumstances or Nature

soli = a featured passage played by soloists, or with soloists; a featured passage played by an entire section of an orchestra or ensemble, or by several members of the same section (“soli” is the plural form of “solo”)

sylvan = regarding a wood or forest (although often a reference to something living within a wood, referring to a person, spirit, or tree)

thee = (archaic) you

thy = (archaic) your

Filed Under: songs Tagged With: James Hardwick (author), song, SourceTrove, year1882

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