Virginia Belle

During the times of Stephen Foster, in the 19th century, 25% of the children never lived past childhood.  Families anticipated the possibility of losing a child, so many made that first birthday an important occasion

Sierra Mae Lamar--a missing child

.  The sensitive lyrics of Stephen Foster reveals his understanding of the culture of his times and the common thread that existed among many people, with the loss of a child.

But still Foster's songs have an aura of hope, of something precious, something beautiful to be found in one's grief or whatever tragedy befalls a person.  He surely understood that, suffering from alcoholism, the loss of his family and his eventual descent into poverty, where he worked for mere pennies in the saloons of the period.

The song Virginia Belle is one of Foster's lesser known songs, but the beauty of it again underlines Foster's talent as a musician as well as his ability to tell the stories of his time.  He was that troubadour of old at a time when newspapers were in business but when music also was used to convey emotions and ideas.  The preciousness of life was underlined by the hardships of the time, early death of children, hard work, plagues, illnesses, financial difficulties.  This song gives us a view into the world of those times, with the song that captures not just the feelings then but the emotions of everyone who has suffered the loss of a child or who waits for the lost one to return home.  For loss, as Foster observes in a number of his songs, is not just a physical one.

Hard Times Come Again No More

bags for the homeless

Stephen Foster captured the times in which he lived, as he observed people struggling during the 19th century.  His music takes the events of those days and makes them real in the modern world, as the wish is that hard times be lifted from the shoulders of the poor.

Foster knew poverty himself.  He struggled with alcoholic demons.  He performed wherever he could, sometimes just for pennies.  Like the musicians of today, his talents were sometimes not recognized for the value they gave others, although some of his other songs like "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" were popular favorites.  This hard times song is seldom heard by comparison to other Stephen Foster songs, but it demonstrates the perception and compassion of the writer, with the lyrics that talk about how difficult it was, and still is, to survive in a world where poverty virtually becomes a forever state for many people.

Hard Times Come Again No More is a statement from the past but a plea for the future, that the poor not be forgotten and that the pain and trouble that come with having little or nothing be understood by others and that compassionate response be made.

The song is done only with a harmonica here: