It seems that around 1915 Tin Pan Alley discovered the American South--"Dixie"--as some kind of paradise. Yes, of course there had been many songs about the South from minstrel days on, but now it became a virtual industry, with New York songwriters who had probably never gone as far south as Philadelphia writing about moonlight, magnolias, and mammies. "(They Made It Twice as Nice as Paradise) And They Called It Dixieland", "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody" "In 1960 You'll Find Dixie Looking Just the Same" etc. are some songs from that era. (Around the same time, songwriters also discovered the even more paradisal Hawaii. See http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/uMsAAOSwr7ZW6HLP/s-l300.jpg for "Since They're Playin' Hawaiian Tunes in Dixie," an obvious attempt to combine the two crazes. [1] (Ian Whitcomb, author of *After the Ball*, a history of popular music, once asked some old-time Alleymen why there was this sudden eruption of Dixie and Hawaii circa 1915, and never really got a satisfying answer. They mumbled about it being "the thing" or "what people wanted" and added, "Aren't you more interested in today, kid? Look, I got a great new song here that you can really rock up." https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8whDTQtXowC&pg=PA1935) The craze soon died down somewhat, but the South long remained a favorite theme of American popular music.
Now here's my what-if-the-South-won-the-ACW question: We'll assume there were no further wars between the USA and CSA, and indeed that diplomatic relations between the two republics are at least correct. But *culturally* will northerners be as likely to glorify a place that beat them in a war? Would there be as many sentimental (northern) songs about Dixie if it had won the war?
[1] An ideal song from 1917-18 would combine Dixie, Hawaii, and Beating the Heck Out of the Kaiser. However, I have not yet been able to locate such a song.
Now here's my what-if-the-South-won-the-ACW question: We'll assume there were no further wars between the USA and CSA, and indeed that diplomatic relations between the two republics are at least correct. But *culturally* will northerners be as likely to glorify a place that beat them in a war? Would there be as many sentimental (northern) songs about Dixie if it had won the war?
[1] An ideal song from 1917-18 would combine Dixie, Hawaii, and Beating the Heck Out of the Kaiser. However, I have not yet been able to locate such a song.