"Home Sweet Home"
Popularized in the 1820s, “Home Sweet Home” was the single hit from the otherwise forgettable opera Clari, or The Maid of Milan, based on the play by John Howard Payne with music by Henry R. Bishop. It remained a popular parlor song throughout the nineteenth century and was a favorite of regimental bands during the Civil War. The tune evoked such powerful nostalgia for home and better times that some bands were forbidden from playing it, out of fear it might dampen morale and encourage desertion.
Popularized in the 1820s, “Home Sweet Home” was the single hit from the otherwise forgettable opera <em>Clari, or The Maid of Milan</em>, based on the play by John Howard Payne with music by Henry R. Bishop. It remained a popular parlor song throughout the nineteenth century and was a favorite of regimental bands during the Civil War. The tune evoked such powerful nostalgia for home and better times that some bands were forbidden from playing it, out of fear it might dampen morale and encourage desertion.