*Note: All italics are quotes from the book Singing Indiana History by Martha Chrisman Riley.
"Honest Abe. He earned that name in Indiana, and it followed him throughout his life. Abraham Lincoln stood for honesty, plain talk, story telling, and democracy. On the Indiana soil Abe grew to be a man. Indiana nurtured Abraham Lincoln."
Lincoln once said that his mother's favorite ballad was "Barbara Allen'. If so, he must have heard it often as a child:
One of Abraham Lincoln's favorite songs was "Blue-Tail Fly" also known as "Jimmy Crack Corn." He called it that "buzzing song", and even played the tune on his harmonica.
Abraham Lincoln's mother read the Bible daily to her family and encouraged her children to read it as well. She also sang hymns and spiritual songs. One of her favorite hymns was "Wayfaring Stranger". This is a folk hymn. It was not composed for a hymn book, but rather originated in the souther Appalacian mountains and was passed on by oral tradition.
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