"Mary Blane", also known as "Mary Blain" and other variants, is an American song that was popularized in the

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of portraying racial stereotypes of Afr ...

. Several different versions are known, but all feature a male protagonist singing of his lover Mary Blane, her abduction, and eventual death. "Mary Blane" was by far the most popular female

captivity Captivity, or being held captive, is a state wherein humans or other animals are confined to a particular space and prevented from leaving or moving freely. An example in humans is imprisonment. Prisoners of war are usually held in captivity by a ...

song in

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum architectu ...

minstrelsy.

Lyrics

"Mary Blane" has at least five different sets of lyrics, the most of any song of its type.Mahar 284. All tell the same typical

Victorian-era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

captivity narrative Captivity narratives are typically personal accounts of people who have been captured by an enemy, generally a enemy with a foreign culture. The best-known captivity narratives in North America are those concerning Europeans and Americans taken ...

: A woman is kidnapped or captured and may do no more than await rescue by a male protagonist or suffer at the hands of her captors.Mahar 283. In most variants, the male singer and the female victim are married or longtime lovers. The lyrics usually begin by describing the history and current condition of their relationship prior to the abduction:Mahar 293. :I once did know a pretty Gal, :And took her for my wife :She came from

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, :And I lik'd her as my life. :We happy lib'd together :She nebber caus'd me pain, :But on one dark and dreary night :I lost my Mary Blane.Words by F. C. German, arranged by

J. H. Howard J, or j, is the tenth letter of the English alphabet. J may also refer to: * Palatal approximant in the International Phonetic Alphabet * J, Cyrillic letter Je Astronomy * J, a provisional designation prefix for some objects discovered bet ...

(1847). "Mary Blane". New York City: Firth and Hall. Quoted in Mahar 291. The identity of Mary Blane's abductors varies. In one edition, "A nigger come to my old hut"; in another "De white man come into my house, / And took poor Mary Blane". Yet another variant makes the captors American Indians.1848. "Mary Blane". New York City: William VanDerbeek. Quoted in Mahar 292. Another makes them Northern

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

, thus poking fun at the

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

rescues carried out by some abolitionists. The male protagonist then pines for his lost love and wallows in self-pity in later verses and during the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

: :Oh, Farewell, Farewell poor Mary Blane :One Faithful heart will think of you :Farewell, Farewell poor Mary Blane :If we ne'er meet again. The song usually ends tragically, with the lover confused and unable to take action or learning of Mary's death. In the odd version where the lovers are reunited, Mary Blane dies shortly thereafter: :I took her home unto my hut, :My heart was in great pain, :But afore de sun did shone next day :Gone dead was Mary Blane. Some variants go into lurid detail about the treatment Mary receives. In one, she is tied to a tree,

tarred and feathered Tarring and feathering is a form of public torture where a victim is stripped naked, or stripped to the waist, while wood tar (sometimes hot) is either poured or painted onto the person. The victim then either has feathers thrown on them or is ...

, and ultimately killed. The song thus highlights two of minstrelsy's most common

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

-defined roles: the objectified and silent woman, and the pining male. Minstrel troupes cobbled together texts from different sources and appended or removed verses. As a result, some editions contain entire

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse (poetry), a line or lines in a poetic composition * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict meter or rhyme, but still re ...

s that break the flow of the narrative. Others feature

nonsense Nonsense is a form of communication, via speech, writing, or any other formal logic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. In ordinary usage, nonsense is sometimes synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwri ...

verses and

stock phrase Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporation in proportion t ...

s from other songs that have nothing to do with the song. Some variants may have been intended for certain types of audiences or local to certain regions.

Structure and performance

"Mary Blane" was sung to two entirely different

melodies A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term ca ...

. The first is 36–40 measures long and consists of a prelude, a three-part chorus, and a

postlude Auxiliary members {{Short pages monitor