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Show 222 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY [The following song was composed by Charles L. Walker, the poet laureate of Dixie, sometime during the late 1860's. It was sung at a concert in the St. George Hall during one of President Brigham Young's and President George A. Smith's periodic visits to the Cotton Mission. It became a favorite and was sung on numerous occasions by Walker and others, especially Samuel L. Adams. It has taken its place today in well-known folk music] ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON Oh, what a desert place was this When first the Mormons found it; They said no white men here could live And Indians prowled around it. They said the land it was no good, And the water was no gooder, And the bare idea of living here, Was enough to make men shudder. CHORUS Mesquite, soap root, prickly-pears and briars, St. George ere long will be a place That every one admires. Now green lucerne in verdant spots Bedecks our thriving city, Whilst vines and fruit trees grace our lots, With flowers sweet and pretty. Where once the grass in single blades Grew a mile apart in distance, And it kept the crickets on the go, To pick up their subsistence. CHORUS The sun it is so scorching hot, It makes the water siz, Sir. The reason why it is so hot, Is just because it is, Sir. The wind like fury here does blow, That when we plant or sow, Sir, We place one foot upon the seed, And hold it till it grows, Sir. |
