Bronx banjo - Posted - 03/31/2020:  11:06:29

In Daniel Emmett's song Dixie, there is a phrase, "look away, Dixieland". It also occurs in some versions of the song, Shenandoah; "look away, you rollin' river". It must have had some meaning in the 19th century that hasn't carried over into modern usage. Anybody have a clue?

Texasbanjo - Posted - 03/31/2020:  11:21:39

How about this for a definition?

look away - avert one's gaze; "She looked away when the nurse pricked her arm with the needle" look - perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards; "She looked over the expanse of land"; "Look at your child!"; "Look--a deer in the backyard!" Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection

banjo bill-e - Posted - 03/31/2020:  12:05:37

But how does a river or a region "look away"? Or could it mean for people from afar to look TOWARDS that river or region? To look away from where you are back to something else?

EulalieBlue - Posted - 03/31/2020:  12:30:49

The 19th century left us a wealth of slang and idioms that seem to make no sense today. I guess you had to be there. There are dictionaries of 19th-century slang terms and idioms online, and I suppose you could spend a few sequestered days perusing this topic.

The American 19th century was the age of Mark Twain, who had his clever way with words, but it was a time of less irony in general. I would say the phrase "look away" in the context of Emmett's "Dixie's Land" is not all that obscure. It just means "look toward" as in "remember with affection."

As an aside, I just finished a good biography of Stephen Foster a few months ago, Doo-dah!: Stephen Foster And The Rise Of American Popular Culture, by Ken Emerson. It was equally charming and amusing to learn that Foster's first band was called "Five Nice Young Men."

EulalieBlue - Posted - 03/31/2020:  12:34:48

quote:

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Originally posted by banjo bill-e

But how does a river or a region "look away"? Or could it mean for people from afar to look TOWARDS that river or region? To look away from where you are back to something else?

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The lyric actually suggests that the singer or audience "look away" toward the river or region, meaning "fondly recall."

Bronx banjo - Posted - 03/31/2020:  13:22:14

That’s right. Those are the meanings that we’re familiar with. I thought there must have been some other obsolete meaning that has been lost to us because the current meanings make no sense to me in the context of those songs.

Bronx banjo - Posted - 03/31/2020:  13:25:26

Wow, these are all great suggestions.

Owen - Posted - 03/31/2020:  19:29:19

....from 'way out beyond the "left field" fence:  ...imagine? ...look with the mind's eye?