Southern Belle--The Song

In 1940, the Kansas City Southern Lines introduced the new Southern Belle passenger trains between Kansas City and New Orleans. To promote these trains, the railway published sheet music for a new song entitled Southern Belle, by Cecil Taylor (not the jazz pianist of the same name). Parts of the song were used in an 18-minute color film that was produced by The Calvin Company of Kansas City to publicize the new trains.

Collection of Dr. Nick Muff

Use the audio controls below this paragraph to play a MIDI of the music on your computer. The lyrics appear father down so that you can sing along. The vocal melody is carried by the clarinet, which begins eleven seconds into the piano accompaniment. The MIDI was produced for the KCSHS by Mr. John McDonnell. (Find his other MIDI's here.)

If you don't see the audio controls above, click here to play the music. You can download and save the MIDI by right-clicking the same link.

SOUTHERN BELLE
by Cecil Taylor

Sweet mag-no-li-as
Stole their sweet-ness from you,
Ro-ses too,
And I knew from the start
You had sto-len my heart:

SOUTH-ERN BELLE,
In your eyes
Is the gleam of Dix-ie skies,
You're my dreams of Par-a-dise
All come true:
SOUTH-ERN BELLE,
You're the thrill
That can make my heart stand still,
And I pray some day you will say "I do!"
You're a pic-ture in your crin-o-line
And, honey, you're a peach
In a trim suit,
Or a gym suit,
Or a swim suit on the beach;
SOUTH-ERN BELLE,
When you dance
You're the es-sence of ro-mance;
In a sin-gle word, you're swell,
SOUTH-ERN BELLE