"Rose of Alabama" - an old minstrel song written by Silas S. Steele (1846) and arranged for stick dulcimer.

The following song is in ABC music format and it should be cut and pasted into an ABC converter program like the "ABC Convert-A-Matic" on www.concertina.net. Once you submit your ABC file, the converter will produce a quick and dirty .jpg image of your musical score which is then displayed on screen. Above the music, in the center of the screen, you should be able to see these three links:

The first link will allow you to hear your music as played on a midi player, which is great for learning what a new song is supposed to (kind of) sound like. It's great if you are not sure of the timing of the music. The second link converts the ABC source into a .pdf image of your music which you can then save and/or print to yield prettier sheet music. Then, if you want to view the ABC source again, you can click on the third link. However, to edit your ABC source, you best click on your browser's back arrow to take you back to the original text box holding your ABC source.

[Note: This ABC converter on Concertina.net replaces the FolkInfo.org converter which has closed down.

Update: The old FolkInfo.org ABC converter is now being hosted at this URL: http://mandolintab.net/abcconverter.php]

Well, I like this song, and I hope you do as well. Enjoy:

X:1
T:Rose of Alabama
C:Silas S. Steele
O:America, 1846
M:2/4
L:1/8
K:G
D | G3/2 A/2 G D | E G c e | d3/2 B/2 A G | B A  E
w:0 3 4 3 0 1 3 6 8 7 5  4 3 5 4 1
w:V1:~A-way from Mis-sis-sip-pi's vale, With my ol' hat there for a sail,
w:V2:~I land-ed on the far sand bank, I sat up-on a hol-low plank,
w:V3:~Oh, af-ter d'rect-ly, bye and bye, The moon rose white as Ro-sie's eye,
F |G3/2 A/2 G D | E G c e | d3/2 B/2 A c | B G z  z |]
w:2 3 4 3 0 1 3 6 8 7 5 4 6 5 3
w:V1:~I cross'd up-on a cot-ton bale, To Rose of A-la-bam-a.
w:V2:~And there I made my ban-jo twank, For Rose of A-la-bam-a.
w:V3:~Then like a young coon out so sly, Stole Rose of A-la-bam-a.
w:~
w:Verses~4,~5~&~6:
D | G3/2 A/2 G D | E G c e | d3/2 B/2 A G | B A E
w:0 3 4 3 0 1 3 6 8 7 5  4 3 5 4 1
w:V4:~I said, "Sit down just where you please." Up-on my lap she took her ease.
w:V5:~The riv-er rose, the cric-ket sang, The light-nin' bug did flash his wing.
w:V6:~We hugged how long I can not tell. My Ro-sie seemed to like it well.
F |G3/2 A/2 G D | E G c e | d3/2 B/2 A c | B G z  z |]
w:2 3 4 3 0 1 3 6 8 7 5 4 6 5 3
w:V4:~"It's good to go up-on the knees", Said Rose of A-la-bam-a.
w:V5:~Then like a rope my arms did fling, 'Round Rose of A-la-bam-a.
w:V6:~My ban-jo in the riv-er fell. Oh! Rose of A-la-bam-a.
w:~
w:Verses~7,~8~&~9:
D | G3/2 A/2 G D | E G c e | d3/2 B/2 A G | B A E
w:0 3 4 3 0 1 3 6 8 7 5  4 3 5 4 1
w:V7:~Like al-li-ga-tor af-ter prey, I jump in but it float a-way,
w:V8:~Now ev'-ry night come rain or shower, I hunt that ban-jo for an hour;
w:V9:~Oh fare thee well you belles of Spain, And fare thee well to Li-za Jane,
F |G3/2 A/2 G D | E G c e | d3/2 B/2 A c | B G z  z |]
w:2 3 4 3 0 1 3 6 8 7 5 4 6 5 3
w:V7:~And all the while it seem to say, "Oh Rose of A-la-bam-a."
w:V8:~And see my sweet to-bac-co flower, Oh Rose of A-la-bam-a.
w:V9:~Your charms will all be put to shame, By Rose of A-la-bam-a.
w:~
w:Chorus:
c2 c2 | c c2  c | c3/2 c/2 d3/2 e/2 | d B2
w:Oh, brown Ro-sie, the Rose of A-la-bam-a.
w:6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 8 7 5
G | G3/2 A/2 G D | E/2 G3/2 c e | d3/2 B/2 A3/2 c/2 | B G2 z
w:A sweet to-bac-co po-sey Is my Rose of A-la-bam-a.
w:3 3 4 3 0 1 3 6 8 7 5 4 6 5 3
B | G3/2 A/2 G D | E/2 G3/2 c e | Hd3/2 B/2 A3/2 c/2 | B G2 z |]
w:A sweet to-bac-co po-sey Is my Rose of A-la-bam-a.
w:5 3 4 3 0 1 3 6 8 7 5 4 6 5 3
w:~