Читать книгу Sisters In Song; Women Hymn Writers - Leslie Clay - Страница 12

1858-1927

“Keep on the Sunny Side”

In the late 1800s, Ada often took care of her nephew, who had been disabled in an accident. On pleasant days, she would take him out in his wheelchair. He always enjoyed these trips, and didn’t care where they went, nor did he complain. In all her years of pushing him, he had only one request: “Please, Aunt Ada, just keep me on the sunny side of the street.”

In 1899, after one of their trips down the sunny side of the street, she wrote this poem inspired by her nephew’s attitude and her Christian viewpoint. The song became popular in many Southern revival meetings. One person who was impressed by its message was music teacher Laish Carter, who introduced it to his brother, A.P. Carter. A.P. had formed a music trio called the Carter family, consisting of A.P., wife Sara, and sister-in-law Maybelle. The group made the song famous around the country. By 1928, it was on the nation’s top ten list. It had another revival when it was featured in the film, O Brother, Where Art Thou in 2000.