ABSTRACT
In America where ‘Twenty-One Years’ originated (the action usually taking place in Nashville, Tennessee), this is m ore o f a saga than a song. There are related pieces like ‘Down in the Valley’ and ‘Birm ingham Ja i l ’ , the subject being a com m on one. To our knowledge, the song has not been connected with a specific incident. M orris comments that ‘ this piece is a popular barn-dance number used by fiddling bands on radio program s. It is sung extensively by the rural folk o f F lorida.’
