Cora, the Indian Maiden's Song explained

Cora, the Indian Maiden's Song
Cover:	CoraTheIndianMaidensSong1851.png
Caption:	Sheet music cover, 1851
Published:	1851
Composer:	Alexander Lee
Lyricist:	Shirley Brooks

"Cora, the Indian Maiden's Song" ("The Wild Free Wind") is a song written by Shirley Brooks for his burletta The Wigwam sometime before 1847. Alexander Lee composed the music. In the song, Cora, the Indian maiden, is praising the wind: "Oh! The wild free wind is a Spirit Kind, And it loves the Indians well." The song's chorus is:^[1]

In the 1847 London presentation of The Wigwam, Mary Keeley played Cora where she received high praise for her rendering of the song.^[2]

Bibliography

• Brooks, Shirley (w.); Lee, Alexander (m). "Cora, the Indian Maiden's Song" (Sheet music). New York: Firth, Pond & Co. (1851).
• The Musical World Vol. XXII (No. 7, Saturday, February 13, 1847). London: W.S Johnson (1847).

Notes and References

1. Brooks, "Cora, the Indian Maiden's Song" (sheet music).
2. The Musical World, p. 108: "The frontispiece is accompanied by a lithograph, purporting to be a likeness of Miss Mary Keeley, as she appeared singing Mr. Alexander Lee's song in Cora, in The Wigwam. Were the song no better than the likeness, we could hardly have awarded it so much praise as we have done."