"Lorena" is an antebellum song with Northern origins.
The lyrics were written in 1856 by Rev. Henry D. L.
Webster, after a broken engagement. He wrote a long
poem about his fiancée but changed her name to
"Lorena", an adaptation of "Lenore" from Edgar Allan
Poe's poem "The Raven." Henry Webster's friend Joseph
Philbrick Webster wrote the music, and the song was
first published in Chicago in 1857. It became a
favorite of soldiers of both sides during the American
Civil War. Members of the Wester...(+)
"Lorena" is an antebellum song with Northern origins.
The lyrics were written in 1856 by Rev. Henry D. L.
Webster, after a broken engagement. He wrote a long
poem about his fiancée but changed her name to
"Lorena", an adaptation of "Lenore" from Edgar Allan
Poe's poem "The Raven." Henry Webster's friend Joseph
Philbrick Webster wrote the music, and the song was
first published in Chicago in 1857. It became a
favorite of soldiers of both sides during the American
Civil War. Members of the Western Writers of America
chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all
time.