'Twas Only an Irishman's Dream: The Image of Ireland and the Irish in American Popular Song Lyrics, 1800-1920 (Music in American Life)

The image of the Irish in the United States changed drastically over time, from that of hard-drinking,
rioting Paddies to genial, patriotic working-class citizens.
In 'Twas Only an Irishman's
Dream, William H. A. Williams traces the change in this image through
more than 700 pieces of sheet music--popular songs from the stage and
for the parlor--to show how Americans' opinions of Ireland and the Irish
went practically from one extreme to the other.
Because sheet music was a
commercial item it had to be acceptable to the broadest possible song-buying
public. "Negotiations" about their image involved Irish songwriters,
performers, and pressured groups, on the one hand, and non-Irish writers,
publishers, and audiences on the other. Williams ties the contents of
song lyrics to the history of the Irish diaspora, suggesting how ethnic
stereotypes are created and how they evolve within commercial popular
culture.