Aura Lea


"Aura Lea" is an American Civil War song about a maiden. It was written by W. W. Fosdick and George R. Poulton. The melody was used in Elvis Presley's 1956 hit song "Love Me Tender".

History


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Aura Lea was published by Poulton, an Englishman who had come to the USA with his family as a boy in 1838, and Fosdick in 1861. It was a sentimental ballad at a time when upbeat and cheerful songs were more popular in the music halls. It became popular as a minstrel song, and the tune was also taken up by the U.S. Military Academy as a graduating class song, called "Army Blue"; new lyrics by L. W. Becklaw were sung to the original melody.
The Civil War began shortly after the song's release; "Aura Lea" was adopted by soldiers on both sides, and was often sung around campfires.
The tune is familiar to modern audiences from the 1956 Elvis Presley #1 hit "Love Me Tender" with new lyrics by Ken Darby, a derivative adaptation of the original. A later Presley recording for the film The Trouble with Girls entitled "Violet " also used the melody of "Aura Lea".

Lyrics

The lyrics as written by Fosdick:

In popular culture