The Eleanor Polka
New Ulm Roots Music
Hard to believe it’s been almost thirty years since we celebrated the 100th Birthday of Eleanor Furth, my maternal grandmother in New Ulm, Minnesota. She was a force of nature, and I wrote a special song to commemorate the occasion called The Eleanor Polka. On September 7, 1997 we had a big family picnic up at Herman’s Heights park where the statue of Herman the German towers over the town.
When the German immigrants arrived in southern Minnesota they brought with them their customs, food, and music from the old country. Every year in New Ulm there was a giant Polka Festival….later dubbed the “Heritage Fest” which featured numerous polka dance bands…and plenty of beer. I thought it only proper to compose a polka to celebrate the life of Eleanor. I used my Tascam 4-track cassette recorder to create this version by overdubbing tuba, accordion and horn parts with a Yamaha keyboard.
VERSE 1:
Where the Minnesota River…runs through the Sioux hunting ground
The Germans came to settle…and called their town New Ulm
A Henle girl got married…to a boy named Furth
And soon they had six children…who have spread across this earth
CHORUS:
Eleanor is a hundred today…we’re gonna dance the night away
And count our blessings while we can….Eleanor is a centenarian!
She’s as strong as she can be…she lit the way for us all to see
She taught us how to hope and pray…Eleanor is a hundred today!
VERSE 2:
Through the wars and weary winters…she kept us warm with love
The scrapes, the scars, the splinters…were healed by her faith in God above
And as the years roll by us…He waits at heaven’s door
To welcome home an angel…whose name is Eleanor
REPEAT CHORUS
Copyright 1997 Shadric Smith All Rights Reserved
Supposed To Be Music
Please check out my previous Substack post on February 16, 2024 for another song Eleanor inspired called Thank You Grandma For Saying A Prayer! Thanks for reading and listening this far! Have a great day!