Kern–SB, Make Believe, Hadley and von stade, Avery Fisher

A riverboat gambler, named Gaylord Ravenal, has been told to move along to another town; he’s no longer wanted in Natchez. He is a drifter, without any purpose other than to find a good game of cards to sit in on. For the moment, he can find no game and walks down to the river to ponder his future. He can go upstream or downstream, but his life is tied to the flow of the boats along the Mississippi River.

He sings of his gambling habit (“I drift along with my fancy”), but he also sings of his inner loneliness and wonders “where’s the mate for me.”

As his song ends, he hears someone practicing on the piano. The sound is coming from the Cotton Blossom. He listens and waits and is rewarded when the pianist appears. Her name is Magnolia Hawkes, daughter of the boat’s owner, Captain Andy Hawkes. She sees the tall handsome stranger and responds to his questions about playing the piano. Remembering that she must not talk to strangers without a proper introduction, she starts to pull back.

Gaylord stops her from leaving by inventing a game the two can play: they can make believe that they have been introduced and what they might say to each other.

Because these songs occur in close proximity to each other, many recordings include both songs together, along with the short dialogue needed to introduce the audience to the song, “Make Believe.”

In the historic 1988 restoration recording by John McGlinn and EMI, Frederica von Stade played the role of Magnolia and the late Jerry Hadley played Ravenal. They also reprised their 1988 recording in a later live concert at Avery Fisher Hall.