This is the title of a short biography of the life of Elizabeth Garrett, written by Ruth K. Hall. It’s no secret that I love biographies and autobiographies because they are, at least since James Boswell, intimate glimpses of people and their stories. Autobiographies are generally more intriguing to me than biographies; I like to see the epoch of history through the bias of a person actually living in it. This particular biography is short, perhaps written for a younger audience, and takes a positive spin on the central character. I’m guessing this is because the author knew the Garrett family. I suppose as far as living in the epoch and being in possession of biases, a biography written by a friend of the subject character is a close second to an autobiography…with one caveat. Most writers of autobiographies are willing to be honest about themselves, even some of the negative parts, but I’m not sure about the autobiographies written by friends. Those might well be a little glossier.
Regardless of this book’s honesty, Elizabeth Garrett is a character for New Mexicans to know. As her last name suggests, she was related to the famous sheriff who took out Billy the Kid. She was, in fact, his daughter, who was born blind. Due to her connections, she was part of the oeuvre of New Mexico, part of its lore and wild history. Through her father, she was part of the Anglo ranching culture, but through her mother, she was a New Mexican who spoke and understood Spanish fluently. She is also emblematic of my local area, where the Lincoln County wars took place. She lies at rest in the historic South Park Cemetery in Roswell, the name of which I have become familiar with, as I help to arrange funeral Masses in my job.
Most people outside the New Mexican world have heard of Pat Garrett, but her daughter also deserves her share of distinction. Her parents had the wherewithal to send her to a school for the blind in Austin, Texas — which was quite a train ride from her home at the time in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Her father desired that she learn to be independent instead of held back by her disability. More important, she learned the obvious skills of reading and writing in Braille, and the not so obvious skills of music. People who grow up blind have heightened senses of hearing, touch, and smell, but not everyone who grows up blind is blessed with a talent for music, as Elizabeth was. Through her musical lessons, she became a proficient singer and piano player, such that she was able to give lessons and support herself once she had graduated from the school.
As an adult, she had less fear than a lot of people who were born with sight, and arranged to sing her way to Chicago, where she wished to take singing lessons from a famous teacher. There was no guarantee the teacher would take her (he did), but that didn’t stop her from the adventure. After studying with him, she ventured on yet more travels and became somewhat famous as a performer. Part of her appeal was her ability to sing fluently Spanish folksongs she’d learned growing up.
But she is really famous in New Mexico for writing our state song, O Fair New Mexico. She used her non-sight senses to describe the landscape of the state and smattered the verses with Spanish words here and there. To be honest, I didn’t appreciate the New Mexico song until I knew more about the writer. It’s not badly written; that’s not it. I didn’t appreciate it as much as I did the Spanish state song (yes, we have that, too: Asi es Nuevo Mejico). Everything sounds better in Spanish. Yes, I’m biased. The writer of that song, Amadeo Lucero, deserves his own post.
Life in New Mexico at the time both these musicians lived was not easy, you see. It was the Wild West. It’s still the Wild West. We’ve barely managed to become civilized in this state, I’m sorry to say. That’s why crime is so high in almost every city and rural pocket. Elizabeth Garrett’s father was murdered, shot in the back, by men who were never convicted of the crime. This left her mother impoverished, and without her musical education, Elizabeth would have had a hard time getting by. Despite the pain and struggles, Miss Garrett and Mr. Lucero, as well, loved the beautiful land they were born in. And it shows in their respective songs. I’ll paste the lyrics to Elizabeth Garrett’s below, as this post is about her.
Under a sky of azure, where balmy breezes blow,
Kissed by the golden sunshine, is Nuevo Mejico.
Home of the Montezuma, with fiery hearts aglow,
State of the deeds historic, is Nuevo Mejico.
[Chorus]
Oh! Fair New Mexico, we love, we love you so,
Our hearts with pride o’erflow,
No matter where we go.
Oh! Fair New Mexico, we love, we love you so,
The grandest state we know — New Mexico!
Rugged and high sierras, with deep canyons below,
Dotted with fertile valleys, is Nuevo Mejico.
Fields full of sweet alfalfa, richest perfumes bestow,
State of apple blossoms, is Nuevo Mejico.
[Chorus]
Days that are full of heart-dreams, nights when the moon hangs low;
Beaming its benedictions, o’er Nuevo Mejico.
Land with its bright mañana, coming through weal and woe;
State of esperanza, is Nuevo Mejico.
[Chorus]
source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/statesongslyrics/newmexicostatesonglyrics.html
Jill Domschot 