Swanee River
Composer:
Stephen Foster
Genre: World / Folk
Decade: before 1923
Submitted by: Russell Ambrose
Description:
From Wikipedia:"Old Folks at Home"1851 editionMusic by Stephen FosterLyrics by Stephen FosterPublished 1851Language EnglishForm Strophic with chorus"Old Folks at Home" (also known as "Swanee River") is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. It was intended to be performed by the New York blackface troupe Christy`s Minstrels. E. P. Christy, the troupe`s leader, appears on early printings of the sheet music as the song`s creator. Christy had paid Foster to be credited, something Foster himself had suggested though later regretted. It has been the official state song of Florida since 1935.[1]According to legend,[1] Foster had most of the lyrics but was trying to give a name to the river of the opening line and asked his brother to suggest one. The first suggestion was "Yazoo" (in Mississippi), which despite fitting the melody perfectly, Foster rejected. The second suggestion was "Pee Dee" (in South Carolina), to which Foster said, "Oh pshaw! I won`t have that." His brother then consulted an atlas and called out "Suwannee!" Foster said "That`s it exactly!" He wrote it in immediately (misspelling it "Swanee" to fit the melody).[2] Foster himself never saw the Suwannee or even visited Florida, but the popularity of the song initiated tourism to Florida to see the river.
by: Russell Ambrose