The Old Folks At Home, (Way Down Upon the Suwanee River). AS NEW oversize binder

Foster, Stephen Collins et al.

Published by White and Allen, New York & London, 1888

About this Item

Octavo, [23.5cm/9inches], paperbound with pictorial covers, unpaginated. Illustrated by G. W.Brenneman; and with 2-page music score. This is the version with "darkies" for the blacks. . "Old Folks at Home" (also known as "Swanee River" is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. Since 1935 it has been the official state song of Florida, although in 2008 the original lyrics were expurgated. "Old Folks at Home" in print was credited to E. P. Christy on early sheet music printings. Christy had paid Foster to be credited, which Foster himself had suggested but later came to regret. Foster had composed most of the lyrics but was struggling to name 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, was rejected by Foster. 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!" Adding it to the lyrics, he purposely misspelled it as "Swanee" to fit the melody. In exceptionally good condition. Seller Inventory # 25405

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Old Folks At Home, (Way Down Upon the ...

Publisher: White and Allen, New York & London

Publication Date: 1888

Binding: Stiff Boards