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"Old Folks at Home" (also known as "Swanee River") is a folk 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 revised . [ 1 ]
Old Folks" is a 1938 popular song and jazz standard composed by Willard Robison with lyrics by Dedette Lee Hill, the wife and occasional colleague of Billy Hill. The lyrics tell of an old man nicknamed "Old Folks" and reference his service in the American Civil War , his habit of smoking with a " yellow cob pipe ", and the prospect of his death.
] "Old Folks at Home", designated the official state song of Florida in 1935, [25] came under attack for what some regarded as offensive terms in the song's lyrics. Changes were made to them with the approval of the Stephen Foster Memorial .
[11] Senator Jim King suggested a compromise, in which "Florida (Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky)" was designated as the State Anthem, and a Bowdlerized version of "Old Folks at Home" remained as the state song. [17] The new lyrics of "Old Folks at Home" were approved by scholars at the Stephen Foster Memorial at the University of Pittsburgh. [18]
The song is a melancholic account about old people who spend their final days in an old folks' home. They are lonely, lethargic and lost all their illusions. The refrain describes how they watch the pendulum of the clock swinging back and forth, which is mimicked in the musical arrangement. As much as they try to resist their old age death ...
This is a list of songs written by Stephen Foster (1826–1864) including those published posthumously. Foster may have written words and/or music for each song. Several of Foster's songs have alternate titles which are included in the "Title" column along with the original title. The original title is always given first.
Foster wrote the music and lyrics for "My Old Kentucky Home", adopted by Kentucky in 1928, and "Old Folks at Home" (better known as "Swanee Ribber" or "Suwannee River"), adopted by Florida in 1935. [1]
The song remained popular through the nineteenth century. The typical reduction of the song's title from "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" to "My Old Kentucky Home" occurred after the turn of the century. [14] The song's first verse and chorus are recited annually at the Kentucky Derby. Colonel Matt Winn introduced the song as a Derby ...