Sunday, February 28, 2016

"OLD FOLKS AT HOME" aka "SWANEE RIVER"

PLEASE NOTE: Socio-economic conditions were very, very different in 1851 from today.


STEPHEN FOSTER IS ONE OF THE FORGOTTEN SONGWRITERS OF AMERICA TODAY----


Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826 – January 13, 1864), known as "the father of American music", was an American songwriter primarily known for his parlor and minstrel music. Foster wrote over 200 songs; among his best-known are "Oh! Susanna", "Camptown Races", "Old Folks at Home", "My Old Kentucky Home", "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair", "Old Black Joe", and "Beautiful Dreamer". Many of his compositions remain popular more than 150 years after he wrote them. His compositions are thought to be autobiographical. He has been identified as "the most famous songwriter of the nineteenth century", and may be the most recognizable American composer in other countries. His compositions are sometimes referred to as "childhood songs" because they are included in the music curriculum of early education. Most of his handwritten music manuscripts are lost but copies printed by publishers of his day can be found in various collections (from Wikipedea)


The lyrics of Swanee River are seldom sung but the tune is one of the best loved in our country.

Stephen Foster, 1851
Way down upon the Swanee River,
Far, far away
That's where my heart is turning ever
That's where the old folks stay
All up and down the whole creation,
Sadly I roam
Still longing for the old plantation
And for the old folks at home
Chorus:
All the world is sad and dreary everywhere I roam
Oh darkies, how my heart grows weary
Far from the old folks at home
2. All 'round the little farm I wandered,
When I was young
Then many happy days I squandered,
Many the songs I sung
When I was playing with my brother,
Happy was I
Oh, take me to my kind old mother,
There let me live and die
Chorus:
2. One little hut among the bushes,
One that I love
Still sadly to my mem'ry rushes,
No matter where I rove
When shall I see the bees a humming,
All 'round the comb
When shall I hear the banjo strumming,
Down by my good old home
Chorus:





GLENN <><
JUST WEST OF YESTERDAY

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