Old Folks at Home
First release by Len Spencer (1892)
- Written by
- Stephen Foster [US1]
- Publication date
- 1851
- Language
- English
- Tags
- public domain
- Comments
-
Alternative title - '''Swanee River'''
The first lines of this work go as follows:
"Way down upon the Swanee River
Far, far away
That's where my heart is yearning ever
Home where the old folks stay..."
The song is thus also known as "Swanee River", which was a misspelling of Florida's Suwanee River. The name of the river was selected simply because it fit the music and Foster liked how it sounded. It was intended for performance by the blackface musical troupe "The Christy's Minstrels", who are also credited on the 1851 edition of the sheet music for the song. - Licensing
- Request a synchronization license