Swanee River (Old Folks at Home)

The American folk song Swanee River, also known as Old Folks at Home, was written by Stephen Foster in 1851. It has been the official state song of Florida since 1935. Some people claim that the song is racist toward black people.

According to legend, Foster asked his brother to suggest a name for the river mentioned in the opening line. After a few unsatisfactory attempts, the brother said "Suwannee!". Stephen exclaimed "That's it exactly!"; but when he wrote it on paper, he misspelled it: "Swanee".

Widely considered the pre-eminent American songwriter in the nineteenth century, Stephen Collins Foster (1826 - 1864) wrote songs that remain popular long after they were written. Among them are Oh! Susanna, Camptown Races, Swanee River (Old Folks at Home), Hard Times Come Again No More, My Old Kentucky Home, Old Black Joe, and Beautiful Dreamer.

Tutorial At Tempo, then Slow

Sheetmusic arr. by Ricardo Bopprè

MP3