Old Folks at Home

E563143

"Old Folks at Home," also known by its opening line "Way Down Upon the Swanee River," is a famous 19th-century American minstrel song by composer Stephen Foster that became a widely recognized folk standard.

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf 19th-century song ⓘ
song ⓘ
alsoKnownAs Way Down Upon the Swanee River ⓘ
associatedWith antebellum South imagery ⓘ
commissionedBy E. P. Christy ⓘ
composer Stephen Foster ⓘ
containsDialectLyrics African-American dialect caricature ⓘ
countryOfOrigin United States ⓘ
culturalStatus widely recognized American song ⓘ
decade 1850s ⓘ
designatedStateSongOf Florida ⓘ
firstLineOfChorus All the world is sad and dreary ⓘ
firstPerformer E. P. Christy ⓘ
genre American popular song ⓘ
folk standard ⓘ
minstrel music ⓘ
hasChorus Yes ⓘ
hasEnduringPopularity true ⓘ
hasMelodicStyle simple, lyrical melody ⓘ
hasRaciallyProblematicContent true ⓘ
includedIn Stephen Foster song collections ⓘ
influenced American folk repertoire ⓘ
inspiredBy Suwannee River in Florida ⓘ
linked to: Suwannee River
key often performed in F major ⓘ
language English ⓘ
lyricist Stephen Foster ⓘ
lyricsRevisedToRemove racially offensive language ⓘ
melodyUsedIn various folk and popular arrangements ⓘ
openingLine Way down upon the Swanee River ⓘ
originalMedium sheet music ⓘ
partOf 19th-century American popular music canon ⓘ
performanceTradition blackface minstrelsy ⓘ
placeOfPublication New York City ⓘ
publicationYear 1851 ⓘ
publisher Firth, Pond & Co. ⓘ
riverMentioned Suwannee River ⓘ
setIn American South ⓘ
spellingInLyrics Swanee River ⓘ
stateSongLyricsRevisedBy Florida legislature ⓘ
linked to: Florida Legislature
stateSongStatus official state song of Florida (historically) ⓘ
subject life in the American South ⓘ
longing for home ⓘ
nostalgia ⓘ
theme memory of childhood home ⓘ
sorrow ⓘ
timeSignature 4/4 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Stephen Foster → notableWork → Old Folks at Home ⓘ
Suwannee River → namedIn → "Old Folks at Home" ⓘ
linked to: Old Folks at Home
Swanee → inspiredBy → Old Folks at Home ⓘ
This Way Is My Way → hasTrack → I Wonder How the Old Folks Are at Home ⓘ
linked to: Old Folks at Home
Mary Alden → notableWork → The Old Folks at Home ⓘ
linked to: Old Folks at Home