"Old Folks at Home"

[Laurence Horn]

At 10:39 AM -0500 1/19/10, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>When we sang the song in fifth grade, in a NYC public school, the chorus had
>already been changed to the harmless, if vaguely Christian, "Oh, brothers!"
>
>
>JL


I don't know.  I think "Oh, siblings!" would have been more foresightful.

LH

>
>
>
>On Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 10:30 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  -----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>>  Subject:      Re: "Old Folks at Home"
>>
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  Tom, see the Wikipedia article for discussion and the original
>>  lyrics, as first adopted by Florida and not changed until 2008:
>>
>>      1st verse
>>      Way down upon de Swanee ribber (river)
>>      Far, far away,
>>      Dere's wha my heart is turning ebber,
>>      Dere's wha de old folks stay.
>>
>>      All up and down de whole creation
>>      Sadly I roam,
>>      Still longing for de old plantation
>>      And for de old folks at home.
>>
>>          Chorus
>>          All de world am sad and dreary,
>>          Ebry where I roam,
>>          Oh! darkies how my heart grows weary,
>>          Far from de old folks at home.
>>
>>      2nd verse
>>      All round de little farm I wandered
>>      When I was young,
>>      Den many happy days I squandered,
>>      Many de songs I sung.
>>
>>      When I was playing wid my brudder
>>      Happy was I
>>      Oh! take me to my kind old mudder,
>>      Dere let me live and die.
>>
>>          Chorus
>>
>>      3rd verse
>>      One little hut amond de bushes,
>>      One dat I love,
>>      Still sadly to my mem'ry rushes,
>>      No matter where I rove
>>
>>      When will I see de bees a humming
>>      All round de comb?
>>      When will I hear de banjo tumming
>>      Down in my good old home?
>>
>>  (I imagine it's still offensive as the Florida state song to the
>>  "darkies".)
>>
>>  Joel
>>
>>  At 1/19/2010 10:19 AM, Tom Zurinskas wrote:
>>  >It seems like this song is from a "darkie" singing to his fellow
>>  >darkies.  It was written by a whitie.
>>  >
>>  >Official Song of the State of Florida
>>  >The Swanee River (Old Folks at Home)
>>  >
>>  >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:
>>
>>  ------------------------------------------------------------
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>>
>
>
>
>--
>"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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