Title: Way down upon the Suwannee River Source:
[None] URL Source:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S0keeGIgcY Published:Mar 22, 2010 Author:TomMold1138 Post Date:2016-09-01 08:08:20 by BTP Holdings Keywords:None Views:555 Comments:13
Uploaded on Mar 22, 2010
My drive to Florida landed me in the Suwannee River area.
"Old Folks at Home"
written by Stephen Foster in 1851
Performed by Pete Seeger as part of his historical "American Favorite Ballads" recordings for the Smithsonian Folkways label in the 1960's
This song has been edited to remove one line of verse.
The song, "My Old Kentucky Home," words and music by Stephen Collins Foster, was adopted by the Kentucky Legislature as the Kentucky state song on March 19, 1928.
In March, 1986, a group of Japanese students visiting the Kentucky General Assembly changed the song forever. To pay their respects, the group sang "My Old Kentucky Home." Upon hearing the phrase, " 'Tis summer, the darkies are gay," Representative Carl Hines (Democrat-Louisville), the only black member of the House, was quoted as saying that the lyrics of the rendition "convey connotations of racial descrimination that are not acceptable." Within the week, he sponsored a bill which the House passed, House resolution 159, which officiated the modern lyrics with the line, 'Tis summer, the people are gay." Hines substantiated the bill, citing that the original lyrics were offensive, owing no respect toward African-Americans.