A Stephen Foster song, earned him a lot of money – but his name never appeared on it during his lifetime. The Swanee river is acutally the Suwannee river of Florida. I never realized where it was until seeing it accidentally on a map one time.  But the river comes to represent the stereotypical Southern … Continue reading Old Folks at Home →

Old Black Joe exemplifies Stephen Foster at his height of expression and grace.  Note that the song is devoid of any affectations of black dialect. The language is poetic. If one can take away the bias of the modern era, indeed the century and more that has passed since its composing, and see it as … Continue reading Old Black Joe →