Old Folks at Home

This item is part of the I. G. Greer Folksong Collection which consists of more than 300 individual song titles and their variants as collected by Isaac Garfield Greer (1881-1967) from informants, primarily in Ashe, Wilkes and Watauga counties. The collection includes manuscripts, typescript transcriptions produced by Dr. Greer’s clerical staff, and handwritten musical notations. Songs range from traditional Child Ballads, traditional English and Scottish ballads as well as their American variants, to 19th century popular music to musical compositions of local origin.

Popular music--United States

Homesickness--Songs and music

Memories--Songs and music

Family--Songs and music

Enslaved persons--Songs and music

Way Down Upon the Swanee River, Suawnee River

Foster, Stephen Collins, 1826-1864

AC.113 Isaac Garfield (I.G.) Greer Papers and Recordings

W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Appalachian State University

Greer, I. G. (Isaac Garfield), 1881-1967

PDF

English

Text

Old Folks at Home

Way down upon the Swanee ribber
Far far away
Dars where my heart is turning ebber
Dars whar de old folks play
All up and down de old plantation
Daddy I roam, Still longing for de old
Plantation and for de Old Folks at Home.

Chorus

2nd
All dis world am sad and dreary
Ebry where I roam
O darkeys don’t your hearts grow weary
Far from de old folks at home

3rd
All round de little farms I wandered
When I was young
‘Dem 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 lib and die

4th
One little hut among de bushes
One dat I love. Still sadly to my memory rushes
No matter where I roam. When will I see de
Bees a humming, all round de comb
When will I hear the banjo tuning
Down in my good old home

Chorus

I hope you can read this terrible
writing and learn to play this nicely
If you have any wandering Jew
please send us a little
by Willy and come over.
Much love from
Emma & Ellis

Emma, Ellis

Willy

1851

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