The Complicated Legacy of "My Old Kentucky Home"

My brother Alex and I have coauthored this essay in Smithsonian Magazine, about the anti-slavery origin of Stephen Foster’s song – now the state anthem of Kentucky, played at the Kentucky Derby and everywhere else: 

Here is the gist:

When the brightly decorated horses leave the stables at the re-scheduled Kentucky Derby this weekend, they’ll parade to the starting gates to the familiar tune “My Old Kentucky Home.” This year, in a tradition dating back to 1921, will mark the 100th time that the Stephen Foster song has been played before the race, the longest, continuously held sporting event in the United States.

Few of those singing along, however, may realize that the original lyrics were not a “Dixie”-esque paean but actually a condemnation of Kentucky’s enslavers who sold husbands away from their wives and mothers away from their children. As Foster wrote it, “My Old Kentucky Home” is actually the lament of an enslaved person who has been forcibly separated from his family and his painful longing to return to the cabin with his wife and children.

Here is Paul Robeson's recording:

 

Comments

[Ediberto Roman]

Thank you, Steven for the education. I very much appreciate it. Always love to learn!!

[Bill Turnier]

Thanks, Steve and please pass my thanks on to your brother. It was an eye opener for me. I have listed it at my FB site and passed word on to some family and friends with a link. Nice job.

[Steve L.]

Much appreciated, Ediberto and Bill.