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"My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" is a sentimental ballad written by
Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour and minstrel music during the Romantic period. He wrote more than 200 songs, inc ...
, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York. Foster was likely inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U ...
,'' as evidenced by the title of a sketch in Foster’s sketchbook, “Poor Uncle Tom, Good-Night!” Interpretations of the song vary widely.
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
wrote in his 1855 autobiography ''
My Bondage and My Freedom ''My Bondage and My Freedom'' is an autobiographical slave narrative written by Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social refo ...
'' that the song "awakens sympathies for the slave, in which antislavery principles take root, grow, and flourish". However, the song’s publication by Firth & Pond as a minstrel song and its use in “Tom shows” (stagings of Stowe’s novel of varying degrees of sincerity and faithfulness to the original text), and other settings, have clouded its reception.


Creation and career impact

The creation of the song "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" established a decisive moment within Stephen Foster's career in regard to his personal beliefs on the institution of slavery as following the publishing of the song, Foster began to abandon minstrelsy and writing music with African-American vernacular. It also is an example of the common theme of the loss of home, which is prevalent throughout Foster's work. Foster was greatly inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's abolitionist novel ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U ...
,'' which appeared in bookstores in Foster's hometown of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
in March 1852. The novel, written about the plight of a slave in Kentucky, had a profound effect on Foster's future songwriting by altering the tone of his music to sympathize the position of the enslaved person. In his notebook, Foster penned the lyrics inspired by Stowe's novel, initially named "Poor Old Uncle Tom, Good-Night!" Foster ultimately removed references to Stowe's book, renaming the work, "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" Foster's brother Morrison indicated in correspondence in 1898 that Foster was an "occasional visitor" to the plantation of their cousins the Rowan Family known as Federal Hill. No evidence exists to confirm that Foster was inspired by imagery seen at Federal Hill for the song's composition, and the imagery in the song does not include any specific markers to Federal Hill. The Foster and Rowan family's close relationship appears to have been initiated through Stephen's sister Charlotte, who stayed with the Rowans at Federal Hill in 1828. While Charlotte lived with the Rowan family, Atkinson Hill Rowan made a proposal of marriage to her, which she ultimately declined. Charlotte died in the home of George Washing Barclay, a cousin of both families, with Atkinson Hill Rowan at her bedside. The song "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" is one of many examples of the loss of home in Foster's work. Biographers believe that this common theme originated from the loss of Foster's childhood home, known as the "White Cottage", an estate his mother referred to as an Eden, in reference to the Garden of Eden. The family was financially supported by the family patriarch William Foster, who owned vast holdings, which were lost through bad business dealings that left the family destitute and unable to keep possession of the White Cottage; the family was forced to leave the estate when Stephen Foster was three years old. After years of financial instability and the sharing of memories of the White Cottage with Stephen by his parents and siblings, the impact of longing for a permanent home that was no longer available to him greatly influenced his writing.


Public sentiment

Upon its release in 1853 by
Firth, Pond & Company Firth, Pond & Company was an American music company that publisher, published sheet music and Distribution (marketing), distributed musical instruments in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The company began in 1847 in music, 1847 when William Ha ...
, "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night" grew quickly in popularity, selling thousands of copies. The song's popular and nostalgic theme of the loss of home resonated with the public and received support from some within the abolitionist movement in the United States. For example, African-American abolitionist
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
promoted the song, among other similar songs of the time period, in his autobiography ''
My Bondage and My Freedom ''My Bondage and My Freedom'' is an autobiographical slave narrative written by Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social refo ...
'' as evoking a sentimental theme that promotes and popularizes the cause of abolishing slavery in the United States. Douglass commented, "They y Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!, etc.are heart songs, and the finest feelings of human nature are expressed in them.
hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
can make the heart sad as well as merry, and can call forth a tear as well as a smile. They awaken the sympathies for the slave", he stated, "in which anti-slavery principles take root and flourish". Foster sold the work to the music publishing company Firth & Pond that published and branded the work as a "plantation melody" among the catalog of Christy's Minstrels. As a result, the song was popular on the blackface
minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer ...
stage and in melodrama through the nineteenth century. Frequently, the song was included in "Tom shows," stagings of ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. The song remained popular in amateur blackface minstrel shows through at least the first half of the twentieth century. While some of the shows in which "My Old Kentucky Home" depicted slavery as wrong and the enslaved people sympathetically, most of these shows hewed to the common demeaning traditions and tropes of blackface minstrelsy. The song held popularity for over a decade and throughout the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. The song's reach throughout the United States and popularity has been attributed to soldiers of the war, who passed the tune from location to location during the war's tenure. The song remained popular through the nineteenth century. The typical reduction of the song's title from "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" to "My Old Kentucky Home" occurred after the turn of the century. The song's first verse and chorus are recited annually at the Kentucky Derby. Colonel
Matt Winn Martin J. "Matt" Winn (June 30, 1861 – October 6, 1949) was a prominent personality in American thoroughbred horse racing history and president of Churchill Downs racetrack, home to the Kentucky Derby race that he made famous. In 2017, he was ...
introduced the song as a Derby tradition. As early as 1930, Foster's song was played to accompany the post parade;
the University of Louisville Marching Band The University of Louisville Cardinal Marching Band is the official marching band of the University of Louisville (UofL) in Louisville, Kentucky. It is considered a Music Ambassador for UofL. The CMB performs at all home football games at Cardina ...
has played the song for all but a few years since 1936. In 1982, Churchill Downs honored Foster by establishing the
Stephen Foster Handicap The Stephen Foster Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt run annually in mid-June at Churchill Downs Spring Meet in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is named in ...
. The
University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
,
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...
, Murray State University,
Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online u ...
, and
Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...
bands play the song at their schools' football and basketball games.


Kentucky state song

During the first decades of the twentieth century, the song became increasingly popular nationwide and the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Kentucky sought to utilize the song's popularity by establishing it as Kentucky's state song. On March 11, 1986, a group of students from the Sendai Christian Educational Institute in
Miyagi, Japan is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the ...
paid a visit to the
Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in ...
in which they sang the song, using the original lyrics that included the word "
darkies The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or ot ...
." Legislator
Carl Hines Carl R. Hines, Sr. (March 23, 1931 – September 7, 2016) was a former American politician in the state of Kentucky and the first African-American to have served Louisville District 43. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1976 ...
subsequently introduced a
resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...
that would substitute the word "people" in place of "darkies" whenever the song was used by the House of Representatives. State Senator
Georgia Davis Powers Georgia Davis Powers (née Montgomery; October 19, 1923 – January 30, 2016) was an American politician who served for 21 years as a state senator in the Kentucky Senate. In 1967, she was the first person of color and the first woman elected t ...
introduced a similar resolution in the
Kentucky State Senate The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators. The Kentuc ...
. Both chambers adopted the resolution.


Modern impact

Today, the song "My Old Kentucky Home" remains an important composition due to its role in the evolution of American songwriting and is an influential song in American culture. According to popular-song analysts, the appeal of the theme of "returning home" is one in which listeners of "My Old Kentucky Home" are able to personally relate within their own lives. Many revisions and updates of the song have occurred throughout the past century, which have further ingrained the song in American culture. These revisions and a constantly adapting cultural landscape also complicate the song's legacy and meanings for different people.


Recording history

"My Old Kentucky Home" was recorded many times during the early era of cylinder recordings. The
Cylinder Audio Archive The Cylinder Audio Archive is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara Library with streaming and downloadable versions of over 10,000 phonograph cylinders manufactured between 1893 and the mid-1920s. The ...
at the University of California (Santa Barbara) Library contains 19 commercial recordings of the song (in addition to several home recordings). In most cases, even those of the commercial recordings, the Archive is unable to determine the precise dates (or even years) of either their recording or their release, with some cylinders being dated only to a forty-year range from the 1890s to the 1920s. The earliest recording of "My Old Kentucky Home" for which the Archive was able to determine a precise year of release is from 1898 and features an unidentified cornet duo. However, the song is known to have been recorded earlier than that (in February 1894) by the Standard Quartette, a vocal group that was appearing in a musical that featured the song (making their recording perhaps the earliest example of a
cast recording A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...
). No copy of that cylinder is known to have survived. And although cylinder recordings were more popular during the 1800s than disc records, some of the latter were being sold, mostly by
Berliner Gramophone Berliner Gramophone – its discs identified with an etched-in "E. Berliner's Gramophone" as the logo – was the first (and for nearly ten years the only) disc record label in the world. Its records were played on Emile Berliner's invention, the ...
. A version sung by A.C. Weaver was recorded in September 1894 and released with catalog number 175. The popularity of "My Old Kentucky Home" as recording material continued into the 20th century, despite the fact that the song was then more than fifty years old. In the first two decades of the century, newly established
Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...
released thirteen versions of the song (plus five more recordings that included it as part of a medley). During that same period, Columbia Records issued a similar number, including one by
Margaret Wilson Margaret Anne Wilson (born 20 May 1947) is a New Zealand lawyer, academic and former Labour Party politician. She served as Attorney-General from 1999 to 2005 and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2005 to 2008, during the Fifth L ...
(daughter of U.S. president
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
). One of the major vocal groups of the day, the
Peerless Quartet The Peerless Quartet was an American vocal group that recorded in the early years of the twentieth century. They formed to record for Columbia Records, where they were credited as the Columbia Quartet or Columbia Male Quartet. From about 1907, wh ...
, recorded it twice, as did internationally known operatic soprano
Alma Gluck Alma Gluck (May 11, 1884October 27, 1938) was a Romanian-born American soprano. Biography Gluck was born as Reba Feinsohn to a Jewish family in Iași, Romania, the daughter of Zara and Leon Feinsohn. Gluck moved to the United States at a you ...
. It was also recorded by various
marching Marching refers to the organized, uniformed, steady walking forward in either rhythmic or route-step time; and, typically, it refers to overland movements on foot of military troops and units under field orders. Marching is often performed t ...
and concert bands, including three recordings by one of the most well-known, Sousa's Band, as well as three by the house concert band at
Edison Records Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important player in the early recording industry. The first phonograph cylinders were manufactured in 1888, followed by Edison's found ...
. Although the frequency of its recording dropped off as the century progressed, "My Old Kentucky Home" continued to be used as material by some of the major popular singers of the day. Versions were recorded by Kate Smith, Bing Crosby, and
Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...
. A version by operatic
contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...
Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United ...
was released in Japan and
Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...
recorded his version for an English company while living in London in the late 1920s. The song continued to find expression in non-traditional forms, including a New Orleans jazz version by Louis Armstrong and a swing version by
Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of " Sing, Sing, ...
. For a listing of some other recorded versions of the song, see
External links An internal link is a type of hyperlink on a web page to another page or resource, such as an image or document, on the same website or domain. Hyperlinks are considered either "external" or "internal" depending on their target or destinatio ...
. In 2001, the
National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
and the Recording Industry Association of America promoted a list of the 365 "
Songs of the Century The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America's musical and ...
" that best displayed "historical significance of not only the song but also of the record and artist". "My Old Kentucky Home" appeared on that list (the only song written by Foster to do so), represented by the 1908 recording of operatic soprano
Geraldine Farrar Alice Geraldine Farrar (February 28, 1882 – March 11, 1967) was an American lyric soprano who could also sing dramatic roles. She was noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following a ...
(Victor Records 88238).


Adaptations

By the time commercial music began to be recorded, the verse melody of "My Old Kentucky Home" had become so widely known that recording artists sometimes quoted it in material that was otherwise unrelated to Foster's song. The 1918 song "
Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" is a popular song written by Jean Schwartz, with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. The song was introduced by Al Jolson in the Broadway musical '' Sinbad'' and published in 1918. Probably the best- ...
", recorded and popularized by
Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...
, quotes the chorus phrase "weep no more my lady", and also makes reference to two other Foster songs.
Henry Burr Henry Burr (January 15, 1882 – April 6, 1941) was a Canadian singer, radio performer and producer. He was born Harry Haley McClaskey and used Henry Burr as one of his many pseudonyms, in addition to Irving Gillette, Henry Gillette, Alfred Alex ...
's 1921 recording of "Kentucky Home" quotes the verse melody in an interlude midway through the record. And
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
singer Billy Murray's 1923 recording of "Happy and Go-Lucky in My Old Kentucky Home" adds the melody in the record's finale. An earlier recording by Murray, 1915's "We'll Have a Jubilee in My Old Kentucky Home", takes the further step of incorporating a portion of Foster's melody (but not his lyrics) into each chorus. And a few decades earlier than that, a young Charles Ives, while still a student at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
in the 1890s, used Foster's melody (both the verse and the chorus) as a
strain Strain may refer to: Science and technology * Strain (biology), variants of plants, viruses or bacteria; or an inbred animal used for experimental purposes * Strain (chemistry), a chemical stress of a molecule * Strain (injury), an injury to a mu ...
in one of his
marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...
. Ives often quoted from Foster and
musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...
Clayton Henderson has detected material from "My Old Kentucky Home" in eight of his works. In the mid-1960s, songwriter Randy Newman used the verse of "My Old Kentucky Home" (with modified lyrics) as the chorus to his "Turpentine and Dandelion Wine". Newman recorded this adaptation for his '' 12 Songs'' album (1970,
Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...
RS 6373) under the title "Old Kentucky Home". However, the adaptation had been recorded earlier at least twice. The first was by the Beau Brummels, who recorded it for their ''
Triangle A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...
'' album (1967,
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
WS 1692). The second was by the
Alan Price Set Alan Price (born 19 April 1942) is an English musician. He was the original keyboardist for the British band the Animals before he left to form his own band the Alan Price Set. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a m ...
, who included it as the B-side to their "Love Story" single (1968,
Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
F 12808). Since Newman's recording, the adaptation was covered several times more. The only version that charted was by Johnny Cash, who released it as a single from his '' John R. Cash'' album (1975, Columbia KC 33370). The single reached No. 42 on
Billboard's ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...
country-music chart. Note that the various cover versions generally use slightly different titles, some adding "My" to Newman's title, others omitting "Old". Also, some use Newman's original title of "Turpentine and Dandelion Wine" as a subtitle. A more complete listing of these cover versions can be found in
External links An internal link is a type of hyperlink on a web page to another page or resource, such as an image or document, on the same website or domain. Hyperlinks are considered either "external" or "internal" depending on their target or destinatio ...
. In 2021,
Tyler Childers Timothy Tyler Childers (born June 21, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter. His music is a mix of neotraditional country, bluegrass, and folk. He released his breakthrough album ''Purgatory'' in August 2017. Childers has released five stu ...
released the song " Long Violent History" on his album of the same name. The introduction of the song contains the chorus melody of My Old Kentucky Home, and the song's coda contains the coda melody of My Old Kentucky Home.


Appearance in media

"My Old Kentucky Home" has appeared in many films, live action and animated, and in television episodes, in the 20th and 21st centuries. The original title for the first draft of
Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel, published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel '' Gone with the Wind'', for which she wo ...
's 1936 novel ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...
'' was "Tote The Weary Load", a lyric from "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!"
Scarlett O’Hara Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler is a fictional character and the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind'' and in the 1939 film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Leigh. She also is the ...
and
Rhett Butler Rhett Butler (Born in 1828) is a fictional character in the 1936 novel '' Gone with the Wind'' by Margaret Mitchell and in the 1939 film adaptation of the same name. It is one of Clark Gable's most recognizable and significant roles. Role Rh ...
sing the song in Chapter 17, and the lyric "a few more days for to tote the weary load" appears in the text of the novel as Scarlett is returning to Tara. In 1939, "My Old Kentucky Home" was featured in the film version of ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...
'' both instrumentally and with lyrics. In the movie, Prissy, played by
Butterfly McQueen Butterfly McQueen (born Thelma McQueen; January 8, 1911December 22, 1995) was an American actress. Originally a dancer, McQueen first appeared in films as "Prissy" in '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939). She was unable to attend the film's premiere b ...
, sings the line, "a few more days for to tote the weary load". Fleischer Studios adapted the song in their 1926 cartoon short
My Old Kentucky Home "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" is a sentimental ballad written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York. Foster was likely inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-sla ...
, noteworthy for containing the first ever fully animated dialogue.
Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
sang "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" live on December 14, 1938, on the radio show, ''America Calling''. She later covered it again on ''The All Time Flop Parade'' with Bing Crosby and
The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...
. On April 29, 1953, Garland headlined a Kentucky Derby week appearance in Lexington, Kentucky, named "The Bluegrass Festival" where she sang the song "My Old Kentucky Home", accompanied by a single violin. In 1940, Bing Crosby sang "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" via radio broadcast with
Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...
conducting a symphony for the dedication of the Stephen Foster postage stamp release held in Bardstown, Kentucky, at
My Old Kentucky Home "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" is a sentimental ballad written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York. Foster was likely inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-sla ...
.
Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring role ...
sang the opening bars to this song in the original version of the 1953 Warner Brothers cartoon '' Southern Fried Rabbit''. In the unedited version, Bugs is playing the banjo disguised in blackface to fool
Yosemite Sam Yosemite Sam ( /joʊˈsɛmɪti/ ''yoh-SEM-ih-tee'') is a cartoon character in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of short films produced by Warner Bros. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park. He is an adversary of Bugs ...
. Later releases omit this part due to negative racial stereotypes. Kate Smith performed the song on March 20, 1969, on ''
The Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the ...
'' with Mickey Rooney and
Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and producer best known for her starring role as Jeannie in the sitcom '' I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965-1970). Other notable roles include Roslyn Pierce opp ...
. In 2009 the song was covered in ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...
'', Season 3, Episode 3, "My Old Kentucky Home."
Roger Sterling Roger H. Sterling Jr. is a fictional character on the AMC television series '' Mad Men''. He formerly worked for Sterling Cooper, an advertising agency his father co-founded in 1923, before he became a founding partner at the new firm of Sterling ...
(played by
John Slattery John M. Slattery Jr. (born August 13, 1962) is an American actor and director widely known for his role as Roger Sterling Jr. in the AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–15), for which he was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award fo ...
) performs the song in blackface for a company Kentucky Derby party. In 2010 the song was covered in ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'', Season 21, Episode 13, "
The Color Yellow "The Color Yellow" is the thirteenth episode of the twenty-first season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 21, 2010. In this episode, Lisa discovers ...
". Marge and Lisa read from the footnotes of a cookbook written by Mabel Simpson in which she describes the escape of a slave, Virgil, who is assisted by Eliza Simpson. Virgil and Eliza find safe harbor in a circus operated by Krusty the Clown, who hides them from slave patrollers by disguising them as circus acts. Krusty asks what talents Virgil possesses, to which he replies that he has music talent and then performs the song, "My Old Kentucky Home" while playing violin. The song also appears in the episode "
Rosebud Rosebud may refer to: * Rose bud, the bud of a rose flower Arts * The name of Jerry Garcia's guitar from 1990 until his death in 1995. * In the 1941 film ''Citizen Kane'', the last words of Charles Foster Kane and an overall plot device. * "Ros ...
", where a young
George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...
sings the song's first line. Johnny Depp, Lyle Lovett,
David Amram David Werner Amram III (born November 17, 1930) is an American composer, arranger, and conductor of orchestral, chamber, and choral works, many with jazz flavorings.
and
Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", " Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Th ...
covered the song "My Old Kentucky Home" at the tribute memorial of journalist
Hunter Thompson Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author who founded the gonzo journalism movement. He rose to prominence with the publication of '' Hell's Angels'' (1967), a book for which he s ...
in December 1996. One of Thompson's most notable pieces, "
The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved" is a seminal sports article written by Hunter S. Thompson on the 1970 Kentucky Derby (an annual horse race held in Louisville, Kentucky), which first appeared in an issue of ''Scanlan's Monthly'' in ...
", in addition to Thompson being a native of
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, inspired the performers to cover the song for his tribute. The performance was recreated 9 years later in 2005 at midnight after Thompson's ashes were blasted from a cannon. Don Henley stated in 2015 for the
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
that some of the music he wrote for the
Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...
was inspired by the music of
Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour and minstrel music during the Romantic period. He wrote more than 200 songs, inc ...
. Henley states that, as a child, his grandmother sang songs such as My Old Kentucky Home. "“My grandmother lived with us. She sat in a rocking chair every day, singing hymns and Stephen Foster songs: ‘My Old Kentucky Home,’ ‘Way Down Upon the Suwanee River’ and ‘The Old Folks At Home,’ and all those very American things. That’s probably where I got ‘Desperado.’ If you listen to that melody and those chords ... Billy Joel said to me the minute he heard it, ‘That’s Stephen Foster! I said, ‘OK, fine!’"


Lyrics by Stephen C. Foster

The original Stephen Foster lyrics of the song are:Foster, Stephen. ''Stephen Foster Song Book: Original Sheet Music of 40 Songs'', p
67
(Courier Corporation, 1974).
My old Kentucky Home, good-night! The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home, 'Tis summer, the darkies are gay, The corn top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom While the birds make music all the day. The young folks roll on the little cabin floor, All merry, all happy and bright: By'n by Hard Times comes a knocking at the door, Then my old Kentucky Home, good night. ''Chorus:'' Weep no more, my lady, oh! weep no more today! We will sing one song For the old Kentucky Home, For the old Kentucky Home, far away. They hunt no more for the possum and the coon On the meadow, the hill and the shore, They sing no more by the glimmer of the moon, On the bench by the old cabin door. The day goes by like a shadow o'er the heart, With sorrow where all was delight: The time has come when the darkies have to part, Then my old Kentucky Home, good-night! ''Chorus.'' The head must bow and the back will have to bend, Wherever the darkey may go: A few more days, and the trouble all will end In the field where the sugar-canes grow. A few more days for to tote the weary load, No matter 'twill never be light, A few more days till we totter on the road, Then my old Kentucky Home, good-night! ''Chorus.''


References


Further reading

*


External links

;Performances
My Old Kentucky Home (instrumental) as played by one of the University of Kentucky BandsGeraldine Farrar's 1908 recording
;Other
List of recordings of "My Old Kentucky Home"
at SecondHandSongs.com
List of recordings of Randy Newman's adaptation
at SecondHandSongs.com {{Authority control 1853 songs American songs Blackface minstrel songs Music of Kentucky Songs written by Stephen Foster
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
Songs about Kentucky Kentucky Derby