{"id":32420,"date":"2026-08-07T11:14:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T15:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ethanhein.com\/wp\/?p=32420"},"modified":"2026-08-07T11:14:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T15:14:30","slug":"i-decided-what-song-im-going-to-start-my-history-of-20th-century-american-popular-music-class-with","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ethanhein.com\/wp\/2026\/i-decided-what-song-im-going-to-start-my-history-of-20th-century-american-popular-music-class-with\/","title":{"rendered":"I decided what song I’m going to start my History of 20th Century American Popular Music class with"},"content":{"rendered":"

Content warning: this post includes offensive imagery.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

One of my tasks for the next two weeks is to put together my syllabus for NYU\u2019s\u00a0new music history class on 20th century American popular music<\/a>.\u00a0To start the semester off, I wanted to find a song that spans many styles and eras, and that lays the thematic foundation for what comes after. I decided on\u00a0\u201cOld Folks At Home\u201d by Stephen Foster<\/a>, also known as \u201cSwanee River.\u201d This song was written in 1852, but it had a significant presence in the zeitgeist throughout the 20th century, and\u00a0Secondhand Songs<\/a>\u00a0lists a couple dozen of recordings from this century too. It\u2019s\u00a0Florida\u2019s state song<\/a>, because of course it is. They did replace the word \u201cdarkies\u201d with \u201cbrothers\u201d in 1978, though, so that\u2019s nice. <\/p>\n

When you look at the cover for the sheet music on Wikipedia, it raises some questions:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

First of all, why \u201cEthiopian melody\u201d? This just means that it\u2019s meant to be sung by a blackface minstrel. And why does it say \u201cwritten and composed by EP Christy\u201d? Stephen Foster sold the song to Christy, leader of Christy\u2019s Minstrels<\/a>, for whom it was a massive hit. You can see a recreation of their act in the 1952 film\u00a0I Dream of Jeanie<\/a><\/em>. It\u2019s incredibly offensive!<\/p>\n

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