My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night!

Stephen C. Foster 1826 (Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania) – 1864 (New York City, New York)



1     The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home,
2     'Tis summer, the darkies are gay,
3     The corn top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom
4     While the birds make music all the day.
5     The young folks roll on the little cabin floor,
6     All merry, all happy and bright:
7     By'n by Hard Times comes a knocking at the door,
8     Then my old Kentucky Home, good night!

9     [Chorus] Weep no more, my lady, oh! weep no more to-day!
10   We will sing one song
11   For the old Kentucky Home,
12   For the old Kentucky Home, far away.

13   [Solo] They hunt no more for the possum and the coon
14   On the meadow, the hill and the shore,
15   They sing no more by the glimmer of the moon,
16   On the bench by the old cabin door.
17   The day goes by like a shadow o'er the heart,
18   With sorrow where all was delight:
19   The time has come when the darkies have to part,
20   Then my old Kentucky Home, good-night!

21   [Chorus] Weep no more, my lady, oh! weep no more to-day!
22   We will sing one song
23   For the old Kentucky Home,
24   For the old Kentucky Home, far away.

25   [Solo] The head must bow and the back will have to bend,
26   Wherever the darkey may go:
27   A few more days, and the trouble all will end
28   In the field where the sugar-canes grow.
29   A few more days for to tote the weary load,
30   No matter 'twill never be light,
31   A few more days till we totter on the road,
32   Then my old Kentucky Home, good-night!

33   [Chorus] Weep no more, my lady, oh! weep no more to-day!
34   We will sing one song
35   For the old Kentucky Home,
36   For the old Kentucky Home, far away.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 28, 2023

1:37 min read
49

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABXBCDCD BEAB FCFCGDGD BEAB HIHIJDJD BEAB
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,606
Words 322
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 8, 4, 8, 4, 8, 4

Stephen C. Foster

Stephen Collins Foster, known as "the father of American music", was an American songwriter known primarily for his parlor and minstrel music. more…

All Stephen C. Foster poems | Stephen C. Foster Books

0 fans

Discuss the poem My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night! with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night!" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/35644/my-old-kentucky-home,-good-night!>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    17
    hours
    58
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    The haiku is originally from ______.
    A Japan
    B Indonesia
    C Ireland
    D China