Old Folks at Home

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



1     Way down upon de Swanee ribber,
2     Far, far away,
3     Dere's wha my heart is turning ebber,
4     Dere's wha de old folks stay.
5     All up and down de whole creation,
6     Sadly I roam,
7     Still longing for de old plantation,
8     And for de old folks at home.

9     [Chorus] All de world am sad and dreary,
10   Ebry where I roam,
11   Oh! darkeys how my heart grows weary,
12   Far from de old folks at home.

13   [Solo] All round de little farm I wandered
14   When I was young,
15   Den many happy days I squandered,
16   Many de songs I sung.
17   When I was playing wid my brudder
18   Happy was I --.
19   Oh! take me to my kind old mudder,
20   Dere let me live and die.

21     [Chorus] All de world am sad and dreary,
22   Ebry where I roam,
23   Oh! darkeys how my heart grows weary,
24   Far from de old folks at home.

25   One little hut among de bushes,
26   One dat I love,
27   Still sadly to my mem'ry rushes,
28   No matter where I rove
29   When will I see de bees a humming
30   All round de comb?
31   When will I hear de banjo tumming
32   Down in my good old home?

33     [Chorus] All de world am sad and dreary,
34   Ebry where I roam,
35   Oh! darkeys how my heart grows weary,
36   Far from de old folks at home

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:17 min read
63

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCDCD ADAD EFEFAGAG ADAD HXHXXDFD ADAD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,227
Words 255
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 Old Folks at Home 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

    "Old Folks at Home" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/35649/old-folks-at-home>.

    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!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    6
    days
    17
    hours
    49
    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?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "Dreams"?
    A John Donne
    B Langston Hughes
    C Thomas Hardy
    D Gerard Manley Hopkins