By CURTIS ROSS, The Tampa Tribune

If “Old Folks at Home” is on the way out, what’s on the way in?

That Stephen Foster ditty has been Florida’s state song since 1935, but efforts are under way to replace it. Also known as “Way Down Upon the Swanee River,” the lyrics’ use of the term “darkeys” and idyllic view of plantation life now seem archaic and offensive.

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What are your ideas for a new state song? Share them here.

1. Hear Atkins and his Downhome Blues Band perform ‘’Florida’s Song’’ here.

2. ‘’Florida’s My Own’’ (Amy Carol Webb): Lines such as ‘’I’m not born or bred here/Just gently led here’’ make this an ideal candidate for a state with so many non-natives among the populace.

Listen to or download an MP3 of this song here.

3. ‘’Rose and the Gold’’ (Mem Semmes): The colors in the title refer to a Florida sunrise, not FSU football uniforms, Semmes insists. Semmes handles publicity for the Will McLean Foundation, named for the father of Florida folk.

Semmes’ song can be heard on ‘’These Diamonds,’’ a CD of Florida folk songs produced by the organization. Read the lyrics here.

4. ‘’In Florida Among the Palms’’ (Irving Berlin): The great American composer saluted the Sunshine State in this jaunty number.

Hear it on this video.

5. ‘’Florida, My Florida’’ (C.V. Waugh): Or we could always go back to this, the official state song until 1935. Its hymnlike stanzas make it easy to sing, and where else are you going to find a song that celebrates phosphate mines? Read the lyrics here.

Is a state song really representing Florida if:

•The lyrics officially adopted seven decades ago are no longer used because they’re widely viewed as racist?

•The songwriter is from Pittsburgh? And never visited Florida?

•The best known line, “Way down upon the Swanee River,” misspells Suwannee River, the song’s sole reference to Florida?

•The new governor, wary of the racial fuss the song stirs up, axes it from his inauguration ceremony?

Serious concerns have long dogged Florida’s state song, “Old Folks at Home,” widely known as “Swanee River.” Most recently, it was publicly abandoned by Gov. Charlie Crist, who chose a different song to mark his official induction into office this month.

Should Florida keep its state song? Read about it here, listen to the song Crist preferred, and tell us what you think.

I dont think it is an Enlightened Work nor a Racist Screed. It’s a song reflective of the time in which it was written. If one decides to scrutinize and eliminate everything that is historical in a State. The State will eventually be left with no history.

Growing up and living in Florida most of my life. I know of no black person that was disturbed by the song. I guess people were more worried about work/school/bills etc, than what Stephen Foster’s intent was when he wrote the song.

I agree. I don’t believe there were any racist undertones in the song.  It was 1851 for Pete’s sake and 1935 when the state adopted it. and like the newbie said, leave history alone.  Not every damn thing is disposable. I’m certainly not saying they were the best of times, for anyone for that matter, but what happened did happen and there’s no changing it now. I’ve always thought the concept was to learn from it and move on. Not try to rewrite it or change it to suit our own particular taste or how we would have liked it to have been, It was what it was. Mistakes were made, big ones. you can’t learn from rewritten history, those in the future certainly won’t benefit from rewritten history, they’ll never know the difference and they’re just as likely to make the same mistakes our forefathers made and for what? They most certainly could have avoided them if history was there to tell them how anyway.

I think EVERYONE needs to get off the “racist” and “pity me” bandwagon. What a bunch of whining fools we have produced in this country. I’m so tired of trying to get through the news and continually being exposed to the next moronic group claiming to be a target of racism. What a bunch of ingrates.
Get over it and shut up. Better yet as our elders have said through life… “grow up”.
We are continually changing everything in this country to appease the “politically correct” and seeking to be more sensitive. When the heck will all this stop?
Leave the song as it has been and tell anyone who does like it to get out of the state and find a state with a song suited to them. The things we waste our time on????

Racist or not, the song just doesn’t reflect Florida, back then or now.  Let’s find a song that reflects what Florida is all about.  The alternate mentioned (the link is broken, by the way - you can find the song here -> http://downhomebluesband.com/practice/FloridaSong.mp3) is a moving, more appropriate musical tribute to the state.  It’s a bluesy, sad-sounding tune, but given the direction this state is heading, perhaps that’s not such a bad idea.  But listen to the song...I think you’ll like it.  In keeping with the theme, I’ve penned new lyrics to the same tune, more accurately reflecting the current state of affairs...(with apologies to Charles Atkins)
Today’s Florida’s Song
On the southeast coast of North America
At the end of Interstate ninety five
Under the sun where hordes of tourists come
Is a land that won’t long stay alive
Florida, Oh Florida
Your politicians, they like to get along
When all the trees and grass are gone
Your McMansions will live on
Florida, you’re my home sweet home (I gotta move)
Where the hurricanes usually hit America
There return the snowbirds ev’ry year
Their vans and RVs know
The places they must go
To find the best price on discount beer
Oh Florida, my Florida
Insurance rates and taxes to the sky
When all the developers are gone
Your McMansions will live on
Florida you’re my home sweet home (it’s for sale!)
When all our hopes and dreams are gone
Your McMansions will live on
Florida you were my home sweet home
My home sweet home (then sing the chorus from “Sweet Home, Alabama")

Oh dear its waaa time again.  I think we have more conerns with whats happening to Florida, than the Swannee River.  Yes I said river, growing up singing the song I never heard it called anything but that much less ebber and whatever.

Finally had a chance to go through the paper and reviewed the article again.
Bottom line: Change the song because there is a BETTER and MORE SUITABLE song for the State of Florida. NOT because another group has decided to dissect and analyze every syllable to see who and why it can offend any group.
Once again, these “people” who have nothing better to do than dig up every aspect of our lives to make it harder to live, need to get lives.

Yeah but at what point does it stop? Do you realize there are no longer any holidays for American Heroes? No Washinton’s Birthday. Lincoln’s Birthday is gone. It’s now Presidents Day.. No reference is made to their names.
Washington and Lincoln now are now just as important as that great US President Jimmy Carter.

What is next? Washington and Jefferson had slaves.. Will they take their image off the dollar and nickel respectively? Kennedy voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Should we rename our streets and schools.?  I still say leave the history alone.  Otherwise future generations will not have any ties to the past

I absolutely agree. The “groups” (and many politicians as well) out there now feel that we need to change everything in this country and that needs to be stopped. They keep coming up with new ones everyday as “someone might be offended” don’t they?

I fear for the children growing up in this society (mine as well) with all this “woe is me” garbage going on. Yeah it’s so easy to blame everyone else for YOUR problems…

As far as the song goes, it doesn’t matter to me (except as stated if replaced due to anyone offended - WRONG REASON!). I grew up in my early school years singing the Illinois state song which mentioned Illinois repeatedly. It made sense.

I wait to see what these “creative minds” will come up with next....

Why does this come up every few years anyway? And obviously fail every few years. As I said in a previous post you can’t accurately rewrite history to suit yourself. There used to be a course, years ago, required in high school, Americanism vs Communism. I wonder if they taught a course similar to it in the USSR? The point? History depends on who is recording it. It’s interesting that those good souls have already taken it upon themselves to interchange the words” brothers” for the use instead of darkeys and that was in 1978? Gentile southern women, I’ll tell you, there’s nothing like them. Florida became the twenty-seventh state in the United States on March 3, 1845 and this song was adopted as the official State song in 1851 and has held that illustrious position ever since. There have also been calls to change the national anthem because of the difficulty for the average joe or jane to reach some of the notes. I realize it isn’t quite the same, but just how often are is the average joe or jane called upon to sing the national anthem? Chances are if you aren’t capable of reaching the high notes and doing the song justice, you wont be called upon to open the World Series or even your sons Friday night pee wee football game. The odds are about a million times slimmer for the Florida State song. Hell, even the Guv, blew it off his program.

I guess they are taking things away in increments and hoping no one will notice. And I m not a conspiratorialist!! But in my life time
1)I’ve seen Nativity sets taken away
2)Confederate Flags removed
3)American Heroes Birthday’s taken away from the Holiday Calendar
4)Curriculums at schools rewritten so it doesn’t “offend”
5)Christmas Holidays changed to “Winter Holidays”
6)Books about gays read to children
7)A move to try to get FSU to do away with Chief Osceola
8)Another football team that can’t call themselves “The Rebels”
9)The Pledge of Allegience is gone
10) And the homeowners associaton made my neighbor take down HIS flag, that was in HIS YARD!!

What is next? What else can be taken away?

It all started in California.... Slowly this “disease” is finding it’s way into all parts of the nation.
I don’t think there is a cure at this moment as all in Washington are too busy hating each other and worrying about getting re-elected. The majority of people in the country refuse to do anyhting about it. The “few” with these “ideas” continue to win…

john q - 21 January 2007 04:32 AM

Why does this come up every few years anyway? And obviously fail every few years. As I said in a previous post you can’t accurately rewrite history to suit yourself. 

Racists wrote the state song.  Racists re-named most of the geographical map.  Racists named the towns, the roads, and labeled everything to suit their own sense of superiority.  Given that we now seek to sustain an INCLUSIVE Democracy, non-racists and victims of racists should have some say, too.  My family settled Jamestown, but we did not enslave all who came after us.  Neither should you.  Change is a natural thing.  If the English can change the lyrics for “God save the King/Queen” to comfort a minority, we can accomodate our fellow citizens here as well.

Danged if I do then danged if I don’t.  You wanted succinct, you got it, now you complain of my brevity.  Perhaps if you could somehow form a legitimate question?  Or do you think like a teen-ager all the time?

I wouldn’t consider my response as childish, you accused Foster of being a racist, along with countless other unknown, un-named towns roads whatever without making any sense and then called my post childish, yeah right. That’s okay. Ignore me and I’ll do the same.