Or maybe that should be the Yazoo River? When Stephen C Foster was looking for a name of a southern river for his song "Old Folks at Home", these were two of his choices. He liked the sound of the Suwannee River but as he only needed two syllables to rhyme, Suwannee became the Swannee.
What I found fascinating was how many of the songs he penned in the mid-1850's are ones that we all know today. Like: "Oh! Susanna", "Camptown Races", "My Old Kentucky Home", "Beautiful Dreamer" and "Old Folks at Home" ("Swanee River")
Both Georgia and Florida have state parks named after Foster. And Florida's state song is "Swanee River" ("Old Folks at Home"). Foster lived in Pennsylvania and only once came south on a cruise to New Orleans.
Foster had an agreement with Edsin Christy of the the Christy Minstrels....(must be the Olde Christy Minstrals, huh?) to sing his songs and publish his compositions. He sold Swanee River to Christy for $15.00. It wasn't until a recopyright was done in 1879 that the song was published as being written and composed by Stephen Foster. Foster had died destitute 15 years before at the age of 37. Imagine the work he might have done if he'd lived to an old age.
