Cindy Pelequin, an old friend (she's not old) got me to take a second look at Steven Foster's songs, and I'm forever in her debt for that. I never paid much attention to his stuff, as most often you'll only find the first verse in song collections. But, I went past "first verses" and found his stuff to be extremely progresive for the times. My old Kentucky home, for instance, is a very sad song, I wonder if the people who run the "Kentucky Derby" ever read the lyrics. They play it with such a happy flair.

I read somewhere that Mr Foster sang "Hard Times Come Again No More" more than any other in his performances.
I never read anywhere that he was a drunk.