Somewhere above, it was suggested that the song "O Susanna" by Foster be discarded. I remember that the last time we sang it in school (middle grades somewhere in a program on Foster) the offending words were changed. Two verses remained complete as written (places where changes were made become obvious if you look at the original lyrics).
The thought that came into my mind was the old trite one that the baby was being thrown out with the bathwater. Perhaps this is a partial answer to the one you pose, WYSIWYG, and it looks like the position you have taken on the use of these songs.