The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #62198 Message #1005161
Posted By: GUEST,Bo in KY
20-Aug-03 - 09:00 AM
Thread Name: My Old Kentucky Home problem
Subject: RE: My Old Kentucky Home problem
Just a comment on the tension between "historical accuracy" and the "folk process". I don't think the fact that there is a definite author forbids anyone from changing the words. "Puff the Magic Dragon" has a definite, living author yet I would bet there are as many variants as there are youth summer camps in the U.S. Are they "wrong"? What about the dialect in which Foster wrote the song? Is it historically inaccurate, and an abuse of the song, to sing "the" for "de" or "have" for "hab", etc.??
I say there is enough documentation in archives/songbooks that people can know what the original lyrics were if they wish to look. If the song is a beloved and living part of the people's music, it can and will be adapted to fit a contemporary situation.
FWIW, Mr. Emerson writes above that "the obvious racial epithets ... are still typical of our time today". In my experience, I have never heard anyone, outside of singing a Stephen Foster song, use the term "darkies". I'm sure I would be outraged if they did.
Bo