"My Old Kentucky Home, Goodnight"

The original title was "Poor Uncle Tom, Goodnight," written in 1850. "My Old Kentucky Home, Goodnight" was published in 1852 by Stephen C. Foster (1826-1864). It was adopted as the Kentucky state song in 1928. The controversial phrase "the darkies are gay" is sometimes replaced with "the people are gay." For more see My Old Kentucky Home in the Stephen Collins Foster Papers at the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center. See also Frank X. Walker, "The Song Doesn't Remain the Same," Ace Weekly, 11/21/02; Rick Bragg, "The Racist song that has dug deep roots in American culture," The New York Times, 05/03/2022 (online).