Analysis of “My Old Kentucky Home” by Dylan Crawford
“My Old Kentucky Home” is an American song written and composed by Stephen Foster in 1853. During the year “My Old Kentucky Home” is written, America is going through a time of horrific slavery and racism. While at this time, nearly everyone is aware of the brutality of slavery, the romanticism of slavery and the plantation lifestyle is shockingly common in songs and art pieces during this era. This song was performed during a Minstrel Show, a version of theatrical entertainment consisting of skits, dancing, and songs, typically glorifying the life of a slave.This romanticism is the portrayal of slavery in a cheerful manner, normalizing the horrifying actualities of slavery, such as denying hundreds of thousands of people basic human rights. Despite the racist and untrue details within this song, it is an American classic often played at iconic American events, such as the Kentucky Derby.
Throughout the majority of the song, the lyrics paint a picture of tranquility and joy in this slave’s plantation, with the use of racist lines such as “’Tis summer, the darkies are gay”(Foster). Looking past the offensive nature of these words, it implies a scenario in which slaves are rejoicing during the summer, promoting the ideology of slavery to both slaves and free men. Songs with such blatant racism may be accepted into the world without a second glance during the 1800s, as slavery ended all across the country and African American people started to gain more rights and respect within society, the song receives a lot of backlash. Eventually, this backlash elevated to the point where a new version of the song is released in 1968, more than 100 years after the original release.
One of the more significant differences between the two versions is that the latest edition is reduced in size greatly. What was once a song with three verses, now has only one. Aside from this, the other difference is that the song does not contain any directly racist lines, even while the general subject of the song remains racist. The fact that this song is still played at the Kentucky Derby is a controversial decision, as many people question the morality of playing a song that has the intention of glorifying slavery, especially during an event that represents our country. I think that the song should continue to be played to keep a very long tradition going. Many don’t support the continuation of this song due to the original lyrics, but when the derby switched to playing the new version was a direct action of showing their support to anti racism.
