史蒂芬.柯林斯.福斯特(1826─1864) 美国作曲家。他只活了38岁，创作了200余首歌曲。大部分由自己作词，有些歌曲不仅在美国家喻户晓，在世界各国也广为流传。如《噢！苏珊娜》、《故乡的亲人》、《我的肯塔基老家》、《老黑奴》、《美丽的梦神》等。福斯特的歌曲音域不宽，材料精炼，感情真挚，曲调朴素，善于运用民间音调，他的以黑人民歌为素材所创作的歌曲最为人们所喜爱，由于他的歌曲在传唱中已成为美国人民的精神财富，因此他被誉为“美国民歌之父”。



《故乡的亲人》作于1851年，由于歌中充满对久别故乡的伤感与怀旧之情，所以一直很流行。福斯特从来没有想回到斯旺里河或旧庄园，因爲当他写这首歌时，他还从未去过南方，也从未见过斯旺里河，在写歌词时，他考虑写，“沿着亚祖河下行”，放弃了，又想写“皮迪河”，又放弃了，后来翻开一本地图册，挑到 佛罗里达的斯旺河作爲他想再访的地方。他唯一的一次南方之行是在1852年，即这首歌发表后一年。

Old Folks At Home

Written by Stephen Foster, published 1851 by Firth & Pond as an "Ethiopian Melody" that was "sung and composed by E. P. Christy" although the song was written originally by Foster and the performance rights were sold to the Christy Minstrels by Foster.


Way down upon the Swanee River,
Far, far away
That’s where my heart is turning ever
That’s where the old folks stay
All up and down the whole creation,
Sadly I roam
Still longing for the old plantation
And for the old folks at home
Chorus:
All the world is sad and dreary everywhere I roam
Oh darkies, how my heart grows weary
Far from the old folks at home

All ’round the little farm I wandered,
When I was young
Then many happy days I squandered,
Many the songs I sung
When I was playing with my brother,
Happy was I
Oh, take me to my kind old mother,
There let me live and die
Chorus:

One little hut among the bushes,
One that I love
Still sadly to my mem’ry rushes,
No matter where I rove
When shall I see the bees a humming,
All ’round the comb
When shall I hear the banjo strumming,
Down by my good old home
Chorus:

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