The Swanee (Suwannee) River

Way down upon the Swanee River, in Florida

unused 

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The Suwannee River is a major river of southern Georgia and northern Florida in the United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about 246 miles (396 km) long. (A blackwater river is a river with a deep, slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. Vegetation decays into the water and stains the water dark, resembling tea or coffee. Most major blackwater rivers are in the Amazon River system and the Southern United States.)

This river is the subject of the Stephen Foster song "Old Folks at Home," in which he calls it the Swanee River.  It was called Swanee River because Foster had misspelled the name. Foster never saw the river he made world famous. 

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Florida
Official Song of the State of Florida
The Swanee River
(Old Folks at Home)
Written by Stephen C. Foster

First Verse
Way down upon de Swanee Ribber,
Far, far away,
Dere's wha my heart is turning ebber,
Dere's wha de old folks stay.
All up and down de whole creation
Sadly I roam,
Still longing for de old plantation,
And for de old folks at home.

Chorus
All de world am sad and dreary,
Eb-rywhere I roam;
Oh, darkeys, how my heart grows weary,
Far from de old folks at home!

Second verse
All round de little farm I wandered
When I was young,
Den many happy days I squandered,
Many de songs I sung.
When I was playing wid my brudder
Happy was I;
Oh, take me to my kind old mudder!
Dere let me live and die.

Third Verse
One little hut among de bushes,
One dat I love
Still sadly to my memory rushes,
No matter where I rove.
When will I see de bees a-humming
All round de comb?
When will I hear de banjo strumming,
Down in my good old home?

The song, "The Swanee River (Old Folks at Home)" words and music by Stephen C. Foster, was adopted as the official state song of Florida on May 25, 1935.

unused, bought in 2012