By Staff….
Despite calls from the Left to cancel the playing of the song ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ at this years Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs appears to not be backing down and so far it’s business as usual for this years event.
The song recently came under attack from those who take issue with its original title and lyrics and its ties to slavery, where the first version of the song (there are many) used derogatory language and referred to slaves as ‘darkies.’
Written by Stephen Foster, “My Old Kentucky Home,” has a storied history and has been played before every Kentucky Derby since 1921.
Last year, when the event was moved from the traditional first Saturday in May to Labor Day Weekend due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a modified version of the song was performed by a bugler and without lyrics. At the time, social justice protests were being held around the country and in particular, for the death of Breonna Taylor only a short distance away.
The lyrics for the current version of the song differ from the original version and are as follows:
Oh, the sun shines bright
On my old Kentucky home
‘Tis summer,
The old folks are gay
Well, the corn top’s ripe
And the meadow’s in the bloom
While the birds make music
All the day
Weep no more, my lady
Oh, weep no more, today
We sing one song
For my old Kentucky home
For my old Kentucky home
Far away.
Well, the young folks roll
All around the cabin floor
They’re merry, all
Happy and bright
By ‘n by hard times will
A-come a-knockin’ at my door
Then my old Kentucky home
Good night
Weep no more, my lady
No, weep no more, today
We…
As anyone can plainly see, there is nothing at all controversial in the lyrics above, and the ‘Wokesters’ and those from the Left are looking to find hate where none exists.
In fact, according to Smithsonian Magazine…….
“My Old Kentucky Home, Goodnight,” as it was originally titled, was written by Foster in the 1850s as an anti-slavery song, inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and following the same story arc as Stowe’s title character. His initial working title was “Poor Uncle Tom, Goodnight.”
The song emphasizes the humanity and close family ties of the enslaved population at a time when African Americans were routinely dehumanized and caricatured. The opening scene in Uncle Tom’s Cabin features a slave trader explaining that black people do not have the same tender emotions as white people, a rationalization for selling their children for profit. “My Old Kentucky Home” is a rebuke to that racist thinking.
“My Old Kentucky Home” is actually the lament of an enslaved person who has been forcibly separated from his family and his painful longing to return to the cabin with his wife and children.”
So given the history of ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ and the fact that it was originally written as an anti-slavery song and cleansed of any ‘perceived’ derogatory language that might offend, it stands to reason that those decrying it have no reason to do so, other than to have their way.
Churchill Downs needs to stand up to these Cancel Culture mobsters who are using ‘racism’ as an excuse to fundamentally change every aspect of this country.
Nothing could be more appropriate in this instance than giving them a stern middle finger for an answer.
