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Fla. Singing Song Compromise
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Published: April 10, 2008
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Whether Floridians favor the old state song or the new, would-be state song, lawmakers have worked out an agreement that could have residents singing a happy tune.
The compromise, which still needs House and Senate approval, calls for Florida to keep its current state song, known as "Swanee River," and take out the mock slave dialect and references to "darkeys" and plantations.
In addition, Florida would adopt a state anthem. "Florida - Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky" would become, in effect, a secondary state song. The tune, written by a Pompano Beach music teacher, won a statewide state song contest with 4,600 Internet votes after being picked as a finalist from 240 entries.
"The problem with 'Swanee River' was the offensive language and the dialect and all the other stuff in it. Now that has been cleaned up," said Sen. Anthony Hill, D-Jacksonville, who led the effort to retire the song, which is an old minstrel tune from 1851, and hold a contest to find a new one.
He hopes those who are offended by the old song, officially titled "Old Folks at Home," will "be able to tolerate" an edited version.
The new lyrics of "Swanee River," which was originally written by world-famous songwriter Stephen Foster, have the blessing of the experts at the Center for American Music at the University of Pittsburgh, which runs a memorial for Foster.
The revamped version is included in a new publication this year of 60 Foster songs. Of those, 12 have revised lyrics. It's better to update the songs than to lose them, the center's leaders say.
Besides removing the old dialect, the new version of "Swanee River" replaces "darkeys" with "dear ones" and replaces "plantation" with "childhood station."
Although public performances of the Florida state song have shunned the offensive language for years, the original version is the one on record in Florida; the resolution by the Legislature in 1935 still stands.
Hill first was prompted to find a new song after Gov. Charlie Crist nixed "Swanee River" from his inauguration ceremony last year because of its lyrics. With this agreement, Hill says, Crist would have an alternative song with an official Florida endorsement.
"Now the governor won't have to be put in a precarious situation. He has an anthem, and he has a song," Hill said. "He won't have to sit there and cringe with the offensive words."
Rep. Ed Homan, R-Tampa, wrote the House bill that first aimed to adopt "Florida - Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky."
He heartily endorsed the compromise that would adopt it, even if "Swanee River" stays on the books. Homan proposed the idea last week, after his wife suggested it. He says having an alternative song could be like choosing between a traditional and a contemporary church service.
"There are instances where people don't want to play 'Swanee River,' and we need an optional song," he said, referring to the state song contest winner. "And this is a beautiful song that represents all of Florida, and it's more modern."
It's not unusual for a state to adopt more than one song.
Tennessee has five official state songs; New Hampshire has one official state song and eight honorary ones; Massachusetts has a state song plus a state folk song, ceremonial march, patriotic song, glee club song, ode and polka.
Reporter Catherine Dolinski contributed to this report from Tallahassee. Reporter Gretchen Parker can be reached at gparker@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7562.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( dapex ) on April 10, 2008 at 12:32 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I hate political correctness. This is history. Take out "darkeys" if you must, but "plantation?"
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Posted by ( bleuzman ) on April 10, 2008 at 12:42 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Been the state song since "1935" and now it must go to the scrap heap...absolutely amazing. They've taken away Good Friday as a school holiday because heaven forbid some other religion or fanatic group wants to have a day for them too. When is everyone going to get tired of being politcally correct? I mean they chose a new song from 4600 internet voters? How many million people live in Florida? (not counting the illegals) and they go with 4600 internet votes......my lord......hahahahahaahaha. Poor old America is just beaten down to its knees.....the liberals have given away everyting........
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Posted by ( dapex ) on April 10, 2008 at 12:48 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Right on, Bleuzman! I am sick of this crap.Everybody is offended by everything.
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Posted by ( Quagmire ) on April 10, 2008 at 1:16 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Why not just change the two darn words to shines and cotton farm?
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Posted by ( DoodleBugg ) on April 10, 2008 at 3:05 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
For even bringing this subject up again
is a complete insult to you folks in office.
Not enough golf outings to get your minds of "What can i do to make myself look better"...
Stay focused ....
shiney things will distract , but......
look away........
Florida ,My Florida was the origional..
CAN THE SAWGRASS CRAP!!!!!!
LONG LIVE
STEPHEN FOSTER...........
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Posted by ( JackNelsonSteward ) on April 10, 2008 at 6:42 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I suppose we could keep "Old Folks ... " as the "historic" state song and adopt "Florida, Wherever ..." as the "official" or "safe" state song.
They each have some drawbacks. "Old Folks ... " was written for a minstrel show by a guy who never saw Florida and only has "Swannee" in it because "Yazoo" didn't sound as good. And, standing there at a State function in your tux with your hands folded and solemnly intoning
"All de world am sad and dreary,
Ebry where I roam,
Oh! darkies how my heart grows weary,
Far from de old folks at home."
cooooould be a little tough.
But, uuuh, what is a "childhood station?" I mean, if you're gonna replace lyrics, at least the new ones should make sense, huh?
As to "Florida, Wherever ... " (sigh)
I'm sorry, "If you can't say something nice ......"
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Posted by ( mcox567 ) on April 10, 2008 at 6:59 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
PT Barnum once said "There's a sucker born every minute." If he were around today, it'd be something like "There's a Floridian whining every second."
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Posted by ( Bonsai ) on April 10, 2008 at 7:52 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Everyone of those idiots in the Florida house need to be removed next election. They haven't done any darned thing right since they were elected.
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Posted by ( gatormb ) on April 10, 2008 at 7:56 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
People that complain about Good Friday have their own personal 'holiday' to celebrate. April 1st. "The fool has said in his heart, There is no God." (Psalms 14:1)
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Posted by ( RobKay ) on April 10, 2008 at 8:13 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Political correctness 101. I'm Polish and I love to hear and tell Polish jokes. They're Polish jokes because of the part of the country I come from. These same jokes are told elsewhere as Swedish, Norwegean, German, Irish, Etc. They don't mean anything - they're just jokes but some people choose to be offended by them. We usually don't hang around with those sourpusses because they really aren't much fun to be around. I have friends who love blond jokes and some of them are blond. Those jokes get emailed and collected and retold and everyone seems to enjoy them except a very few who choose to find them offensive.
The point I am trying to make here is that being offended by something is totally the choice of the person who claims to be offended and it is usually to their own demise. Trying to be politically correct serves no purpose other than to validate the position of the person who chooses to be offended. These people are in the minority and the majority of society is walking on eggs trying to keep from offending them even though they themselves are choosing to be offended. WHY? When this song was written "darkies" and "plantation" were not racial slures and no one was offended by their use. At one time it was considered correct to call someone a negro,then it was a black, then it was an afro-american. Guess what? They kept changing what they wanted to be called because some of them decided to be offended by the term, so we all changed our terminology to keep from injuring the thin skinned few who chose to be offended. Political correctness does not solve a problem because nomatter what terminology we choose to use, someone who wants to feel sorry for himself will choose to be offended by it and we will have to "adjust" again. If you haven't figured it out yet, someone is going to take offense by the term "dear one" because it is demeaning and makes the person sound like an effeminate child. Where ya gonna go next? Oh and exactly what is the problem with the term plantation anyway???
The point is there will always be a few thin skinned people who will find some excuse to be offended by something. They should not control the rest of us, and we should not validate their opinion by bowing down to it. There are enough offensive things in this world we should be offended by without making up new ones where no offense was intended.
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Posted by ( billyjoejenkins ) on April 10, 2008 at 8:17 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
OOOH! Bible verses!!
"Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ." (Ephesians 6:5)
"Slaves, obey your human masters in everything; don't work only while being watched, in order to please men, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord." (Colossians 3:22)
"Slaves are to be submissive to their masters in everything, and to be well-pleasing, not talking back ." (Titus 2:9)
"Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel. " (1 Peter 2:18)
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Posted by ( Linker ) on April 10, 2008 at 8:40 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Those that want to keep the state song as-is obviously do not care about those that are rightfully offended by it. But change the song? No, just replace it with another. The song was from a different era, and is no longer acceptable. Florida is so slow to catch up with the rest of the nation that it is nauseating; this state is a true melting pot, and discriminatory language, "values" & laws continue to hold it back.
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Posted by ( DarthRandall ) on April 10, 2008 at 8:48 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Why in the Hell didn't someone just edit "Swanee River" in the first place? NOOOOOO - we had to be inundated with bad song after bad song after bad song..... "Florida - Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky" is just crap and the author should be taken out back and put down. It’s nothing more than a bland, liberal, PC watering-down of anything that gives Florida a distinction from the rest of the country. It is dreck.
p.s. Quagmire - nice.
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Posted by ( Linker ) on April 10, 2008 at 8:49 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Hey, billyjoejenkins, thanks for the verses; so-called christians like to pick and choose what to believe in the bible. What do all you christians have to comment about those quotes about slaves? Sounds like the bible approves of slavery.
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Posted by ( DarthRandall ) on April 10, 2008 at 8:49 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
RobKay - So how many of you DOES it take to screw in a lightbulb?
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Posted by ( DarthRandall ) on April 10, 2008 at 9:06 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Linker - I wouldn't mind replacing it with another, just not something that sucks far worse than the original... Maybe the new song should have some hip-hop lyrics about shootings, drugs, bee-otches, and beat-downs? There, is that better for you? It has a more modern theme to it.............
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Posted by ( RobKay ) on April 10, 2008 at 9:06 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Darth, Not quite sure, haven't managed to do it yet. (Spend too much time online.) ~or~ Don't know, still working on trying to unscrew something. Have a good one!
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Posted by ( yankeejib ) on April 10, 2008 at 9:20 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Both songs suck.
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Posted by ( Quagmire ) on April 10, 2008 at 9:22 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Linker, did you star on the Mod Squad?
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Posted by ( watttt ) on April 10, 2008 at 9:43 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Whiners rule. It's the NEW America.
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Posted by ( khawks ) on April 11, 2008 at 7:58 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Wow, talk about a control issue and too much time on someone's hands over something that is a part of history for the state. Yes, let's waste money changing the state song because lord knows we don't have more important causes to address than a state anthem!
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