The weather it was dry, The sun so hot I froze to death...", which have been described as "nonsense". It is one of the songs by Foster that use the word "nigger" (others are "Old Uncle Ned" and "Oh! Lemuel", both also among Foster's early works), which appears in the second verse ("De lectric fluid magnified, And killed five hundred nigger."). Popularity and adaptations The song is one of Stephen Foster's best-known songs, and it also is one of the best-known American songs. No American song had sold more than 5,000 copies before; "Oh! Susanna" sold over 100,000. After its publication, it quickly became known as an "unofficial theme of the Forty-Niners", with new lyrics about traveling to California with a "washpan on my knee". A traditional Pennsylvania Dutch version uses Foster's melody but replaces the lyrics entirely. Notable recordings One of the earliest recordings, using the original "killed five hundred Nigger" lyrics, was released by Harry C. Browne in 1916 (Columbia COL A-2218). Browne also released other openly racist songs that same year, including Nigger Love a Watermelon, Ha! Ha! Ha!. The song is sung by a band in Wilson (1944) during the 1912 Democratic National Convention. A 1955 novelty recording of the song by The Singing Dogs reached No. 22 on the US Billboard Pop Singles chart, and No. 13 in the UK. Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album 101 Gang Songs (1961). In 1963, The Big 3 recorded Tim Rose's composition "The Banjo Song", which sets Foster's lyrics to a completely new melody. Rose's melody was then used for Shocking Blue's 1969 hit Venus (Shocking Blue song). Neil Young and Crazy Horse covered Rose's version on their 2012 album Americana. A humorous recording of "Oh! Susanna" was the last track on the second album by The Byrds, Turn! Turn! Turn!, in 1965. James Taylor also included a version of the song on his second album, Sweet Baby James, in 1970. References External links "Oh! Susanna" on Grey Gull record 4125 c.1923 sung by Arthur Fields - Original lyrics Artist Nikki Hornsby's grandfather "Cheerful" Dan Hornsby recorded this song for Columbia Records #1268-D 1929 First edition (W.C. Peters, 1848) scanned by the Library of Congress American folk songs Blackface minstrel songs Songs written by Stephen Foster Songs about Alabama Songs about Louisiana Songs of the American Civil War Polkas 1848 songs American children's