This song, also known as “Way Down Upon the Swanee River” was composed by Stephen Foster in 1851. He was commissioned by E.P. Christy to write a song for his popular band, The Christy Minstrels. Christy also paid Foster for the right to be credited as the song’s composer. Therefore, when the song was initially published by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York, the sheet music named Christy as the composer.

The Suwanee River starts in the Okefenokee Swamp and runs through Georgia and Florida before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. The name is thought to be a corruption of San Juanee (“Little Saint John”). Foster intentionally misspelled the river’s name, as it had too many syllables to fit the melody and so when published, it came out as "Swanee River."