Yet another of Stephen Foster’s songs is Oh Susanna. Information taken from Wikipedia is as follows: The nonsense verse that opens the song hints that the song is not intended to be taken too seriously. “Oh! Susanna” is a song written by Stephen Foster. It was first published on February 25, 1848. Popularly associated with the California Gold Rush, the song is occasionally (incorrectly) called “Banjo on My Knee”. In 1843, the year Daniel Decatur Emmett established the Virginia Minstrels as the first blackface troupe in New York. Foster, 16, was working as a bookkeeper for his brother’s business in Pittsburgh. His brother, Morrison Foster, was a friend of the early circus blackface clown, Dan Rice, and the young Stephen came under Rice’s influence. Foster also became aware of the new fad of “Ethiopian” songs. He also met a member of the minstrel troupe, the Sable Harmonists, who performed his first attempt, “Old Uncle Ned.” A contest in 1847 given by The Eagle Saloon stimulated the song called “Away Down Souf.” His next attempt was titled “Susanna” advertised at “A Grand Gala Concert” as “[A] new song, never before given to the public.” A local music store, Peters & Field bought the song for $100, but before they could publish it, it was pirated by a New York publisher who printed it with the name of EP Christy as author. Christy’s Minstrels were rapidly becoming the most popular group in the Bowery theater district of Manhattan, and were to be the chief performers of …