Who Wrote Look Away Dixie Land?

“Dixie,” which is closely associated with the southern states of the Confederacy and the American Civil War, was written in 1860 by Dan Emmett.

Actually a northener(!), Emmett wrote the song for a minstrel show, purportedly on a cold New York day, while yearning for the warmer climes to be had in “the land of cotton.”

“Daniel Decatur ‘Dan’ Emmett (October 29, 1815 – June 28, 1904), was an American songwriter and entertainer…[he] is traditionally credited with writing the famous song ‘Dixie.’ The story that he related about its composition varied each time he told it, but the main points were that he composed the song in New York City while a member of Bryant’s Minstrels. The song was first performed by Emmett and the Bryants at Mechanics’ Hall in New York City on April 4, 1859. The song became a runaway hit, especially in the South, and the piece for which Emmett was most well known. Emmett himself reportedly told a fellow minstrel that ‘If I had known to what use they [Southerners] were going to put my song, I will be damned if I’d have written it.'” —Wikipedia

Emmett is sometimes also credited with writing the famous “Polly Wolly Doodle,” although he may have actually derived all or most of the song from existing traditional slave songs.

Dixie Lyrics
(Words and Music by Dan Emmett)

I wish I was in the land of cotton
Old times there are not forgotten
Look away, Look away!
Look away, Dixie Land

In Dixie Land where I was born in
Early on one frosty mornin’
Look away, Look away
Look away, Dixie Land

I wish I was in Dixie
Hooray, Hooray!
In Dixie Land I’ll take my stand
to live and die in Dixie
A-way, a-way
A-way down south in Dixie!

A-way, a-way
A-way down south in Dixie!

SIDEBAR: “Although best known as the song adopted by the Confederacy, “Dixie” was also Abraham Lincoln’s favorite song, and it was played at his inauguration. Even though Abe Lincoln loved and supported the song, Dan Emmett was ostracized in the North for writing a song associated with the South. In his last performance in Mount Vernon, it is reported that he cried when he was warmly welcomed and given a standing ovation as its writer. It is still considered to be one of the top two or three songs associated with the history of this country.” —National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences