Folk song, U.S.A.
“Oh, Susanna!” is a song written by Stephen Foster (1826–1864), and has become very popular in the U.S.A.
The song has been performed by many minstrel troupes and was copyrighted and published at least 21 times from 1847 through 1851. Its first publication occurred in 1848 in Cincinnati by the W. C. Peters & Co Editions.
Sing-Along Video
Lyrics
1. Oh, I come from Alabama
with a banjo on my knee
I am goin’ to Lou’siana,
my true love for to see
Oh Susanna!
Don’t you cry for me!
For I come from Alabama
with a banjo on my knee
2. It rained all night the day I left,
the weather it was dry
and the sun so hot I froze to death,
Susanna don’t you cry
Oh Susanna!
Don’t you cry for me!
For I come from Alabama
with a banjo on my knee
3. Now I had a dream the other night,
when everything was still
and I thought I saw Susanna dear
a-comin’ down the hill
and a buckwheat cake was in her mouth,
a tear was in her eye
so I said I’m coming from the south,
Susanna don’t you cry!
Oh Susanna!
Don’t you cry for me!
For I come from Alabama
with a banjo on my knee
Oh Susanna!
Don’t you cry for me!
For I come from Alabama
with a banjo on my knee
Click on the button to watch a karaoke video and download a PDF file with lyrics to this song for free.
Free karaoke MP3 download
To download your free instrumental mp3 of this song, click or tap on the following button, then choose “Save link as…”
“Oh, Susanna!” (instrumental, 1:34 – 2/4 – 110 bpm)
This track is also featured in our New Album with 50 Instrumental Nursery Rhymes for karaoke, OUT NOW!
MP4 Video File | Free Download
To watch the karaoke video of this song on your mobile device, click on the following link to download the video file (mp4 format).
Oh, Susanna | Free mp4 Video File Download
Sheet music with chords
To save this free music sheet of “Oh, Susanna!” to your computer, right click (or tap and hold, on mobile devices) and choose “Save Image As…”.
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Free Printable PDF with Lyrics and Sheet Music
To download a ready-to-print PDF of this song for music activities with a music sheet, lyrics and a drawing for kids to paint, right click (or tap and hold) on the following link, then choose “Save link as…”.
“Oh, Susanna!” free PDF download – Singing Bell
Click on the button for a printable PDF file with Guitar Chords, Tabs and Sheet Music for this song for free.
Click on the button to watch a glockenspiel / xylophone tutorial video and download a free printable PDF file with glockenspiel / xylophone Music Sheet and Note Chart of this song.
If you’d like to watch a piano tutorial video and download a PDF file with music score of this song for free, click on the button below.
Teaching idea & activities
The song is a good occasion to practice the pentatonic scale, as the first two phrases of the melody are based on it.
Transpose the phrases a major second down (using the pentatonic do-re-mi-sol-la, or C-D-E-G-A), so that the absence of semitones can be clearer . Then try to improvise, everyone by themselves, 1-2 phrases singing solfège or just “bouche fermée”.
On the other side, the verses “It rain’d all night the day I left, The weather it was dry, The sun so hot I froze to death…” are nonsense, and it could be an opportunity to ask children to draw a picture for it, as strange as the text, or write similar verses and add one more stanza to the song.
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