"Dixie" also known as "Dixie's Land", "I Wish I Was in Dixie" and other titles, is a popular American song. It is one of the most distinctively American musical products of the 19th century and probably the best-known song to have come out of blackface minstrelsy. Although not a folk song at its creation, "Dixie" has since entered the American folk vernacular. The song likely cemented the word "Dixie" as a nickname for the Southern United States. "Dixie's Land" was the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy, and arguably its' most popular song. This is ironic because Daniel Decatur Emmett (1815-1904) was a Yankee who wrote it for a black-face minstrel show. The song was an instant hit when first performed on September 12, 1859, in New York City. 'Dixie' (as it was commonly called) arrived in the Southern states just as they were voting for secession. It became very popular there and was soon associated with the new Confederacy. In yet another irony, the song was a favorite of President Abraham Lincoln. Emmett published "Dixie" (under the title "I Wish I Was in Dixie's Land") on June 21, 1860 through Firth, Pond & Co. in New York. The original manuscript has been lost. President Abraham Lincoln had it played at some of his political rallies and at the announcement of General Robert E. Lee's surrender. A Union parody of "Dixie" is in this section as "Union Dixie". It has been recorded many times by many singers including The Skillet Lickers and Fennig's All-Star String Band. The version I remember best is by Tennessee Ernie Ford on Tennessee Ernie Ford Sings Civil War Songs of the South. It was printed in American Veteran Fifer (1902), Mattson & Walz's Old Fort Snelling: Instruction Book for the Fife (1974), Phillips' Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1 (1994), Sweet's Fifer's Delight (1964/1981), Westrop's 120 Country Dances ... for the Violin (1923) and many other publications.