Derby Prep–Peeking into Research for My Old Kentucky Home Book
On the first Saturday in May, as the Kentucky Derby is about to begin, 150,000 people at Churchill Downs and a worldwide TV audience pause to sing or at least mumble along as a band plays the sentimental strains of “My Old Kentucky Home.” The words of the song’s first verse — the only one sung then — speak of the beauty of Kentucky, a longing for home and hard times “a knockin’ at the door.” But what is the song really about? Who is this lady, and why is she weeping?–By Tom Eblen, Lexington Herald-Leader