Influences on Daniel Decatur Emmett

Influences on Daniel Decatur Emmett

“Dixie” was written in the traveling minstrel “walk-around” tradition, which had roots in African American slave songs and the communal dancing of tribal Africans. The original lyrics were even written so as to sound like what most people assumed slaves talked like.

Influenced by Daniel Decatur Emmett

The song has had a major impact on American culture, not just American music. There are countless businesses, organizations, songs, and even band names with “Dixie” in the title, all using the word to represent their Southern heritage. More directly, “Dixie” spawned numerous different versions of the song, each meant to represent a certain group or area of the country during the Civil War.