"Swanee," music by GEORGE GERSHWIN, lyrics by Irving Caesar, 1919. The song that launched the storied GERSHWIN career. The most famous of a host of songs derived from Stephen Foster's lyric "Way down upon the Swanee River" ("Old Folks At Home," 1851), extolling a dreamy, mythological Paradise Lost down South. This and numerous other musical eCards (FredGrams) are designed expressly for young parents (and grandparents) to teach their children the alphabet and, in addition, acquaint them with classical music and great composers.