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Old Folks at Home

2025-10-26T06:14:33Z

73.25.156.142:

{{Short description|19th century minstrel song by Stephen Foster and Florida state song}}
{{for|the film|The Old Folks at Home (film)}}
{{Infobox anthem
|title=Old Folks at Home
|image=Oldfolksathome.jpg
|prefix=Regional
|adopted={{Start date and age|1935}}
|music_date=1851
|lyrics_date=1851, revised in 2008
|published={{Start date and age|1851}}
|country={{Flagcountry|Florida}}
|author=[[Stephen Foster]]
|composer=[[Stephen Foster]]
|sound=Foster - Schumann-Heink - Old Folks at Home (rec. 1918).ogg
|sound_title="Old Folks at Home"
performed by [[Ernestine Schumann-Heink]] (1918)
}}

"'''Old Folks at Home'''" (also known as "'''[[Suwannee River|Swanee River]]'''") is an [[American folk music|American folk song]], written as a [[minstrel song]] by [[Stephen Foster]] in 1851. Since 1935, it has been the official [[List of U.S. state songs|state song]] of [[Florida]], although in 2008 the [[#Lyrics|original lyrics]] were [[Expurgation|revised]].<ref name=NewLyricsStatute>{{cite web |url=http://www.flca.net/images/50508_Status_of_Bills.pdf |title=Summary of Bills Related to Arts, Cultural, Arts Education. Or Historical Resources That Passed the 2008 Florida Legislature May 5, 2008 |publisher=State of Florida |access-date=December 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728195711/http://www.flca.net/images/50508_Status_of_Bills.pdf |archive-date=July 28, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is [[Roud Folk Song Index]] no. 13880.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vwml.org/search?q=13880&collectionfilter=RoudFS;RoudBS&is=1 |title=Old Folks At Home |website=[[Vaughan Williams Memorial Library]]}}</ref>

==Composition==
[[File:Suwanneerivermap.png|thumb|Map of the [[Suwannee River]] basin]]
"Old Folks at Home" was commissioned in 1851 by [[E. P. Christy]] for use by [[Christy's Minstrels]], his minstrel troupe. Christy also asked to be credited as the song's creator, and was so credited on early [[sheet music]] printings. As a result, while the song was a success, Foster did not directly profit much from it, though he continued to receive royalties for the song.<ref name="americana">{{cite book
|last=Studwell
|first=William Emmett
|author-link=William Studwell
|date=1997
|title=The Americana Song Reader
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vREVAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Old+Folks+at+Home%22+florida+tourism&pg=PA95
|publisher=Psychology Press
|page= 114
|isbn= 0789001500 }}</ref>

Foster had composed most of the lyrics but was struggling to name the river of the opening line, and asked his brother, Morrison, to suggest one. Morrison wrote, "One day in 1851, Stephen came into my office, on the bank of the Monongahela, Pittsburgh, and said to me, 'What is a good name of two syllables for a Southern river? I want to use it in this new song of ''Old Folks at Home''.' I asked him how Yazoo would do. 'Oh,' said he, 'that has been used before.' I then suggested Pedee. 'Oh, pshaw,' he replied, 'I won't have that.' I then took down an atlas from the top of my desk and opened the map of the United States. We both looked over it and my finger stopped at the 'Swanee,' a little river in Florida emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. 'That's it, that's it exactly,' exclaimed he delighted, as he wrote the name down; and the song was finished, commencing, 'Way Down Upon de Swanee Ribber.' He left the office, as was his custom, abruptly, without saying another word, and I resumed my work."<ref name="NYT">{{Cite book|last=Earhart|first=Will|title=Songs of Stephen Foster Prepared for Schools and General Use|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|year=1946|location=Pittsburgh, PA|pages=42–43}}</ref> Foster himself never saw the Suwannee, or even visited Florida, but nevertheless Florida made "Old Folks At Home" its state song in 1935, replacing "[[Florida, My Florida]]".<ref name="floridados">[https://dos.fl.gov/florida-facts/florida-state-symbols/state-song/ State Song: Old Folks At Home], Florida Department of State</ref> Despite the song's popularity during the era, few people outside of Florida actually knew where the Suwannee River was, or that it was even a real place.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=vREVAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Old+Folks+at+Home%22+florida+tourism&pg=PA95 Memory's Milestones: Reminiscences of Seventy Years of a Busy Life in Pittsburgh].</ref>

[[Antonín Dvořák]]'s ''[[Humoresques (Dvořák)|Humoresque No. 7]]'', written in the 1890s, is musically similar and is sometimes played along with "Old Folks at Home". Dvořák also made an arrangement of the song, for baritone, chorus and orchestra, in 1894. The [[Library of Congress]]'s National Jukebox presents a version with soprano [[Alma Gluck]] and violinist [[Efrem Zimbalist]] Sr.<ref>
{{cite web
| title = Old folks at home
| publisher = Library of Congress
| url = https://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/4724
| access-date = 2011-07-17 }}
</ref>
[[Jean Arthur]] and [[Gary Cooper]] sing a duet of "Old Folks at Home" combined with ''Humoresques (Dvořák)|Humoresque No. 7'' in the 1936 film ''[[Mr. Deeds Goes to Town]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mr. Deeds Goes To Town |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81u9rM__zEs&t=3142s |website=YouTube.com | date=20 May 2023 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref>

==Lyrics revisions==

Written in the first person from the perspective and in the dialect of an African slave (at a time when [[Slavery in the United States|slavery was legal in 15 of the states of the US]]), the song's narrator states "longing for [[Plantation complexes in the Southern United States|de old plantation]]",<ref name="CAM">{{cite web | access-date=October 1, 2012 | archive-date=January 16, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116204342/http://www.pitt.edu/~amerimus/lyrics.htm#Old%20Folks%20at%20Home | url=http://www.pitt.edu/~amerimus/lyrics.htm#Old%20Folks%20at%20Home | title=Old Folks at Home | url-status=live | work=Center for American Music Library | author=Center for American Music}}</ref> which has been criticized as romanticizing slavery. On the other hand, a longing for the "old folks at home" has sometimes been interpreted, for example, by [[W. E. B. Du Bois]] in ''[[The Souls of Black Folk]]'' (1903), as a longing for the people and traditions of Africa, where most of the human beings enslaved in the New World had been free before they were kidnapped and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in the [[Atlantic slave trade]]. The word, "[[List of ethnic slurs#D|darkies]]", used in Foster's lyrics, has been amended; for example, "brothers" was sung in place of "darkies" at the dedication of the new Florida state capitol building in 1978.<ref>{{Citation
|author1 = Becnel, Tom
|author2 = Grimes, David
|year=2006
|publication-date=2006
|title=Florida Curiosities, 2nd: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff
|page=23
|publisher=[[Globe Pequot Press]]
|isbn=0762741066
}}</ref> In general, at public performances another word like "lordy", "mama", "darling", "brothers", "children", or "dear ones" is typically substituted.

In practice, the pronunciation, as written in dialect, has long been disregarded in favor of the corresponding standard American English usage, as demonstrated by the song's performances at the 1955 [[Florida Folk Festival]].<ref>Note several performances on the Florida Memory website, e.g., [http://fpc.dos.state.fl.us/memory/collections/folklife/FFF-MP3/1955/T77-18.mp3], Retrieved 2011-12-19</ref>

===State song of Florida===

As the official [[List of U.S. state songs|state song]] of Florida, "Old Folks at Home" has traditionally been sung as part of a [[Governor of Florida|Florida governor's]] inauguration ceremony. However, over time, the lyrics were progressively altered to be less offensive; as [[Diane Roberts]] observed:
<blockquote>Florida got enlightened in 1978; we substituted "brothers" for "darkies". There were subsequent revisions. At [[Jeb Bush]]'s second inauguration as governor in 2003, a young black woman gave a moving, nondialect rendition of "Old Folks at Home", except "still longing for the old plantation" came out "still longing for my old connection". Perhaps someone confused Stephen Foster's lyrics with a cell phone commercial.<ref name="GBN">{{Citation
|author=Diane K. Roberts
|author-link=Diane Roberts
|year=2004
|publication-date=2004
|title=Dream State: Eight Generations of Swamp Lawyers, Conquistadors, Confederate Daughters, Banana Republicans, and other Florida Wildlife
|publisher=[[Free Press (publisher)|Free Press]], a Division of [[Simon & Schuster]]
|place=[[New York City]], US
|page=[https://archive.org/details/dreamstateeightg00robe/page/97 97]
|isbn=978-0-7432-5206-5
|url=https://archive.org/details/dreamstateeightg00robe/page/97
}}</ref></blockquote>

In his 2007 inauguration ceremony, [[Charlie Crist]] decided not to include the state song, but rather to use in its place "The Florida Song", a composition written by black Floridian [[jazz]] musician Charles Atkins.<ref name=SPT1>{{cite news |url=http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article547675.ece |title=Jan Hinton's new Florida anthem is a song from her heart |newspaper=[[St. Petersburg Times]] |last=Klinkenburg |first=Jeff |date=June 1, 2008 |access-date=2011-12-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015073646/http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article547675.ece |archive-date=October 15, 2012 }}</ref> Crist then encouraged state Senator [[Anthony C. Hill|Tony Hill]], who was the leader of the legislature's Black Caucus, to find a new song.<ref name=SPT2>{{cite news |url=http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/2008/06/crist-signs-sta.html?cid=120758244 |title=Crist signs state song, state anthem |newspaper=[[St. Petersburg Times]] |last=Colavecchio-Van Sickler |first=Shannon |date=June 30, 2008 |access-date=April 29, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015073709/http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/2008/06/crist-signs-sta.html?cid=120758244 |archive-date=October 15, 2012 }}</ref> Hill joined forces with state Representative [[Ed Homan]] and the [[Florida Music Education Association]] to sponsor a contest for a new state song.<ref name=WJHG>{{cite news |url=http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/6774282.html |title=Lawmakers Launch Contest to Pick New State Song |last=Langley |first=Victoria |publisher=[[WJHG-TV]] |date=March 29, 2007 |access-date=May 2, 2011 |archive-date=September 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928062401/http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/6774282.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On January 11, 2008, the song "[[Florida (Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky)]]" was selected as the winner. The [[Florida Legislature]] considered the issue and ultimately adopted it as the state anthem while retaining "Old Folks at Home" as the state song, replacing its original lyrics with a revised version approved by scholars at the [[Stephen Foster Memorial]].<ref name=CAM2>{{cite web
|url=http://www.pitt.edu/~amerimus/ofah.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111125756/http://www.pitt.edu/~amerimus/ofah.htm |title=Old Folks at Home |access-date=October 1, 2012 |archive-date=January 11, 2009 |author=Center for American Music |work=Center for American Music Library
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2008-04-25/news/0804240782_1_state-song-florida-s-song-swanee-river |title=Senate cleans up lyrics of state song |last=Kleindienst |first=Linda |newspaper=[[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]] |date=April 25, 2008 |access-date=2011-12-19 |archive-date=2012-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826004436/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2008-04-25/news/0804240782_1_state-song-florida-s-song-swanee-river |url-status=dead }}</ref> Governor Crist stated that he was not pleased by the "two songs" decision; but he signed the bill, creating a new state anthem and establishing the reworded version of the state song by [[statute]], rather than by resolution like the 1935 decision.<ref name=NewLyricsStatute/><ref name="floridados" />

==Lyrics==

{| <style="width: 300px; text-align: left;">
! Original lyrics<br />by Stephen Foster, 1851<ref name=CAM />
! State Song of Florida<br />as revised in 2008<ref name="floridados"/>
|-
|
<poem style="width: 300px;">
Way down upon de Swanee ribber,
Far, far away,
Dere's wha my heart is turning ebber,
Dere's wha de old folks stay.

All up and down de whole creation
Sadly I roam,
Still longing for de old plantation,
And for de old folks at home.

''Chorus''
All de world am sad and dreary,
Ebry where I roam;
Oh! darkeys, how my heart grows weary,
Far from de old folks at home!

''2nd verse''
All round de little farm I wandered
When I was young,
Den many happy days I squandered,
Many de songs I sung.
When I was playing wid my brudder
Happy was I;
Oh! take me to my kind old mudder,
Dere let me live and die.

''3rd Verse''
One little hut among de bushes,
One dat I love
Still sadly to my memory rushes,
No matter where I rove.
When will I see de bees a-humming
All round de comb?
When will I hear de banjo strumming,
Down in my good old home?
</poem>
|
<poem>
Way down upon the Suwannee River,
Far, far away,
There's where my heart is turning ever,
There's where the old folks stay.

All up and down the whole creation,
Sadly I roam,
Still longing for my childhood station,
And for the old folks at home.

''Chorus''
All the world is sad and dreary
Everywhere I roam.
O dear ones, how my heart grows weary,
Far from the old folks at home.

''2nd verse''
All ‘round the little farm I wander’d,
When I was young;
Then many happy days I squander’d,
Many the songs I sung.
When I was playing with my brother,
Happy was I.
Oh, take me to my kind old mother,
There let me live and die.

''3rd Verse''
One little hut among the bushes,
One that I love.
Still sadly to my memory rushes,
No matter where I rove.
When will I see the bees a humming,
All ‘round the comb?
When shall I hear the banjo strumming,
Down in my good old home.
</poem>
|}

==Notable recordings==
[[Joel Whitburn]] identifies early successful recordings by [[Len Spencer]] (1892), [[Vess Ossman]] (1900), [[Haydn Quartet (vocal ensemble)|Haydn Quartet]] (1904), [[Louise Homer]] (1905),
[[Alma Gluck]] (1915), Taylor Trio (1916) and by [[Oscar Seagle]] and Columbia Stellar Quartet (1919).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Whitburn|first1=Joel|title=Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954|date=1986|publisher=Record Research Inc|location=Wisconsin, USA|isbn=0-89820-083-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/561 561]|url=https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/561}}</ref>

The song enjoyed a revival in the 1930s with versions by [[Jimmie Lunceford]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Whitburn|first1=Joel|title=Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954|date=1986|publisher=Record Research Inc|location=Wisconsin, USA|isbn=0-89820-083-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/284 284]|url=https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/284}}</ref> and by [[Bunny Berigan]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Whitburn|first1=Joel|title=Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954|date=1986|publisher=Record Research Inc|location=Wisconsin, USA|isbn=0-89820-083-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/52 52]|url=https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/52}}</ref> [[Bing Crosby]] sang the song in the 1935 movie ''[[Mississippi (film)|Mississippi]]'' and also recorded the song commercially the same year.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Bing Crosby Discography|url=http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/crosby1bDecca.html|website=BING magazine|publisher=International Club Crosby|access-date=May 30, 2017}}</ref>

[[Ray Charles]] used it as an inspiration for his 1957 remake of the song on the [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] label, entitled: "Swanee River Rock (Talkin' 'Bout That River)".

[[Kenny Ball]] And His Jazzmen recorded a [[Swing (jazz performance style)|swing]] version of the song (using only the first verse and chorus twice over and substituting "Lordy" for "darkies") in 1962 for [[Pye Records]].<ref name="kennyball">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K29HIvTkyF0 |title=Swanee River- Kenny Ball And His Jazzmen - 1962 Pye Records |publisher=YouTube.com |date=2009-07-22 |access-date=2018-03-14}}</ref> The recording appeared on the B side of their 1963 single "[[Sukiyaki (song)|Sukiyaki]]". Another swing version was recorded by [[Hugh Laurie]] (2011).<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-qv87vXQzo Hugh Laurie - Swanee River (From Let Them Talk : Special Edition)].</ref>

[[Tony Sheridan]] recorded it in 1962 on the [[Polydor Records|Polydor]] label as a [[Rock and roll|Rock 'n' roll]] song with his backing band The Beat Brothers issued on his album "[[My Bonnie]]". Another version was also done for him that same year by [[the Beatles]] but this recording was lost.<ref>[[Mark Lewisohn]], ''[[The Beatles: All These Years]], Volume 1 – Tune In'', Harmony Books, 2013, page 629. {{ISBN|0-307-3533-70}}</ref>

[[The Beach Boys]] recorded it in 1963 with changed lyrics as "South Bay Surfer", after [[Brian Wilson]] had recorded it with [[The Honeys]] in yet another iteration, as "Surfin' Down the Swanee River". The Beach Boys would later revisit it as an instrumental intro to "[[Ol' Man River]]" during the recording sessions for their 1969 [[20/20_(The_Beach_Boys_album)|20/20]] album, which wouldn't make the final cut.

[[Larry Groce]] sang the song on [[Disney Children's Favorite Songs 2]] in 1979, omitting the second verse.

==Other media appearances==
*1930 ''[[Mammy (1930 film)|Mammy]]'' – sung by minstrel chorus
*1935 ''[[Mississippi (film)|Mississippi]]'' – sung by [[Bing Crosby]]
*1936 ''[[Mr. Deeds Goes to Town]]'' – 1st verse sung by [[Jean Arthur]]
*1939 ''[[Swanee River (1939 film)|Swanee River]]''
*1940 ''[[Remember the Night]]'' – performed by [[Fred MacMurray]] (piano and vocal)
*1941 ''[[Babes on Broadway]]'' – [[Eddie Peabody]] on banjo, dubbing for [[Mickey Rooney]]
*1941 ''[[Nice Girl?]]'' – sung by [[Deanna Durbin]]
*1942 ''[[The Palm Beach Story]]'' – sung by the Ale and Quail Club members
*1944 ''[[Ghost Catchers]]'' – danced by the Ghost
*1947 ''[[Road to Rio]]'' – a few lines sung by [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Bob Hope]]
* The song is featured in two 1956 episodes of ''[[The Honeymooners]]'' TV series. The beginning of Swanee River is played by Ed Norton (on the harmonica) before Ralph's apology in "A Matter of Record" (#1.15). In the episode, "The $99,000 Answer" (#1.19), Norton has a strange habit that before he can play any song, he always plays a few notes of "Old Folks at Home"/"Swanee River" to warm up.
*1961 ''[[The Alvin Show]]'' – sung by [[Alvin and the Chipmunks]], originally from the album ''[[Sing Again with The Chipmunks]]''.
*1963 ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]'' – in Season 13 Episode 20, Jack Benny plays Stephen Foster as he tries to write some of his famous songs. The episode features Connie Francis as Foster's wife, who inadvertently helps Foster break his writer's block by commenting on unusual events around their home. She ends up singing "Old Folks at Home".
*1982 ''[[Grease 2]]'' – An instrumental xylophone version of Swanee River was played by Blanche ([[Dody Goodman]]) as the first day of school welcoming jingle, before she was interrupted by Principal McGee ([[Eve Arden]]) so she could make the welcoming announcement.
*1987 ''[[Tales of Little Women]]'' – sung by the March Sisters (Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy) for Laurie Lawrence, Anthony Boone, John and Tom Brooke, and near the end of their outdoor picnic.
*2004 ''[[Arrested Development]]'' – in Season 1 Episode 14, "Shock and Aww", an instrumental version of the song, plays over the scene prior to the end credits.
*2005 ''[[Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix]]'' – The song "Frozen Pipes", used in stage 4-1 of Story Mode, is an instrumental dance arrangement of "Old Folks at Home".
*2010 ''[[Good Luck Charlie]]'' – Residents at a nursing home demand Teddy and Ivy to perform the song for them repeatedly.
*2010 ''[[The King's Speech]]'' film – Sung a cappella by [[Lionel Logue]] ([[Geoffrey Rush]]), the speech and language therapist of the future King [[George VI]] ([[Colin Firth]]), during an impromptu session
*2018 ''[[BlacKkKlansman]]'' – An orchestral version of Swanee River plays over a clip from [[Gone With the Wind (film)]] during the opening scene.

== See also ==
* [[List of best-selling sheet music]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{wikisource}}{{Commons category}}
*[http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/image-idx?rgn1=sketchbook_st;op2=And;rgn2=ic_all;c=sketchbook;q1=Old%20Folks%20at%20Home;back=back1425811876;size=20;subview=detail;resnum=1;view=entry;lastview=thumbnail;cc=sketchbook;entryid=x-20050812-foster-016;viewid=0000007V.TIF Closeup of Foster's notebook page with first draft of "Old Folks at Home", including substitution of "Pedee" with "Swannee"]

{{Stephen Foster}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Folks At Home}}
[[Category:1851 songs]]
[[Category:American folk songs]]
[[Category:Blackface minstrel songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Stephen Foster]]
[[Category:United States state songs|Florida]]
[[Category:Music of Florida]]
[[Category:Symbols of Florida]]
[[Category:Songs about old age]]
[[Category:Songs about Florida]]
[[Category:Songs about rivers]]
[[Category:Songs of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Works subject to expurgation]]

Adios (KMFDM album)

2025-08-10T04:20:52Z

73.25.156.142: /* Release date controversy */ makes more sense

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Adios
| type = studio
| artist = [[KMFDM]]
| cover = KMFDM - Adios.png
| alt =
| released = April 20, 1999
| recorded = 1998
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = *[[Electro-industrial]]
*[[club music|club]]<ref name="allmusic"/>
*[[industrial metal]]
| length = 49:54
| label = [[Wax Trax! Records|Wax Trax!]]/[[TVT Records|TVT]]
| producer = [[Sascha Konietzko]], [[Tim Sköld|Tim Skold]], [[Chris Shepard]]
| prev_title = [[Symbols (album)|Symbols]]
| prev_year = 1997
| next_title = [[Attak]]
| next_year = 2002
}}

'''''Adios''''' is the tenth studio album released by German [[Industrial music|industrial]] band [[KMFDM]]. The album was originally conceived as the group's parting shot to its longtime record label, [[Wax Trax! Records]],<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H8S0WdfdaJQC&q=kmfdm+adios+-wikipedia+-mp3+-lyrics+contract&pg=PA14 | title=Wax Trax!-TXT Offers KMFDM's Final Statement With 'Adios' | journal=CMJ New Music Report | author=Sciaretto, Amy | publisher=Robert Haber | issue=612 | page=14 | date=April 5, 1999 | access-date=July 16, 2012}}</ref> but it ended up also signaling the break-up of KMFDM itself until the band reformed in 2002. Recorded in [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], this was the last album to feature [[En Esch]] and [[Günter Schulz]], who both went on to form [[Slick Idiot]]. Following the break-up, founding member [[Sascha Konietzko]] created the band [[MDFMK]], before reforming KMFDM in 2002 without Esch or Schulz.

The album was released on April 20, 1999, the same date the [[Columbine High School massacre]] took place. [[Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold]], the two perpetrators of the massacre, were both avid KMFDM fans. Eric Harris noted the coincidence of the album's title and release date in his journal.<ref>"heh, get this. KMFDM's new album is entitled "Adios" and its release date is in April. how fuckin appropriate, a subliminal final "Adios" tribute to Reb and Vodka. thanks KMFDM... I ripped the hell outa the system" -Eric Harris [http://www.acolumbinesite.com/eric/writing/journal/journal16.html A Columbine Site] Retrieved September 17, 2010</ref>

A digitally remastered reissue of ''Adios'' was released on May 8, 2007, along with the digitally remastered reissue of ''[[Symbols (album)|Symbols]]''.

==Background==
The 1990s core of KMFDM ([[Sascha Konietzko]], [[En Esch]], and [[Günter Schulz]]) had reunited for the previous album, ''[[Symbols (album)|Symbols]]'', and toured together along with fellow German [[industrial metal]] band [[Rammstein]] in 1997.<ref name=latimes-1997>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-10-ca-62405-story.html | author=Boehm, Mike | title=A Haus Divided | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=December 10, 1997 | access-date=July 27, 2012}}</ref> The core line-up was joined on tour by John DeSalvo, [[Nivek Ogre]], and [[Tim Sköld]].<ref name=latimes-1997/> ''Adios'' was written almost entirely by Konietzko and Sköld, who became an official member for the band's final release with [[Wax Trax! Records]]. Schulz, who had done significant writing for the previous five albums, acted only as a studio musician, while Esch helped write only a pair of songs.
It was originally intended to be released in 1998 but was pushed back by the record label as the "rarities" compilation album AGOGO was offered up instead. KMFDM had already disbanded by the time of its eventual release.

==Release date controversy==
''Adios'' was released on April 20, 1999, which coincided with the [[Columbine High School massacre]] and [[Adolf Hitler]]'s birthday.
<ref>{{cite news | url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DN&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI%7CDN&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB5CE474D7991CD&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM | title=Music Linked To Killings? | work=[[Philadelphia Daily News]] | publisher=Knight Ridder | date=April 22, 1999 | access-date=August 13, 2012 | archive-date=May 23, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523142622/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DN&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI%7CDN&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB5CE474D7991CD&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM | url-status=dead }}</ref>
Because [[Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold]] were big fans of the group, KMFDM released an official statement denouncing the violence, sympathizing with the victims and their families, and explaining that the band had no Nazi affiliations whatsoever.<ref name="KMFDM1999">{{cite web | url=http://www.kmfdm.net/ | title=KMFDM.net on April 27, 1999 from archive.org | publisher=KMFDM Inc | date=April 27, 1999 | access-date=August 13, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/19990427193333/http://www.kmfdm.net/ | archive-date = April 27, 1999}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}<ref name="allmusic"/>
| rev2 = ''[[CMJ New Music Report]]''
| rev2Score = positive<ref name=cmj-1999/>
| rev3 = ''[[PopMatters]]''
| rev3Score = {{Rating|8|10}}<ref name="popmatters"/>
| rev4 = ''[[Release (magazine)|Release]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|9|10}}<ref name=release>{{cite web |url=http://www.releasemagazine.net/Onrecord/orkmfdma.htm |author=Noheden, Kristoffer |work=[[Release (magazine)|Release]] |publisher=Release Musik & Media |date=May 22, 1999 |title=KMFDM: Adios - Release On Line review |access-date=July 25, 2012}}</ref>
}}
''Adios'' received positive reviews. Gina Boldman of [[AllMusic]] said of the album: "KMFDM sound smoother yet maintain their emotive mayhem in all its glory."<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web | url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/adios-mw0000034498 | title=Adios Review | author=Boldman, Gina | publisher=[[Allmusic]]. [[Rovi Corporation]] | access-date=July 25, 2012}}</ref> The staff of ''PopMatters'' called ''Adios'' a "superb mix of the anarchaic fueled fury of the 80’s and a full awareness of what their genre has become."<ref name="popmatters">{{cite web | url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/kmfdm-adios/ | title=Adios Review | author=PopMatters Staff | work=PopMatters | publisher=PopMatters Media, Inc. | access-date=March 12, 2010}}</ref> Remarking on the band's then-disbandment, they further stated that KMFDM "left us with something to remember them by."<ref name="popmatters"/> Amy Sciarretto of ''[[CMJ New Music Report]]'' said that ''Adios'' "continues in the group's grand tradition of techno-informed, industrial-fueled beat manipulation". She said the beats, guitars, and female vocals formed "an electrifying chemistry", concluding, "''Adios'' is a satisfying sendoff for KMFDM and its legion of fans."<ref name=cmj-1999>{{cite journal | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ypZypqzY1lAC&q=kmfdm+adios&pg=PA24 | author=Sciarretto, Amy | title=Reviews: KMFDM Adios | journal=[[CMJ New Music Report]] | page=24 | volume=58 | issue=7 | date=May 10, 1999 | access-date=August 13, 2012}}</ref>

==Track listing==
{{track listing
| all_writing = [[Sascha Konietzko]] and [[Tim Skold]], unless otherwise noted
| title1 = Adios
| length1 = 3:56
| title2 = Sycophant
| length2 = 5:13
| title3 = D.I.Y.
| length3 = 4:51
| title4 = Today
| length4 = 4:57
| title5 = Witness
| note5 = Konietzko, Skold, [[Nina Hagen]]
| length5 = 7:23
| title6 = R.U.OK?
| length6 = 4:46
| title7 = That's All
| note7 = Konietzko, Skold, [[Nivek Ogre]], [[En Esch]]
| length7 = 5:08
| title8 = Full Worm Garden
| note8 = Konietzko, Skold, Ogre, [[William Rieflin]]
| length8 = 5:03
| title9 = Rubicon
| length9 = 3:44
| title10 = Bereit
| note10 = Konietzko, Skold, Esch
| length10 = 4:53
| total_length = 49:54
}}

==Personnel==
* Sascha Konietzko – [[singing|vocals]] (1–3, 6–10), [[synthesizer|synths]], [[programming (music)|programming]] (1–10), guitar (10)
* Tim Skold – vocals (1–4, 6–10), programming (1–10), [[Bass guitar|bass]] (9)
* Günter Schulz – guitar (1–3, 7, 9, 10)
* [[Cheryl Wilson]] – vocals (2, 4, 7–9)
* En Esch – [[Hi-hat (instrument)|hi-hat]] & [[cymbal]]s (2), vocals (3, 7, 10), add. programming (7)
* Frank Chotai – add. programming (4)
* Paul de Carli – digital editing (4)
* [[Nina Hagen]] – vocals (5, 10)
* [[Nivek Ogre]] – vocals (7, 8)
* [[William Rieflin]] – programming (8)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070314204245/http://www.kmfdm.net/discography/albums/adios.htm KMFDM DØTKØM] ''Adios'' lyrics at the official KMFDM website

{{KMFDM}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adios (Kmfdm Album)}}
[[Category:1999 albums]]
[[Category:1999 controversies]]
[[Category:KMFDM albums]]
[[Category:TVT Records albums]]
[[Category:Metropolis Records albums]]
[[Category:Columbine High School massacre]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Sascha Konietzko]]
[[Category:Music controversies]]