You "Ain't" Just Whistlin' "Dixie:" the Song-- Part 2: The Great Dixie Debate

As far as where the term Dixie came from, some believe it referred to Louisiana which had a large French population and still was using French currency. Their ten dollar bill was called a "dix" and the word was printed on the bill. Louisiana became known as Dix's Land and then Dixie Land.

Others (including myself) believe Emmett was referring to Dixon of the pre-Revolutionary War Mason- Dixon line, the boundary between Maryland (the South) and Pennsylvania (the North).

It has also been reported that Northern circus people had coined the phrase "I wish I was in Dixie" meaning that they wished the show would move down South when winter came.

The Great Dixie Debate. --Old Secesh

You "Ain't" Just Whistlin' "Dixie:" the Song-- Part 1: A Yankee Wrote It

From the September 15, 2012, Waxahachie Texas Daily Light. "Spotlight on History: Two Famous songs of the Civil War" by David Hudgins.

"Dixie" was also titled "Dixie's Land," "Dixie Land" and "I Wish I Was In Dixie's Land." Daniel Emmett of Ohio wrote it and it was first sung in New York in 1859.

Emmett was a member of a minstrel stage show where white people performed in blackface. The owner of the show asked him to write an upbeat "walk-around" song for the show because the tunes they were using were getting old. At the end of the show, someone would come up on stage and start singing and try to get the audience to sing along.

The phrase "I wish I was in Dixie" was not a normal Southern statement. It was a Northern phrase used to describe the South.

Even to this day, no one is really sure exactly where Mr. Emmett's Dixie was (like Margaritaville or Kokomo).

More Dixie to Come. --Old Secesh