Words and music by Stephen Foster. This song, written in 1847, and composed when he was only 20, earned Foster his first payment - $100 cash - and has become one of his most enduring melodies. It was first performed in public by Foster himself at the Eagle Ice Cream Saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 11th, 1847. Foster gave the rights to the song to his friend William Peters, who first published the piece in 1848, eventually making over $100,000 on this and one other Foster tune.