“The Sweet Sunny South” dates back to sometime in the 19th century. There is no evidence of exactly where or when this song was first played. According to Charles Wolfe some sheet music indicates that it could have been written in the 1840's perhaps for a minstrel show. Cecil Sharp collected it in 1918. It is mostly thought of as a traditional song though there are different early copyrights on it. John C. Schreiner and Raymond are two names that have copyright claims. The tune is akin to the older "Hicks's Farewell" tune that appears in nineteenth-century shape-note hymnals. During the folk revival of the 1950’s and 1960’s this song began to regain it’s popularity. It was recorded by Charlie Poole and The North Carolina Ramblers in 1929, Da Costa Wolz's Southern Broadcasters, The New Lost City Ramblers, Jerry Garcia and David Grisman and others. It was printed in Sharp's English Folk-Songs from the Southern Appalachians (1917).