WARNING: This is a blackface minstrel song, a genre that features demeaning caricatures rooted in racism and white supremacy.

“My Brodder Gum” was submitted by Firth, Pond & Co. on October 1, 1949. While the title on page three read “My Brodder Gum” the title page read “My Brudder Gum.” In the text of the song both spelling are used and were probably both included in Foster’s original manuscript.

According to Evelyn Foster Mornweck’s The Chronicles of Stephen Foster’s Family: 

Stephen’s financial prospects were now as good as any of his brothers’. Although he was receiving no returns from the popular “Nelly Was a Lady,” the large sale of the song indicated what he could expect under the new contracts. “My Brudder Gum” had been published on October 1, 1849. Between that date and his wedding day, July 22, 1850, Stephen published “Dolcy Jones,” “Summer Longings,” “Oh! Lemuel!” “Mary Loves the Flowers,” “Nelly Bly,” “Soiree Polka,” “Camptown Races,” “Dolly Day,“ “Angelina Baker,” “Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway,” “Way Down in Ca-i-ro,” “Molly! Do You Love Me?” and “The Voice of By Gone Days.”