Oh! Susanna by Stephen Foster is 120 BPM — Allegro (fast).
Half-time 60 BPM · Double-time 240 BPM · released 1848
Song DNA
Misophonia Triggers
A folk song about a man traveling from Alabama to Louisiana to find his sweetheart Susanna, featuring a banjo and polka-influenced beat.
Hear it the way it was made
The right gear changes everything.
Moods: joyful, nostalgic, playful
Traditions: American traditional, folk
"Oh! Susanna" by Stephen Foster
120 BPM, dynamic range 4/10, smooth texture, soft vocals. Sits in the middle band — neither built for stillness nor pitched at workout intensity. Whether it works for a given moment depends more on mood and lyrical content than on the acoustic profile. The full sensory breakdown follows.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 4/10 is within the normal pop-mix band. There is variation between verse and chorus, but it's the kind of variation most listeners encounter routinely.
Sudden changes: none. Transitions are musically signaled — nothing will surprise you if you're only half-listening.
Texture: smooth.
Predictability is high — the song telegraphs what it will do next. A sensory-sensitive listener can usually guess where it's going without close attention.
Vocal style: soft vocals.
Explore by mood and tradition
Guides that may help
How fast is "Oh! Susanna"?
120 BPM — Upbeat (dance-pop / running warm-up)
Slow jog or recovery run pace. Matches a 120-140 stride-per-minute cadence.
Steady cardio, power walking, light weights.
Driving, getting ready in the morning, light party.
Browse more songs at 120 BPM.
When "Oh! Susanna" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
Maybe — fine for routine work, but the mid-song changes may pull attention during deep focus.
Yes — 120 BPM sits squarely in the running / cardio band. Matches natural stride cadence.
Maybe — calm overall, but tempo is a bit high for deep sleep. Better for winding down than falling asleep.
Yes — predictable enough for safe driving attention, interesting enough to stay engaged.
Yes — sits in the background without demanding attention.
Not really — it's pleasant but doesn't hit hard enough for cathartic listening.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
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Why this rating
We rate this song Safe because its dynamic range stays within our low-variance band, there are no unsignaled changes, and the texture and vocal style are both in the low-fatigue range. Our methodology uses an AND rule for Safe — a song has to clear every dimension to earn the rating.
See how “Oh! Susanna” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
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Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-18. Reviewed by the Music I Want editorial team against the documented methodology.
Think this rating is wrong? Contact the editor — every message is read and ratings get revised.
By the numbers: how this song compares
Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.
Where it sits in 19,000 songs
This sits near the calm end of everything we've measured — gentler than 91% of the 19,209 songs in the library. Its intensity reading of 19/100 comes from a dynamic range of 4/10, smooth texture, no sudden shifts, and soft vocals. It shares this stretch of the spectrum with thousands of other tracks, so the finer fingerprint below is what really separates it.
What makes it unusual
What stands out most about this song is an unusually steady, even volume: more extreme on that axis than 97% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.
Feels almost identical to
Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.
What it’s good for
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
Mixes smoothly with
Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.
The fingerprint
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "Oh! Susanna"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "Oh! Susanna" by Stephen Foster?
"Oh! Susanna" by Stephen Foster has a tempo of 120 BPM (Allegro (fast)). At half-time that is 60 BPM, and at double-time 240 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "Oh! Susanna" by Stephen Foster?
"Oh! Susanna" by Stephen Foster rates as Low-Intensity. Dynamic range 4/10, no sudden changes, smooth texture. Our Low-Intensity rating means no single dimension triggers the higher-intensity thresholds.
How loud is "Oh! Susanna" — what is its dynamic range?
"Oh! Susanna" has a dynamic range of 4/10. Within normal pop-mix variation. Movement between verse and chorus but nothing dramatic.
Does "Oh! Susanna" have sudden or surprising changes?
No. "Oh! Susanna" has no sudden unsignaled changes. Every transition is musically telegraphed.
What is "Oh! Susanna" best for?
In our library "Oh! Susanna" is recommended for: gentle play, long car ride, movement. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
What is the emotional mood of "Oh! Susanna"?
We tag "Oh! Susanna" as joyful, nostalgic, playful. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "Oh! Susanna"?
The vocal style is soft vocals.
Is "Oh! Susanna" good for running?
Yes — at 120 BPM it sits in the running-cadence band (120-180 BPM). Match your stride to the beat and it keeps pace with most recreational runners.
Is "Oh! Susanna" good for studying?
Yes — low dynamic range (4/10) and no sudden changes means the song stays in the background without pulling focus.
Can I use "Oh! Susanna" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Dynamic range is too high — quiet moments will be ambushed by louder ones.
Should I listen to "Oh! Susanna"?
If you want gentle, low-arousal music, "Oh! Susanna" is a solid pick — Low-Intensity across every sensory dimension.
Songs with the same DNA
smooth texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.
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