This piece is a classic example of early 20th-century American sentimental piano writing. It is musically notable for its singing melody and reliance on expressive harmonic shifts.
The primary challenge is to create a singing tone while managing the pedaling for smooth phrasing.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
'Way down South is rated Henle level 2 of 9 — beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 2–3. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 2.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 2 — meaning you can already play level 1–2 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of 'Way down South lasts about 3 minutes.
'Way down South is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include Für Elise by Ludwig van Beethoven, Butterfly Lovers by Shuwen Zhang, 'O marenariello by Salvatore Gambardella — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.