List of U.S. state songs

Forty-nine of the fifty U.S. states that make up the United States of America have one or more state songs, a type of regional anthem, which are selected by each state legislature, and/or state governor, as a symbol (or emblem) of that particular U.S. state.

Some U.S. states have more than one official state song, and may refer to some of their official songs by other names; for example, Arkansas officially has two state songs, plus a state anthem, and a state historical song. Tennessee has the most state songs, with 9 official state songs and an official bicentennial rap.

Arizona has a song that was written specifically as a state anthem in 1915, as well as the 1981 country hit "Arizona", which it adopted as the alternate state anthem in 1982.[1]

Two individuals, Stephen Foster, and John Denver, have written or co-written two state songs. Foster's two state songs, "Old Folks at Home" (better known as "Swanee Ribber" or "Suwannee River"), adopted by Florida, and "My Old Kentucky Home" are among the best-known songs in the U.S. On March 12, 2007, the Colorado Senate passed a resolution to make Denver's trademark 1972 hit "Rocky Mountain High" one of the state's two official state songs, sharing duties with its predecessor, "Where the Columbines Grow".[2] On March 7, 2014, the West Virginia Legislature approved a resolution to make Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" one of four official state songs of West Virginia. Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed the resolution into law on March 8, 2014.[3] Additionally, Woody Guthrie wrote or co-wrote two state folk songs - "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On" and "Oklahoma Hills" - but they have separate status from the official state songs of Washington and Oklahoma, respectively. Other well-known state songs include "Yankee Doodle", "You Are My Sunshine", "Rocky Top", and "Home on the Range"; a number of others are popular standards, including "Oklahoma" (from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical), Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia on My Mind", "Tennessee Waltz", "Missouri Waltz", and "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away". Many of the others are much less well-known, especially outside the state.

New Jersey has no official state song, while Virginia's previous state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny", adopted in 1940,[1] was later rescinded in 1997 due to language deemed racist by the Virginia General Assembly.[4] In 2015, "Our Great Virginia" was made the new state song of Virginia.[5]

Maryland ("Maryland, My Maryland") and Iowa ("The Song of Iowa") use the tune from the song "O Tannenbaum" as the melody to their official state songs.[6]

State songs

State	State song	Composer(s)	Lyricist(s)	Year adopted
Alabama	"Alabama"	Edna Gockel Gussen	Julia S. Tutwiler	1931[1][7]
Alaska	"Alaska's Flag"	Elinor Dusenbury	Marie Drake	1955[1][8]
Arizona	State song: "Arizona"	Rex Allen and Rex Allen, Jr.	Rex Allen and Rex Allen, Jr.	1981[1][9]
	State anthem: "Arizona March Song"	Maurice Blumenthal	Margaret Rowe Clifford	1919[1][9]
Arkansas	State anthem: "Arkansas"	Eva Ware Barnett	Eva Ware Barnett	1917/1987[1][10]
	"Arkansas (You Run Deep in Me)"	Wayland Holyfield	Wayland Holyfield	1987[1][10]
	"Oh, Arkansas"	Terry Rose and Gary Klaff	Terry Rose and Gary Klaff	1987[1][10]
	State historical song: "The Arkansas Traveler"	Sanford Faulkner	(Official lyrics by committee, 1947)	1949/1987[1][10]
California	"I Love You, California"	Abraham F. Frankenstein	F. B. Silverwood	1951[1]
Colorado	"Where the Columbines Grow"	A.J. Fynn		1915[1][11][12]
	"Rocky Mountain High"	John Denver and Mike Taylor	John Denver	2007[11][13]
Connecticut	State song: "Yankee Doodle"			1978[1][14]
	State cantata: "The Nutmeg"			2003[1][14]
Delaware	"Our Delaware"	Will M. S. Brown	George Beswick Hynson	1925[1]
Florida	Official song: "Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)" (with revised lyrics)	Stephen Foster	Original: Stephen Foster Adapted: Stephen Foster Memorial at the University of Pittsburgh	2008 (revised lyrics)[15] 1935 (original lyrics)[1]
	Official poem: "I Am Florida"	Walter "Clyde" Orange	Allen Autry Sr.	2013[16][17]
	State anthem: "Florida (Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky)"	Jan Hinton		2008[18]
Georgia	"Georgia on My Mind", sung by Ray Charles	Hoagy Carmichael	Stuart Gorrell	1979[1]
Hawaii	State anthem: "Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī"	Henri Berger	King David Kalākaua	1967[1][19]
Idaho	"Here We Have Idaho"	Sallie Hume Douglas	McKinley Helm and Albert J. Tompkins	1931[1]
Illinois	"Illinois"	Archibald Johnston	Charles H. Chamberlain	1925[20]
Indiana	"On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away"	Paul Dresser		1913[1]
Iowa	"The Song of Iowa"	Melchior Franck	S. H. M. Byers	1911[1]
	Official Companion State Song: "Make Me a World in Iowa"	Effie Burt		2002[1][21]
Kansas	"Home on the Range"	Daniel E. Kelley	Brewster M. Higley	1947[1]
	Official state march: "The Kansas March"			1935[1]
	Official march: "Here's Kansas"			1992[1]
Kentucky	State song: "My Old Kentucky Home"	Stephen Foster		1928[1]
	Bluegrass song: "Blue Moon of Kentucky"	Bill Monroe		1988[1][22]
Louisiana	"Give Me Louisiana"	Doralice Fontane[23]		1970[1]
	"You Are My Sunshine"	Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell		1977[1]
	State march: "Louisiana My Home Sweet Home"			1952[1]
	Environmental song: "The Gifts of Earth"[24]
Maine	State song: State of Maine	Roger Vinton Snow	Roger Vinton Snow	1937[1]
	State ballad: Ballad of the 20th Maine	The Ghost of Paul Revere	Griffin Sherry	2019
Maryland	"Maryland, My Maryland" (to the tune of "O Tannenbaum")	Melchior Franck	James Ryder Randall	1939[1][25]
Massachusetts	State anthem: "All Hail to Massachusetts"	Arthur J. Marsh		1981[1][26]
	State folk song: "Massachusetts"	Arlo Guthrie		1981[1][27]
	State ceremonial march: "The Road to Boston"	unknown		1985[1][28]
	State patriotic song: "Massachusetts (Because of You Our Land is Free)"	Bernard Davidson		1989[1][29]
	State glee club song: "The Great State of Massachusetts"	J. Earl Bley	George A. Wells	1997[1][30]
	State polka: "Say Hello to Someone from Massachusetts"	Lenny Gomulka[31]		1998[32]
	State ode: "Ode to Massachusetts"	Joseph Falzone		2000[1][33]
Michigan	An official state song: "My Michigan"	H. O'Reilly Clint	Giles Kavanaugh	1937[1]
Minnesota	"Hail! Minnesota"	Truman Rickard	Cyrus Northrop	1945[1]
Mississippi	"Go, Mississippi" (sometimes called Go Mis-sis-sip-pi)	William Houston Davis		1962[1]
Missouri	"Missouri Waltz"	melody: John V. Eppel arranged: Frederic K. Logan	J.R. Shannon	1949[1]
Montana	"Montana"	Joseph E. Howard	Charles Cohan	1945[1]
	State ballad: "Montana Melody"			1983[1]
	State lullaby: "Montana Lullaby"			2007[34]
Nebraska	Official: "Beautiful Nebraska"	Jim Fras	Jim Fras and Guy Miller	1967[1][35]
Nevada	"Home Means Nevada"		Bertha Rafetto	1933[1]
New Hampshire	Official: "Old New Hampshire"	Maurice Hoffman	John F. Holmes	1949[1] 1977
	Official: "Live Free or Die"	Barry Palmer		2007
	Honorary: "New Hampshire, My New Hampshire"			1963[1]
	Honorary: "New Hampshire Hills"			1973[1]
	Honorary: "Autumn in New Hampshire"			1977[1]
	Honorary: "New Hampshire's Granite State"			1977[1]
	Honorary: "Oh, New Hampshire"			1977[1]
	Honorary: "The Old Man of the Mountain"			1977[1]
	Honorary: "The New Hampshire State March"			1977[1]
	Honorary: "New Hampshire Naturally"			1983[1][36]
New Jersey	None[37]	N/A		N/A
New Mexico	State song: "O Fair New Mexico"	Elizabeth Garrett		1917[1]
	Spanish state song: "Así Es Nuevo Méjico"	Amadeo Lucero		1971[1]
	State ballad: "Land of Enchantment"	Michael Martin Murphey, Don Cook, and Chick Rains		1989[1]
	Bilingual song: "New Mexico – Mi Lindo Nuevo México"	Pablo Mares		1995[1]
	State cowboy song: "Under New Mexico Skies"	Syd Masters		2009
New York	State song: "I Love New York"	Steve Karmen		1980[38]
	State hymn of remembrance: "Here Rests in Honored Glory"	Donald B. Miller		2018[39][40]
North Carolina	"The Old North State"	E.E. Randolph	William Gaston	1927[1]
North Dakota	"North Dakota Hymn"	C. S. Putman	James Folely	1947[1]
Ohio	"Beautiful Ohio"	Mary Earl	Ballard MacDonald (1918) Wilbert McBride (1989)	1969[1][41]
	Rock song: "Hang On Sloopy"	Wes Farrell and Bert Berns		1985[1][42]
Oklahoma	Official state song: "Oklahoma"	Richard Rodgers	Oscar Hammerstein II	1953[1][43]
	Official state waltz: "Oklahoma Wind"			1982[1]
	State Folk Song: "Oklahoma Hills"	Woody Guthrie and Jack Guthrie		2001[44][45]
	Official state children's song: "Oklahoma, My Native Land"	Martha Kemm Barrett		1996[46]
	Official state gospel song: "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"	Wallis Willis		2011[47]
Oregon	"Oregon, My Oregon"	Henry Bernard Murtaghin	John Andrew Buchanan	1927[1]
Pennsylvania	"Pennsylvania"			1990[1]
Rhode Island	State march: "Rhode Island"			1996
	State song: "Rhode Island, It's for Me"			1996[1]
South Carolina	"Carolina"	Anne Curtis Burgess	Henry Timrod G.R. Goodwin (editor)	1911[1]
	"South Carolina on My Mind"	Hank Martin and Buzz Arledge		1984[1]
South Dakota	"Hail, South Dakota!"	DeeCort Hammitt		1943[1]
Tennessee	"My Homeland, Tennessee"	Roy Lamont Smith	Nell Grayson Taylor	1925[48]
	"When It's Iris Time in Tennessee"	Willa Waid Newman		1935[1][48]
	"My Tennessee"	Frances Hannah Tranum		1955[48]
	"Tennessee Waltz"	Pee Wee King	Redd Stewart	1965[1][48]
	"Rocky Top"	Felice and Boudleaux Bryant		1982[1][48]
	"Tennessee"	Vivian Rorie		1992[48]
	"The Pride of Tennessee"	Fred Congdon / Thomas Vaughn / Carol Elliot		1996[1][48]
	"A Tennessee Bicentennial Rap: 1796-1996"	Joan Hill Hanks		1996[48]
	"Smoky Mountain Rain"	Kye Fleming Dennis Morgan		2010[48][49][50]
	"Tennessee"	John R. Bean		2012[48]
Texas	"Texas, Our Texas"	William J. Marsh	William J. Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright	1929[51][52]
Utah	State song: "Utah…This Is The Place"	Sam and Gary Francis		2003[53]
	State hymn: "Utah, We Love Thee" (state song from 1937 to 2003)[54]	Evan Stephens		2003[1]
Vermont	"These Green Mountains"	Diane Martin (composer) Rita Buglass Gluck (arranger)	Diane Martin	1999[1][55]
Virginia	Traditional state song: "Our Great Virginia"	Jim Papoulis (arranger), based on "Oh Shenandoah"	Mike Greenly	2015[5]
	Popular state song: "Sweet Virginia Breeze"	Steve Bassett and Robbin Thompson		2015[5]
	Emeritus state song: "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" (retired as official song in 1998)	James A. Bland[56]		1940[1][4]
Washington	State song: "Washington, My Home"	Stuart Churchill (arranger)	Helen Davis	1959[1]
	State folk song: "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On"	based on "Goodnight, Irene"	Woody Guthrie	1987[1][57]
	Unofficial state rock song: "Louie Louie"	Richard Berry	Richard Berry	unofficial[58]
West Virginia	Official state song: "The West Virginia Hills"	Henry Everett Engle	Ellen Ruddell King	1963[1][59]
	Official state song: "This Is My West Virginia"	Iris Bell	Iris Bell	1963[1][59]
	Official state song: "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home"	Julian G. Hearne, Jr.	Julian G. Hearne, Jr.	1963[1][59]
	Official state song: "Take Me Home, Country Roads"	John Denver, Bill Danoff, and Taffy Nivert		2014[60]
Wisconsin	State song: "On, Wisconsin!"	William T. Purdy	Charles D. Rosa and J. S. Hubbard	1959[1][61]
	State ballad: "Oh Wisconsin, Land of My Dreams"	Shari A. Sarazin	Erma Barrett	2001[1][61]
	State waltz: "The Wisconsin Waltz"	Eddie Hansen	Eddie Hansen	2001[1][61]
Wyoming	State march: "Wyoming"	George Edwin Knapp	Charles E. Winter	1955[1][62]
	State song: "Wyoming Where I Belong"	Annie & Amy Smith	Annie & Amy Smith	2018

Territories

Along with Washington, D.C. (a federal district), some U.S. overseas territories, although not U.S. states, have songs and marches of their own.

Territory	Song	Composer(s)	Lyricist(s)	Year adopted
American Samoa	"Amerika Samoa"	Napoleon Andrew Tuiteleleapaga	Mariota Tiumalu Tuiasosopo	1950
Washington, D.C.	Song: "Washington"	Jimmie Dodd		1951[63]
	March: "Our Nation's Capital"	Anthony A. Mitchell		1961[63]
Guam	"Stand Ye Guamanians"	Ramon Manalisay Sablan	Ramon Manalisay Sablan Lagrimas Untalan (translation)	1919
Northern Mariana Islands	"Gi Talo Gi Halom Tasi"	Wilhelm Ganzhorn	David Kapileo Taulamwaar Peter Jose and Joaqin Pangelinan	1996
Puerto Rico	Anthem: "La Borinqueña"	Félix Astol Artés	Manuel Fernández Juncos	1977
United States Virgin Islands	"Virgin Islands March"	Sam Williams and Alton Adams		1963

See also

• List of U.S. state, district, and territorial insignia
• Lists of United States state symbols

References

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5. "Listen: Virginia Now Has 2 State Songs". 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
6. "Maryland, my meh song", The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, 15 March 2016. Retrieved on 05 June 2017.
7. Act 31-126, Acts of Alabama, "STATE SONG: Alabama". Official Symbols and Emblems of Alabama. Alabama Department of Archives & History. 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
8. "Official State Song". Alaska Information. State of Alaska Office of Economic Development. Archived from the original on 2007-03-13. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
9. "Arizona State Anthems". SOS for Kids. Arizona Secretary of State's Office. 2003. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
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14. State of Connecticut, Sites ° Seals ° Symbols Archived 2008-03-14 at the Wayback Machine; Connecticut State Register & Manual; retrieved on January 4, 2007
15. Archived 2013-07-28 at the Wayback Machine "Summary of Bills Related to Arts, Cultural, Arts Education. Or Historical Resources That Passed the 2008 Florida Legislature May 5, 2008", Retrieved 2011-12-14
16. "SR1894". flsenate.gov. Florida State Senate. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
17. "I Am Florida". www.iamflorida.org. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
18. from janhintonmusic.com "Home" page. Retrieved on November 27, 2008
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23. Statton, Dana; Mitchell, Jennifer (28 August 2014). "Give Me Louisiana: Selections from the Doralice Fontane Papers". Louisiana State University. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
24. Lyrics & act numbers of official songs Archived 2006-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
25. Maryland, My Maryland - Maryland State Song
26. "Section 19". www.mass.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
27. "Section 20". www.mass.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
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31. "Official Web Site of Lenny Gomulka and the Chicago Push". chicagopush.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
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33. "Section 47". www.mass.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
34. Montana Code Annotated 2019, Title 1, Chapter 1, Part 5, 1-1-530 State lullaby, retrieved 2019-10-27
35. NE-gov-symbols.
36. "Section 3:7 State Songs". www.gencourt.state.nh.us. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
37. reynolds. "Frequently Asked Questions | NJ Facts". www.state.nj.us. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
38. "New York State Information and Emblems: New York State Library". www.nysl.nysed.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
39. "Section 91. State hymn of remembrance in honor of all American veterans", New York Consolidated Laws, State Law, Article 6, 2019-10-29, retrieved 2019-12-26
40. Arnold, Chad (January 3, 2019), "New York gets new veterans' hymn despite objections to Christian theme", Democrat and Chronicle, retrieved 2019-12-26
41. Ohio Revised Code: 1989 S 33, eff. 11-6-89; 1989 H 457
42. House Concurrent Resolution 16 on November 20, 1985.
43. "25 Okla. Stat.] § 94.1–3". state.ok.us. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
44. "Oklahoma Session Laws – 2001 – Section 47 – Oklahoma State Folk Song; declaring "Oklahoma Hills" as the Oklahoma State Folk Song. Effective date". www.oscn.net. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
45. 25 Okla. Stat. § 94.8–10
46. 25 Okla. Stat. § 94.5–7
47. 25 Okla. Stat. § 94.11–13
48. "State Songs". State of Tennessee. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
49. Tennessee Journal, Vol. 36, No. 23, June 4, 2010
50. Tom Humphrey, 'Smoky Mountain Rain' Wins Race to Become 8th State Song Archived 2010-06-06 at the Wayback Machine, KnoxNews website, June 3, 2010.
51. Spain, Jr., Charles A. (19 May 2014). "Texas, Our Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
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53. Utah State Song - "Utah, This is the Place" from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer: Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on 2008-09-08
54. Utah State Hymn - "Utah We Love Thee" from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer: Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on 2008-09-08
55. "State Song". Secretary of State of Vermont. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
56. The song was rescinded in 1998 but is still not yet replaced and still in use until for the time being.
57. "Symbols of Washington State". Washington State Legislature. Archived from the original on 2007-03-05. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
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59. Ramella, Richard. "West Virginia's Three State Songs". West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
60. "'Take Me Home, Country Roads' a WVa State Song". USA Today. March 7, 2014.
61. "State song, state ballad, state waltz, state dance, and state symbols". Wisconsin Legislature 1.10. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
62. "Wyoming Facts and Symbols: State Song". State of Wyoming. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
63. Imhoff, Gary (October 1999). "Our Official Songs". DC Watch. Retrieved February 7, 2012.

External links

• Media related to Songs of the United States at Wikimedia Commons