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List of U.S. state songs

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Forty-eight of the fifty states in the United States have one or more state songs, a type of regional anthem, which are selected by each state legislature as a symbol (or emblem) of that particular state. 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 of the same name), 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.

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 official state songs, with 14 (including an official bicentennial rap).

Two individuals, Stephen Foster and John Denver, have written or co-written state songs for two different states. Foster wrote the music and lyrics for "My Old Kentucky Home", adopted by Kentucky in 1928, and "Old Folks at Home" (better known as "Swanee Ribber" or "Suwannee River"), adopted by Florida in 1935.[1] John Denver wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the music for "Rocky Mountain High", adopted by Colorado in 2007 as one of the state's two official state songs,[2] and co-wrote both lyrics and music for "Take Me Home, Country Roads", adopted by West Virginia in 2014 as one of four official state songs.[3] Additionally, Woody Guthrie wrote or co-wrote two state folk songs – "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On" (Washington) and "Oklahoma Hills" (Oklahoma) – but they have separate status from the official state songs of both states.

New Mexico has two state songs in Spanish: "Así Es Nuevo México" is the official Spanish state song, while "New Mexico - Mi Lindo Nuevo Mexico" is the state bilingual song.

Iowa's "The Song of Iowa" uses the tune from the song "O Tannenbaum" as its melody.[4] The same tune is used for "Maryland, My Maryland" which was Maryland's state song from 1939 to 2021.

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]

Absences and removals

New Jersey has never adopted a state song.[5][6] A resolution to declare the song "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen as the state song passed the Assembly, but failed in the state Senate as the song's lyrics depict a desire to leave New Jersey.[7][8]

Oklahoma's state "rock song" from 2009 to 2011 was "Do You Realize??" by The Flaming Lips, but the state legislature vote was not ratified.[9][10] The move might have purportedly been due to offensive lyrics and a band member wearing of communist symbols on a shirt.[11]

Maryland had a state song until 2021. "Maryland, My Maryland" was removed due to pro-Confederate language, but no replacement was established.[12]

Virginia's previous state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny", adopted in 1940,[1] was rescinded in 1997 due to language deemed racist by the Virginia General Assembly.[13] In 2015, "Our Great Virginia" was made the new state song of Virginia.[14]

In 2021, Louisiana made "You Are My Sunshine" their only official state song by removing the less-popular "Give Me Louisiana". "You Are My Sunshine" is so beloved by Louisiana residents that many of them, including state legislators, were unaware that a second official song existed prior to the proposed removal. "Southern Nights" was added at the same time as the removal, but given a new designation as a state cultural song.[15]

State songs

State State song Composer(s) Lyricist(s) Year adopted
Template:Flagu "Alabama" Edna Gockel Gussen Julia S. Tutwiler 1931[1][16]
Template:Flagu "Alaska's Flag" Elinor Dusenbury Marie Drake 1955[1][17]
Template:Flagu State song: "Arizona" Rex Allen and Rex Allen, Jr. Rex Allen and Rex Allen, Jr. 1981[1][18]
State anthem: "Arizona March Song" Maurice Blumenthal Margaret Rowe Clifford 1919[1][18]
Template:Flagu State anthem: "Arkansas" Eva Ware Barnett Eva Ware Barnett 1917/1987[1][19]
"Arkansas (You Run Deep in Me)" Wayland Holyfield Wayland Holyfield 1987[1][19]
"Oh, Arkansas" Terry Rose and Gary Klaff Terry Rose and Gary Klaff 1987[1][19]
State historic song: "Arkansas Traveler" Sandford C. Faulkner State Song Selection Committee 1949/1987[1][19]
Template:Flagu "I Love You, California" Abraham F. Frankenstein F. B. Silverwood 1951[1]
Template:Flagu "Where the Columbines Grow" A.J. Fynn 1915[1][20][21]
"Rocky Mountain High" John Denver and Mike Taylor John Denver 2007[20][22]
Template:Flagu State song: "Yankee Doodle" 1978[23][24]
Second state song: "Beautiful Connecticut Waltz" Joseph Leggo 2013[23][24]
State cantata: "The Nutmeg" Stanley L. Ralph 2003[23][24]
State polka: "Ballroom Polka" Ray Henry 2013[24][25]
Template:Flagu "Our Delaware" Will M. S. Brown George Beswick Hynson 1925[1]
Template:Flagu 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 		1935 (original lyrics)[1]
2008 (revised lyrics)[26]
Official poem: "I Am Florida" Walter "Clyde" Orange Allen Autry Sr. 2013[27][28]
State anthem: "Florida (Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky)" Jan Hinton 2008[29]
Template:Flagu "Georgia on My Mind", sung by Ray Charles Hoagy Carmichael Stuart Gorrell 1979[1]
Template:Flagu State anthem: "Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī" Henri Berger King David Kalākaua 1967[1][30]
Template:Flagu "Here We Have Idaho" Sallie Hume Douglas McKinley Helm and Albert J. Tompkins 1931[1]
Template:Flagu "Illinois" Archibald Johnston Charles H. Chamberlain 1925[31]
Template:Flagu "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" Paul Dresser 1913[1]
Template:Flagu "The Song of Iowa" Lauriger Horatius S. H. M. Byers 1911[1]
Official Companion State Song: "Make Me a World in Iowa" Effie Burt 2002[1][32]
Template:Flagu "Home on the Range" Daniel E. Kelley Brewster M. Higley 1947[1][33]
Official state march: "The Kansas March" 1935[1]
Official march: "Here's Kansas" 1992[1]
Template:Flagu State song: "My Old Kentucky Home" Stephen Foster 1928[1]
Bluegrass song: "Blue Moon of Kentucky" Bill Monroe 1988[1][34]
Template:Flagu "You Are My Sunshine" Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell 1977[1]
State march: "Louisiana My Home Sweet Home"[35] Castro Carazo Sammie McKenzie and Lou Levoy 1952[1]
State environmental song: "The Gifts of Earth"[36] Frances LeBeau 1990[37]
State cultural song: "Southern Nights"[38] Allen Toussaint 2021[38]
Template:Flagu 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
Template:Flagu None[12] N/A N/A N/A
Template:Flagu State anthem: "All Hail to Massachusetts" Arthur J. Marsh 1981[1][39]
State folk song: "Massachusetts" Arlo Guthrie 1981[1][40]
State ceremonial march: "The Road to Boston" Unknown 1985[1][41]
State patriotic song: "Massachusetts (Because of You Our Land is Free)" Bernard Davidson 1989[1][42]
State glee club song: "The Great State of Massachusetts" J. Earl Bley George A. Wells 1997[1][43]
State polka: "Say Hello to Someone from Massachusetts" Lenny Gomulka[44] 1998[45]
State ode: "Ode to Massachusetts" Joseph Falzone 2000[1][46]
Template:Flagu An official state song: "My Michigan" H. O'Reilly Clint Giles Kavanaugh 1937[1]
Template:Flagu "Hail! Minnesota" Truman Rickard Cyrus Northrop 1945[1]
Template:Flagu "Mississippi" Bonita Crowe 1916[47][48][49]
"Go, Mississippi" William Houston Davis 1962
"One Mississippi" Steve Azar 2022[1]
Template:Flagu "Missouri Waltz" melody: John V. Eppel
arranged: Frederic K. Logan		 J.R. Shannon 1949[1]
Template:Flagu "Montana" Joseph E. Howard Charles Cohan 1945[1]
State ballad: "Montana Melody" 1983[1]
State lullaby: "Montana Lullaby" 2007[50]
Template:Flagu Official: "Beautiful Nebraska" Jim Fras Jim Fras and Guy Miller 1967[1][51]
Template:Flagu "Home Means Nevada" Bertha Rafetto 1933[1]
Template:Flagu 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][52]
Template:Flagu None[53] N/A N/A N/A
Template:Flagu State song: "O Fair New Mexico" Elizabeth Garrett 1917[1]
Spanish state song: "Así Es Nuevo México" 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
Template:Flagu State song: "I Love New York" Steve Karmen 1980[54]
State hymn of remembrance: "Here Rests in Honored Glory" Donald B. Miller 2018[55][56]
Template:Flagu "The Old North State" E.E. Randolph William Gaston 1927[1]
Template:Flagu "North Dakota Hymn" C. S. Putnam James Folely 1947[1]
State Waltz: "Dancing Dakota" Chuck Suchy 2025[57][58]
Template:Flagu "Beautiful Ohio" Mary Earl Ballard MacDonald (1918)
Wilbert McBride (1989)		 1969[1][59]
Rock song: "Hang On Sloopy" Wes Farrell and Bert Berns 1985[1][60]
Template:Flagu Official state song: "Oklahoma" Richard Rodgers Oscar Hammerstein II 1953[1][61]
Official state waltz: "Oklahoma Wind" 1982[1]
State Folk Song: "Oklahoma Hills" Woody Guthrie and Jack Guthrie 2001[62][63]
Official state children's song: "Oklahoma, My Native Land" Martha Kemm Barrett 1996[64]
Official state gospel song: "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" Wallis Willis 2011[65]
Template:Flagu "Oregon, My Oregon" Henry Bernard Murtagh John Andrew Buchanan 1927[1]
Template:Flagu "Pennsylvania" Eddie Khoury and Ronnie Bonner 1990[1]
“Pennsylvania” Gertrude Rohrer Gertrude Rohrer 1960
Template:Flagu State march: "Rhode Island" 1996
State song: "Rhode Island, It's for Me" Maria Day and Kathryn Chester Charlie Hall 1996[1]
Template:Flagu "Carolina" Anne Curtis Burgess Henry Timrod
G.R. Goodwin (editor)		 1911[1]
"South Carolina on My Mind" Hank Martin and Buzz Arledge 1984[1]
"Richardson Waltz" unknown 2000[66]
Template:Flagu "Hail, South Dakota!" DeeCort Hammitt 1943[1]
Template:Flagu "My Homeland, Tennessee" Roy Lamont Smith Nell Grayson Taylor 1925[67]
"When It's Iris Time in Tennessee" Willa Waid Newman 1935[1][67]
"My Tennessee" Frances Hannah Tranum 1955[67]
"Tennessee Waltz" Pee Wee King Redd Stewart 1965[1][67]
"Rocky Top" Felice and Boudleaux Bryant 1982[1][67]
"Tennessee" Vivian Rorie 1992[67]
"The Pride of Tennessee" Fred Congdon, Thomas Vaughn, and Carol Elliot 1996[1][67]
"A Tennessee Bicentennial Rap: 1796-1996" Joan Hill Hanks 1996[67]
"Smoky Mountain Rain" Kye Fleming
Dennis Morgan		 2010[67][68][69]
"Tennessee" John R. Bean 2012[67]
"The Tennessee in Me" Debbie Matthas 2023[70]
"Copperhead Road" Steve Earle 2023[70]
"Tennessee, In My Dreams" Makky Kaylor Makky Kaylor 2024[71]
"Under a Tennessee Moon" Kelly Lang 2024[72]
Template:Flagu "Texas, Our Texas" William J. Marsh William J. Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright 1929[73][74]
Template:Flagu State song: "Utah...This Is the Place" Sam and Gary Francis 2003[75]
State hymn: "Utah, We Love Thee"
(state song from 1937 to 2003)[76]		 Evan Stephens 2003[1]
Template:Flagu "These Green Mountains" Diane Martin (composer)
Rita Buglass Gluck (arranger)		 Diane Martin 1999[1][77]
Template:Flagu Traditional state song: "Our Great Virginia" Jim Papoulis (arranger), based on "Oh Shenandoah" Mike Greenly 2015[14]
Popular state song: "Sweet Virginia Breeze" Steve Bassett and Robbin Thompson 2015[14]
Emeritus state song: "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" (retired as official song in 1998) James A. Bland[78] 1940[1][13]
Template:Flagu 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][79]
Unofficial state rock song: "Louie Louie" Richard Berry Richard Berry unofficial[80]
Template:Flagu Official state song: "The West Virginia Hills" Henry Everett Engle Ellen Ruddell King 1963[1][81]
Official state song: "This Is My West Virginia" Iris Bell Iris Bell 1963[1][81]
Official state song: "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home" Julian G. Hearne, Jr. Julian G. Hearne, Jr. 1963[1][81]
Official state song: "Take Me Home, Country Roads" John Denver, Bill Danoff, and Taffy Nivert 2014[82]
Template:Flagu State song: "On, Wisconsin!" William T. Purdy Charles D. Rosa and J. S. Hubbard 1959[1][83]
State ballad: "Oh Wisconsin, Land of My Dreams" Shari A. Sarazin Erma Barrett 2001[1][83]
State waltz: "The Wisconsin Waltz" Eddie Hansen Eddie Hansen 2001[1][83]
Template:Flagu State song: "Wyoming" George Edwin Knapp Charles E. Winter 1955[1][84]
State song: "Wyoming Where I Belong" Annie & Amy Smith Annie & Amy Smith 2018[1][85]

Federal district songs

Federal district Song Composer(s) Lyricist(s) Year adopted
Template:Flagu Song: "Washington" Jimmie Dodd 1951[86]
March: "Our Nation's Capital" Anthony A. Mitchell 1961[86]

Territory songs

Territory Song Composer(s) Lyricist(s) Year adopted
Template:Flagu "Amerika Samoa" Napoleon Andrew Tuiteleleapaga Mariota Tiumalu Tuiasosopo 1950
Template:Flagu "Stand Ye Guamanians" Ramon Manalisay Sablan Ramon Manalisay Sablan
Lagrimas Untalan (translation) 		1919
Template:Flagu "Gi Talo Gi Halom Tasi" Wilhelm Ganzhorn David Kapileo Taulamwaar Peter
Jose and Joaqin Pangelinan 		1996
Template:Flagu "La Borinqueña" Félix Astol Artés Manuel Fernández Juncos 1977
Template:Flagu "Virgin Islands March" Sam Williams and Alton Adams 1963

See also

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References

Template:Reflist

Template:State symbols Template:State insignia Template:USStateLists

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.47 1.48 1.49 1.50 1.51 1.52 1.53 1.54 1.55 1.56 1.57 1.58 1.59 1.60 1.61 1.62 1.63 1.64 1.65 1.66 1.67 1.68 1.69 1.70 1.71 1.72 1.73 1.74 1.75 1.76 1.77 1.78 1.79 1.80 1.81 1.82 1.83 1.84 Template:Cite webTemplate:Void
  2. ↑ Template:Cite web
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  4. ↑ "Maryland, my meh song" Template:Webarchive, The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, 15 March 2016. Retrieved on 05 June 2017.
  5. ↑ Walker, Tamara. "State microbe? Here are some of NJ's most bizarre official state symbols", Asbury Park Press, April 3, 2023. Accessed April 27, 2023. "There are more symbols but one New Jersey lacks is more surprising. New Jersey is the only state without a state song."
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  48. ↑ Sullivan, P. Lance, ed. (1990). An Atlanta Anthology : Pen Women : Sixty Years of Art, Music, and Letters. Atlanta, GA: Words Worth Publishing. p. 16. Template:ISBN. "Bonita Crowe, for example, was a nationally known pianist and composer, who served on the National Council of the Metropolitan Opera Association in New York, who played at the White House as the guest of Mrs. Franklin Roosevelt, and whose compositions were performed by the NBC Symphony Orchestra. While living in Hattiesburg, Miss., she composed the Mississippi state song and put to music many poems of the South."
  49. ↑ "P. T. A. of Hardy Street School". Hattiesburg Daily News. December 7, 1916. p. 5. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
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  63. ↑ 25 Okla. Stat. § 94.8–10
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  68. ↑ Tennessee Journal, Vol. 36, No. 23, June 4, 2010
  69. ↑ Tom Humphrey, 'Smoky Mountain Rain' Wins Race to Become 8th State Song Template:Webarchive, KnoxNews website, June 3, 2010.
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  76. ↑ Utah State Hymn - "Utah We Love Thee" Template:Webarchive from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer: Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on 2008-09-08
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  78. ↑ The song was rescinded in 1998 but is still not yet replaced and still in use until for the time being.
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