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state song, while Virginia's previous state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny", adopted in 1940,[1] was later rescinded in 1997 due to language deemed racist by the Virginia General Assembly.[4] In 2015, "Our Great Virginia" was made the new state song of Virginia.[5]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 |
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"Alabama" | Edna Gockel Gussen | Julia S. Tutwiler | 1931[1][7] |
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"Alaska's Flag" | Elinor Dusenbury | Marie Drake | 1955[1][8] |
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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] | |
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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] | |
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"I Love You, California" | Abraham F. Frankenstein | F. B. Silverwood | 1951[1] |
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"Where the Columbines Grow" | A.J. Fynn | 1915[1][11][12] | |
"Rocky Mountain High" | John Denver and Mike Taylor | John Denver | 2007[11][13] | |
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State song: "Yankee Doodle" | 1978[1][14] | ||
State cantata: "The Nutmeg" | 2003[1][14] | |||
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"Our Delaware" | Will M. S. Brown | George Beswick Hynson | 1925[1] |
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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] | ||
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"Georgia on My Mind", sung by Ray Charles | Hoagy Carmichael | Stuart Gorrell | 1979[1] |
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State anthem: "Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī" | Henri Berger | King David Kalākaua | 1967[1][19] |
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"Here We Have Idaho" | Sallie Hume Douglas | McKinley Helm and Albert J. Tompkins | 1931[1] |
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"Illinois" | Archibald Johnston | Charles H. Chamberlain | 1925[20] |
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"On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" | Paul Dresser | 1913[1] | |
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"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] | ||
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"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] | |||
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State song: "My Old Kentucky Home" | Stephen Foster | 1928[1] | |
Bluegrass song: "Blue Moon of Kentucky" | Bill Monroe | 1988[1][22] | ||
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"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] | ||||
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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 | |
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"Maryland, My Maryland" (to the tune of "O Tannenbaum") | Melchior Franck | James Ryder Randall | 1939[1][25] |
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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] | ||
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An official state song: "My Michigan" | H. O'Reilly Clint | Giles Kavanaugh | 1937[1] |
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"Hail! Minnesota" | Truman Rickard | Cyrus Northrop | 1945[1] |
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"Go, Mississippi" (sometimes called Go Mis-sis-sip-pi) | William Houston Davis | 1962[1] | |
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"Missouri Waltz" | melody: John V. Eppel arranged: Frederic K. Logan | J.R. Shannon | 1949[1] |
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"Montana" | Joseph E. Howard | Charles Cohan | 1945[1] |
State ballad: "Montana Melody" | 1983[1] | |||
State lullaby: "Montana Lullaby" | 2007[34] | |||
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Official: "Beautiful Nebraska" | Jim Fras | Jim Fras and Guy Miller | 1967[1][35] |
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"Home Means Nevada" | Bertha Rafetto | 1933[1] | |
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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] | |||
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None[37] | N/A | N/A | |
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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 | ||
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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] | ||
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"The Old North State" | E.E. Randolph | William Gaston | 1927[1] |
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"North Dakota Hymn" | C. S. Putman | James Folely | 1947[1] |
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"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] | ||
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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] | ||
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"Oregon, My Oregon" | Henry Bernard Murtaghin | John Andrew Buchanan | 1927[1] |
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"Pennsylvania" | 1990[1] | ||
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State march: "Rhode Island" | 1996 | ||
State song: "Rhode Island, It's for Me" | 1996[1] | |||
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"Carolina" | Anne Curtis Burgess | Henry Timrod G.R. Goodwin (editor) | 1911[1] |
"South Carolina on My Mind" | Hank Martin and Buzz Arledge | 1984[1] | ||
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"Hail, South Dakota!" | DeeCort Hammitt | 1943[1] | |
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"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] | ||
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"Texas, Our Texas" | William J. Marsh | William J. Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright | 1929[51][52] |
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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] | ||
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"These Green Mountains" | Diane Martin (composer) Rita Buglass Gluck (arranger) | Diane Martin | 1999[1][55] |
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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] | ||
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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] | |
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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] | ||
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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] | |
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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 |
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"Amerika Samoa" | Napoleon Andrew Tuiteleleapaga | Mariota Tiumalu Tuiasosopo | 1950 |
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Song: "Washington" | Jimmie Dodd | 1951[63] | |
March: "Our Nation's Capital" | Anthony A. Mitchell | 1961[63] | ||
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"Stand Ye Guamanians" | Ramon Manalisay Sablan | Ramon Manalisay Sablan
Lagrimas Untalan (translation) |
1919 |
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"Gi Talo Gi Halom Tasi" | Wilhelm Ganzhorn | David Kapileo Taulamwaar Peter
Jose and Joaqin Pangelinan |
1996 |
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Anthem: "La Borinqueña" | Félix Astol Artés | Manuel Fernández Juncos | 1977 |
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"Virgin Islands March" | Sam Williams and Alton Adams | 1963 | |
See also
References
- Johnson, Roger R. (2009). "State Songs". Welcome to America. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- "Official State Song". Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- "Colorado State Song Rocky Mountain High composed by John Denver". www.netstate.com. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- "Official State Song of the Commonwealth of Virginia". 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- "Listen: Virginia Now Has 2 State Songs". 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
- "Maryland, my meh song", The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, 15 March 2016. Retrieved on 05 June 2017.
- 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.
- "Official State Song". Alaska Information. State of Alaska Office of Economic Development. Archived from the original on 2007-03-13. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- "Arizona State Anthems". SOS for Kids. Arizona Secretary of State's Office. 2003. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- "State Songs". Arkansas Secretary of State's Office. Archived from the original on 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
- "State Songs". Colorado State Archives. 2014-07-16. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
- "Colorado State Song". Colorado State Symbols & Emblems. State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
- Brown, Jennifer (March 12, 2007). "Lawmakers OK 'Rocky Mountain High'". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2007-03-12. CRS 24-80-909
- State of Connecticut, Sites ° Seals ° Symbols Archived 2008-03-14 at the Wayback Machine; Connecticut State Register & Manual; retrieved on January 4, 2007
- 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
- "SR1894". flsenate.gov. Florida State Senate. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- "I Am Florida". www.iamflorida.org. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- from janhintonmusic.com "Home" page. Retrieved on November 27, 2008
- "Hawaii Revised Statutes §5-10". hawaii.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- State Songs of the United States: An Annotated Anthology. Psychology Press. 1997. ISBN 9780789003973.
- "HR 126 ...recognizing Ms. Effie Burt for her composition, "I'll M..." www.legis.iowa.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- "KRS 002.100". ky.gov. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- Statton, Dana; Mitchell, Jennifer (28 August 2014). "Give Me Louisiana: Selections from the Doralice Fontane Papers". Louisiana State University. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- Lyrics & act numbers of official songs Archived 2006-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
- Maryland, My Maryland - Maryland State Song
- "Section 19". www.mass.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- "Section 20". www.mass.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- "Section 27". www.mass.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- "Section 31". www.mass.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- "Section 43". www.mass.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- "Official Web Site of Lenny Gomulka and the Chicago Push". chicagopush.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- "Section 44". www.mass.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- "Section 47". www.mass.gov. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- Montana Code Annotated 2019, Title 1, Chapter 1, Part 5, 1-1-530 State lullaby, retrieved 2019-10-27
- NE-gov-symbols.
- "Section 3:7 State Songs". www.gencourt.state.nh.us. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- reynolds. "Frequently Asked Questions | NJ Facts". www.state.nj.us. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
- "New York State Information and Emblems: New York State Library". www.nysl.nysed.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
- "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
- Arnold, Chad (January 3, 2019), "New York gets new veterans' hymn despite objections to Christian theme", Democrat and Chronicle, retrieved 2019-12-26
- Ohio Revised Code: 1989 S 33, eff. 11-6-89; 1989 H 457
- House Concurrent Resolution 16 on November 20, 1985.
- "25 Okla. Stat.] § 94.1–3". state.ok.us. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- "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.
- 25 Okla. Stat. § 94.8–10
- 25 Okla. Stat. § 94.5–7
- 25 Okla. Stat. § 94.11–13
- "State Songs". State of Tennessee. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- Tennessee Journal, Vol. 36, No. 23, June 4, 2010
- 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.
- Spain, Jr., Charles A. (19 May 2014). "Texas, Our Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- "State Song" (Texas Government Code § 3101.005)
- Utah State Song - "Utah, This is the Place" from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer: Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on 2008-09-08
- Utah State Hymn - "Utah We Love Thee" from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer: Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on 2008-09-08
- "State Song". Secretary of State of Vermont. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- The song was rescinded in 1998 but is still not yet replaced and still in use until for the time being.
- "Symbols of Washington State". Washington State Legislature. Archived from the original on 2007-03-05. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
- "Washington State Facts". wsdot. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
- Ramella, Richard. "West Virginia's Three State Songs". West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- "'Take Me Home, Country Roads' a WVa State Song". USA Today. March 7, 2014.
- "State song, state ballad, state waltz, state dance, and state symbols". Wisconsin Legislature 1.10. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- "Wyoming Facts and Symbols: State Song". State of Wyoming. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- 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