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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.<ref name="RJo" /> 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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>"Maryland, my meh song" Template:Webarchive, The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, 15 March 2016. Retrieved on 05 June 2017.</ref> 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.<ref name="RJo" />

Absences and removals

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New Jersey has never adopted a state song.<ref>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."</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> A resolution to declare the song "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen as the state song passed the Assembly, but failed the state Senate as the song's lyrics depict a desire to leave New Jersey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The move might have purportedly been due to offensive lyrics and a band member wearing of communist symbols on a shirt.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Maryland had a state song until 2021. "Maryland, My Maryland" was removed due to pro-Confederate language, but no replacement was established.<ref name=":2">Template:Citation</ref>

Virginia's previous state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny", adopted in 1940,<ref name="RJo">Template:Cite webTemplate:Void</ref> was rescinded in 1997 due to language deemed racist by the Virginia General Assembly.<ref name="VA">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2015, "Our Great Virginia" was made the new state song of Virginia.<ref name="Patch">Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

State songs

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State State song Composer(s) Lyricist(s) Year adopted
Template:Flagu "Alabama" Edna Gockel Gussen Julia S. Tutwiler 1931<ref name=RJo/><ref>Act 31-126, Acts of Alabama, Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu "Alaska's Flag" Elinor Dusenbury Marie Drake 1955<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu State song: "Arizona" Rex Allen and Rex Allen, Jr. Rex Allen and Rex Allen, Jr. 1981<ref name=RJo/><ref name=AZ>Template:Cite web</ref>
State anthem: "Arizona March Song" Maurice Blumenthal Margaret Rowe Clifford 1919<ref name=RJo/><ref name=AZ/>
Template:Flagu State anthem: "Arkansas" Eva Ware Barnett Eva Ware Barnett 1917/1987<ref name=RJo/><ref name=AR>Template:Cite web</ref>
"Arkansas (You Run Deep in Me)" Wayland Holyfield Wayland Holyfield 1987<ref name=RJo/><ref name=AR/>
"Oh, Arkansas" Terry Rose and Gary Klaff Terry Rose and Gary Klaff 1987<ref name=RJo/><ref name=AR/>
State historic song: "Arkansas Traveler" Sandford C. Faulkner State Song Selection Committee 1949/1987<ref name=RJo/><ref name=AR/>
Template:Flagu "I Love You, California" Abraham F. Frankenstein F. B. Silverwood 1951<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu "Where the Columbines Grow" A.J. Fynn 1915<ref name=RJo/><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="COsong">Template:Cite web</ref>
"Rocky Mountain High" John Denver and Mike Taylor John Denver 2007<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite news CRS 24-80-909</ref>
Template:Flagu State song: "Yankee Doodle" 1978<ref name="sotsct">Template:Citation</ref><ref name="ctgenstat">Template:Citation</ref>
Second state song: "Beautiful Connecticut Waltz" Joseph Leggo 2013<ref name="sotsct" /><ref name="ctgenstat" />
State cantata: "The Nutmeg" Stanley L. Ralph 2003<ref name="sotsct" /><ref name="ctgenstat" />
State polka: "Ballroom Polka" Ray Henry 2013<ref name="ctgenstat" /><ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Template:Flagu "Our Delaware" Will M. S. Brown George Beswick Hynson 1925<ref name=RJo/>
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)<ref name=RJo/>
2008 (revised lyrics)<ref>[1] Template:Webarchive "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</ref>
Official poem: "I Am Florida" Walter "Clyde" Orange Allen Autry Sr. 2013<ref name="Florida Senate Resolution">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="I Am Florida">Template:Cite web</ref>
State anthem: "Florida (Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky)" Jan Hinton 2008<ref>from janhintonmusic.com "Home" page. Retrieved on November 27, 2008</ref>
Template:Flagu "Georgia on My Mind", sung by Ray Charles Hoagy Carmichael Stuart Gorrell 1979<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu State anthem: "Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī" Henri Berger King David Kalākaua 1967<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu "Here We Have Idaho" Sallie Hume Douglas McKinley Helm and Albert J. Tompkins 1931<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu "Illinois" Archibald Johnston Charles H. Chamberlain 1925<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Template:Flagu "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" Paul Dresser 1913<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu "The Song of Iowa" Melchior Franck S. H. M. Byers 1911<ref name=RJo/>
Official Companion State Song: "Make Me a World in Iowa" Effie Burt 2002<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu "Home on the Range" Daniel E. Kelley Brewster M. Higley 1947<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Official state march: "The Kansas March" 1935<ref name=RJo/>
Official march: "Here's Kansas" 1992<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu State song: "My Old Kentucky Home" Stephen Foster 1928<ref name=RJo/>
Bluegrass song: "Blue Moon of Kentucky" Bill Monroe 1988<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu "You Are My Sunshine" Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell 1977<ref name="RJo" />
State march: "Louisiana My Home Sweet Home"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Castro Carazo Sammie McKenzie and Lou Levoy 1952<ref name="RJo" />
State environmental song: "The Gifts of Earth"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Frances LeBeau 1990<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
State cultural song: "Southern Nights"<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> Allen Toussaint 2021<ref name=":1" />
Template:Flagu State song: State of Maine Roger Vinton Snow Roger Vinton Snow 1937<ref name=RJo/>
State ballad: Ballad of the 20th Maine The Ghost of Paul Revere Griffin Sherry 2019
Template:Flagu None<ref name=":2" /> N/A N/A N/A
Template:Flagu State anthem: "All Hail to Massachusetts" Arthur J. Marsh 1981<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
State folk song: "Massachusetts" Arlo Guthrie 1981<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
State ceremonial march: "The Road to Boston" Unknown 1985<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
State patriotic song: "Massachusetts (Because of You Our Land is Free)" Bernard Davidson 1989<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
State glee club song: "The Great State of Massachusetts" J. Earl Bley George A. Wells 1997<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
State polka: "Say Hello to Someone from Massachusetts" Lenny Gomulka<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 1998<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
State ode: "Ode to Massachusetts" Joseph Falzone 2000<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu An official state song: "My Michigan" H. O'Reilly Clint Giles Kavanaugh 1937<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu "Hail! Minnesota" Truman Rickard Cyrus Northrop 1945<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu "Mississippi" Bonita Crowe 1916<ref>Howes, Durward, ed. (1937). American Women : The Official Who's Who Among the Women of the Nation, Vol. II (1937-38). Los Angeles, CA: American Publications, Inc. p. 155. Template:OCLC.</ref><ref>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."</ref><ref>"P. T. A. of Hardy Street School". Hattiesburg Daily News. December 7, 1916. p. 5. Retrieved June 27, 2023.</ref>
"Go, Mississippi" William Houston Davis 1962
"One Mississippi" Steve Azar 2022<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu "Missouri Waltz" melody: John V. Eppel
arranged: Frederic K. Logan
J.R. Shannon 1949<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu "Montana" Joseph E. Howard Charles Cohan 1945<ref name=RJo/>
State ballad: "Montana Melody" 1983<ref name=RJo/>
State lullaby: "Montana Lullaby" 2007<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Template:Flagu Official: "Beautiful Nebraska" Jim Fras Jim Fras and Guy Miller 1967<ref name=RJo/><ref>NE-gov-symbols.</ref>
Template:Flagu "Home Means Nevada" Bertha Rafetto 1933<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu Official: "Old New Hampshire" Maurice Hoffman John F. Holmes 1949<ref name=RJo/>
1977
Official: "Live Free or Die" Barry Palmer 2007
Honorary: "New Hampshire, My New Hampshire" 1963<ref name=RJo/>
Honorary: "New Hampshire Hills" 1973<ref name=RJo/>
Honorary: "Autumn in New Hampshire" 1977<ref name=RJo/>
Honorary: "New Hampshire's Granite State" 1977<ref name=RJo/>
Honorary: "Oh, New Hampshire" 1977<ref name=RJo/>
Honorary: "The Old Man of the Mountain" 1977<ref name=RJo/>
Honorary: "The New Hampshire State March" 1977<ref name=RJo/>
Honorary: "New Hampshire Naturally" 1983<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu None<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> N/A N/A N/A
Template:Flagu State song: "O Fair New Mexico" Elizabeth Garrett 1917<ref name=RJo/>
Spanish state song: "Así Es Nuevo México" Amadeo Lucero 1971<ref name=RJo/>
State ballad: "Land of Enchantment" Michael Martin Murphey, Don Cook, and Chick Rains 1989<ref name=RJo/>
Bilingual song: "New Mexico – Mi Lindo Nuevo México" Pablo Mares 1995<ref name=RJo/>
State cowboy song: "Under New Mexico Skies" Syd Masters 2009
Template:Flagu State song: "I Love New York" Steve Karmen 1980<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
State hymn of remembrance: "Here Rests in Honored Glory" Donald B. Miller 2018<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Template:Flagu "The Old North State" E.E. Randolph William Gaston 1927<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu "North Dakota Hymn" C. S. Putnam James Folely 1947<ref name=RJo/>
State Waltz: "Dancing Dakota" Chuck Suchy 2025<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu "Beautiful Ohio" Mary Earl Ballard MacDonald (1918)
Wilbert McBride (1989)
1969<ref name=RJo/><ref>Ohio Revised Code: 1989 S 33, eff. 11-6-89; 1989 H 457</ref>
Rock song: "Hang On Sloopy" Wes Farrell and Bert Berns 1985<ref name=RJo/><ref>House Concurrent Resolution 16 on November 20, 1985.</ref>
Template:Flagu Official state song: "Oklahoma" Richard Rodgers Oscar Hammerstein II 1953<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Official state waltz: "Oklahoma Wind" 1982<ref name=RJo/>
State Folk Song: "Oklahoma Hills" Woody Guthrie and Jack Guthrie 2001<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>25 Okla. Stat. § 94.8–10</ref>
Official state children's song: "Oklahoma, My Native Land" Martha Kemm Barrett 1996<ref>25 Okla. Stat. § 94.5–7</ref>
Official state gospel song: "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" Wallis Willis 2011<ref>25 Okla. Stat. § 94.11–13</ref>
Template:Flagu "Oregon, My Oregon" Henry Bernard Murtagh John Andrew Buchanan 1927<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu "Pennsylvania" Eddie Khoury and Ronnie Bonner 1990<ref name=RJo/>
“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<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu "Carolina" Anne Curtis Burgess Henry Timrod
G.R. Goodwin (editor)
1911<ref name=RJo/>
"South Carolina on My Mind" Hank Martin and Buzz Arledge 1984<ref name=RJo/>
"Richardson Waltz" unknown 2000<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Template:Flagu "Hail, South Dakota!" DeeCort Hammitt 1943<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu "My Homeland, Tennessee" Roy Lamont Smith Nell Grayson Taylor 1925<ref name=tngov>Template:Cite web</ref>
"When It's Iris Time in Tennessee" Willa Waid Newman 1935<ref name=RJo/><ref name=tngov/>
"My Tennessee" Frances Hannah Tranum 1955<ref name=tngov/>
"Tennessee Waltz" Pee Wee King Redd Stewart 1965<ref name=RJo/><ref name=tngov/>
"Rocky Top" Felice and Boudleaux Bryant 1982<ref name=RJo/><ref name=tngov/>
"Tennessee" Vivian Rorie 1992<ref name=tngov/>
"The Pride of Tennessee" Fred Congdon, Thomas Vaughn, and Carol Elliot 1996<ref name=RJo/><ref name=tngov/>
"A Tennessee Bicentennial Rap: 1796-1996" Joan Hill Hanks 1996<ref name=tngov/>
"Smoky Mountain Rain" Kye Fleming
Dennis Morgan
2010<ref name=tngov/><ref>Tennessee Journal, Vol. 36, No. 23, June 4, 2010</ref><ref name=HumphreyRain>Tom Humphrey, 'Smoky Mountain Rain' Wins Race to Become 8th State Song Template:Webarchive, KnoxNews website, June 3, 2010.</ref>
"Tennessee" John R. Bean 2012<ref name=tngov/>
"The Tennessee in Me" Debbie Matthas 2023<ref name=copper>Template:Cite web</ref>
"Copperhead Road" Steve Earle 2023<ref name=copper/>
"Tennessee, In My Dreams" Makky Kaylor Makky Kaylor 2024<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
"Under a Tennessee Moon" Kelly Lang 2024<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu "Texas, Our Texas" William J. Marsh William J. Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright 1929<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:TX Govt Code</ref>
Template:Flagu State song: "Utah...This Is the Place" Sam and Gary Francis 2003<ref>Utah State Song - "Utah, This is the Place" Template:Webarchive from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer: Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on 2008-09-08</ref>
State hymn: "Utah, We Love Thee"
(state song from 1937 to 2003)<ref name=UtahHymn>Utah State Hymn - "Utah We Love Thee" Template:Webarchive from pioneer.utah.gov "Pioneer: Utah's Online Library" page. Retrieved on 2008-09-08</ref>
Evan Stephens 2003<ref name=RJo/>
Template:Flagu "These Green Mountains" Diane Martin (composer)
Rita Buglass Gluck (arranger)
Diane Martin 1999<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu Traditional state song: "Our Great Virginia" Jim Papoulis (arranger), based on "Oh Shenandoah" Mike Greenly 2015<ref name=Patch/>
Popular state song: "Sweet Virginia Breeze" Steve Bassett and Robbin Thompson 2015<ref name=Patch/>
Emeritus state song: "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" (retired as official song in 1998) James A. Bland<ref>The song was rescinded in 1998 but is still not yet replaced and still in use until for the time being.</ref> 1940<ref name=RJo/><ref name="VA"/>
Template:Flagu State song: "Washington, My Home" Stuart Churchill (arranger) Helen Davis 1959<ref name=RJo/>
State folk song: "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On" based on "Goodnight, Irene" Woody Guthrie 1987<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Unofficial state rock song: "Louie Louie" Richard Berry Richard Berry unofficial<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagu Official state song: "The West Virginia Hills" Henry Everett Engle Ellen Ruddell King 1963<ref name=RJo/><ref name="ramella">Template:Cite web</ref>
Official state song: "This Is My West Virginia" Iris Bell Iris Bell 1963<ref name=RJo/><ref name="ramella"/>
Official state song: "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home" Julian G. Hearne, Jr. Julian G. Hearne, Jr. 1963<ref name=RJo/><ref name="ramella"/>
Official state song: "Take Me Home, Country Roads" John Denver, Bill Danoff, and Taffy Nivert 2014<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagu State song: "On, Wisconsin!" William T. Purdy Charles D. Rosa and J. S. Hubbard 1959<ref name=RJo/><ref name="wisc"/>
State ballad: "Oh Wisconsin, Land of My Dreams" Shari A. Sarazin Erma Barrett 2001<ref name=RJo/><ref name="wisc">Template:Cite web</ref>
State waltz: "The Wisconsin Waltz" Eddie Hansen Eddie Hansen 2001<ref name=RJo/><ref name="wisc"/>
Template:Flagu State song: "Wyoming" George Edwin Knapp Charles E. Winter 1955<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
State song: "Wyoming Where I Belong" Annie & Amy Smith Annie & Amy Smith 2018<ref name=RJo/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Federal district songs

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Federal district Song Composer(s) Lyricist(s) Year adopted
Template:Flagu Song: "Washington" Jimmie Dodd 1951<ref name="dc">Template:Cite web</ref>
March: "Our Nation's Capital" Anthony A. Mitchell 1961<ref name="dc" />

Territory songs

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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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Template:Portal

References

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Template:Reflist

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Template:State insignia Template:USStateLists