Forty-eight of the fifty U.S. 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 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 10 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. In 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, along with "Where the Columbines Grow".[2] In 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.[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 never adopted a state song.[4] In 2021, Maryland removed the official status of "Maryland, My Maryland" due to pro-Confederate language deemed racist, but did not establish a replacement.[5] Virginia's previous state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny", adopted in 1940,[1] was later rescinded in 1997 due to language deemed racist by the Virginia General Assembly.[6] In 2015, "Our Great Virginia" was made the new state song of Virginia.[7]
New Mexico has two 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 the melody for their official state song.[8]
| State | State song | Composer(s) | Lyricist(s) | Year adopted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | "Alabama" | Edna Gockel Gussen | Julia S. Tutwiler | 1931[1][9] |
| Alaska | "Beyond Your Dreams Within Your Reach (Alaska's Flag)" | Elinor Dusenbury | Marie Drake | 1955[1][10] |
| Arizona | State song: "Arizona" | Rex Allen and Rex Allen, Jr. | Rex Allen and Rex Allen, Jr. | 1981[1][11] |
| State anthem: "Arizona March Song" | Maurice Blumenthal | Margaret Rowe Clifford | 1919[1][11] | |
| Arkansas | State anthem: "Arkansas" | Eva Ware Barnett | Eva Ware Barnett | 1917/1987[1][12] |
| "Arkansas (You Run Deep in Me)" | Wayland Holyfield | Wayland Holyfield | 1987[1][12] | |
| "Oh, Arkansas" | Terry Rose and Gary Klaff | Terry Rose and Gary Klaff | 1987[1][12] | |
| State historic song: "Arkansas Traveler" | Sandford C. Faulkner | State Song Selection Committee | 1949/1987[1][12] | |
| California | "I Love You, California" | Abraham F. Frankenstein | F. B. Silverwood | 1951[1] |
| Colorado | "Where the Columbines Grow" | A.J. Fynn | 1915[1][13][14] | |
| "Rocky Mountain High" | John Denver and Mike Taylor | John Denver | 2007[13][15] | |
| Connecticut | State song: "Yankee Doodle" | 1978[16][17] | ||
| Second state song: "Beautiful Connecticut Waltz" | Joseph Leggo | 2013[16][17] | ||
| State cantata: "The Nutmeg" | Stanley L. Ralph | 2003[16][17] | ||
| State polka: "Ballroom Polka" | Ray Henry | 2013[17][18] | ||
| 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)[19] 1935 (original lyrics)[1] |
| Official poem: "I Am Florida" | Walter "Clyde" Orange | Allen Autry Sr. | 2013[20][21] | |
| State anthem: "Florida (Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky)" | Jan Hinton | 2008[22] | ||
| 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][23] |
| Idaho | "Here We Have Idaho" | Sallie Hume Douglas | McKinley Helm and Albert J. Tompkins | 1931[1] |
| Illinois | "Illinois" | Archibald Johnston | Charles H. Chamberlain | 1925[24] |
| 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][25] | ||
| Kansas | "Home on the Range" | Daniel E. Kelley | Brewster M. Higley | 1947[1][26] |
| 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][27] | ||
| Louisiana | "Give Me Louisiana" | Doralice Fontane[28] | 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"[29] | ||||
| 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 | None (Previously: Maryland, My Maryland) | |||
| Massachusetts | State anthem: "All Hail to Massachusetts" | Arthur J. Marsh | 1981[1][30] | |
| State folk song: "Massachusetts" | Arlo Guthrie | 1981[1][31] | ||
| State ceremonial march: "The Road to Boston" | unknown | 1985[1][32] | ||
| State patriotic song: "Massachusetts (Because of You Our Land is Free)" | Bernard Davidson | 1989[1][33] | ||
| State glee club song: "The Great State of Massachusetts" | J. Earl Bley | George A. Wells | 1997[1][34] | |
| State polka: "Say Hello to Someone from Massachusetts" | Lenny Gomulka[35] | 1998[36] | ||
| State ode: "Ode to Massachusetts" | Joseph Falzone | 2000[1][37] | ||
| 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[38] | |||
| Nebraska | Official: "Beautiful Nebraska" | Jim Fras | Jim Fras and Guy Miller | 1967[1][39] |
| 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][40] | |||
| New Jersey | None[41] | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| New Mexico | 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 | ||
| New York | State song: "I Love New York" | Steve Karmen | 1980[42] | |
| State hymn of remembrance: "Here Rests in Honored Glory" | Donald B. Miller | 2018[43][44] | ||
| 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][45] |
| Rock song: "Hang On Sloopy" | Wes Farrell and Bert Berns | 1985[1][46] | ||
| Oklahoma | Official state song: "Oklahoma" | Richard Rodgers | Oscar Hammerstein II | 1953[1][47] |
| Official state waltz: "Oklahoma Wind" | 1982[1] | |||
| State Folk Song: "Oklahoma Hills" | Woody Guthrie and Jack Guthrie | 2001[48][49] | ||
| Official state children's song: "Oklahoma, My Native Land" | Martha Kemm Barrett | 1996[50] | ||
| Official state gospel song: "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" | Wallis Willis | 2011[51] | ||
| Oregon | "Oregon, My Oregon" | Henry Bernard Murtagh | John Andrew Buchanan | 1927[1] |
| Pennsylvania | "Pennsylvania" | Eddie Khoury and Ronnie Bonner | 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[52] |
| "When It's Iris Time in Tennessee" | Willa Waid Newman | 1935[1][52] | ||
| "My Tennessee" | Frances Hannah Tranum | 1955[52] | ||
| "Tennessee Waltz" | Pee Wee King | Redd Stewart | 1965[1][52] | |
| "Rocky Top" | Felice and Boudleaux Bryant | 1982[1][52] | ||
| "Tennessee" | Vivian Rorie | 1992[52] | ||
| "The Pride of Tennessee" | Fred Congdon, Thomas Vaughn, and Carol Elliot | 1996[1][52] | ||
| "A Tennessee Bicentennial Rap: 1796-1996" | Joan Hill Hanks | 1996[52] | ||
| "Smoky Mountain Rain" | Kye Fleming Dennis Morgan |
2010[52][53][54] | ||
| "Tennessee" | John R. Bean | 2012[52] | ||
| Texas | "Texas, Our Texas" | William J. Marsh | William J. Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright | 1929[55][56] |
| Utah | State song: "Utah...This Is the Place" | Sam and Gary Francis | 2003[57] | |
| State hymn: "Utah, We Love Thee" (state song from 1937 to 2003)[58] |
Evan Stephens | 2003[1] | ||
| Vermont | "These Green Mountains" | Diane Martin (composer) Rita Buglass Gluck (arranger) |
Diane Martin | 1999[1][59] |
| Virginia | Traditional state song: "Our Great Virginia" | Jim Papoulis (arranger), based on "Oh Shenandoah" | Mike Greenly | 2015[7] |
| Popular state song: "Sweet Virginia Breeze" | Steve Bassett and Robbin Thompson | 2015[7] | ||
| Emeritus state song: "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" (retired as official song in 1998) | James A. Bland[60] | 1940[1][6] | ||
| 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][61] | |
| Unofficial state rock song: "Louie Louie" | Richard Berry | Richard Berry | unofficial[62] | |
| West Virginia | Official state song: "The West Virginia Hills" | Henry Everett Engle | Ellen Ruddell King | 1963[1][63] |
| Official state song: "This Is My West Virginia" | Iris Bell | Iris Bell | 1963[1][63] | |
| Official state song: "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home" | Julian G. Hearne, Jr. | Julian G. Hearne, Jr. | 1963[1][63] | |
| Official state song: "Take Me Home, Country Roads" | John Denver, Bill Danoff, and Taffy Nivert | 2014[64] | ||
| Wisconsin | State song: "On, Wisconsin!" | William T. Purdy | Charles D. Rosa and J. S. Hubbard | 1959[1][65] |
| State ballad: "Oh Wisconsin, Land of My Dreams" | Shari A. Sarazin | Erma Barrett | 2001[1][65] | |
| State waltz: "The Wisconsin Waltz" | Eddie Hansen | Eddie Hansen | 2001[1][65] | |
| Wyoming | State song: "Wyoming" | George Edwin Knapp | Charles E. Winter | 1955[1][66] |
| State song: "Wyoming Where I Belong" | Annie & Amy Smith | Annie & Amy Smith | 2018[1][67] | |
| Federal district | Song | Composer(s) | Lyricist(s) | Year adopted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | Song: "Washington" | Jimmie Dodd | 1951[68] | |
| March: "Our Nation's Capital" | Anthony A. Mitchell | 1961[68] |
| Territory | Song | Composer(s) | Lyricist(s) | Year adopted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Samoa | "Amerika Samoa" | Napoleon Andrew Tuiteleleapaga | Mariota Tiumalu Tuiasosopo | 1950 |
| 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 |
