Very well, said, Jon, and so appropriate on what I learned this morning is "National Anthem Day". In 1932, congress voted and the president signed a bill making The Star Spangled Banner our National Anthem. As noted on my favorite FM station (WGMS) it covers an octave and a half, but was originally in the key of G which made the high notes easier. Most publications put it in Bb which created great pain in the second part. Ab is a good compromise for brass players.
Some milestones along the way.
175x-177x - The drinking song of the Anacreonitic Society in england
1776-1781 - Several sets of patriotic lyrics were written to it, like ADAMS AND LIBERTY
1807 - It was played at the Bicentennial celebration of Jamestowne (thanks to this note hardly 36 hours old from David Kiracofe)
1854 - It was one of the first 16 selections in THE BRASS BAND JOURNAL, one of the earliest publication for bands made up of brass instruments with those new-fangled valves
I lose track of things from there, but I think it has weathered several pre-adoption and post adoption tests to replace it. Nobody seems to object to the lyrics, but just the tune. Well, not entirely so. Publishers of hymnals have had trouble with that second verse......"Then Conquer we must, if our cause be it just, then this be our motto, In God is Our Trust." At one point I think it was the Methodists who wanted to rewrite the verse. I don't think it even appears in either the current Luthern or maybe Presbyterian Hymnal.
So back to Shenandoah. Rhetoric "from Virginian, by Virginians" all sounds very good, but it does not work that way. Popular usage, in the Darwanian spirit of "Survival of the Fittest", will eventually determine out State Song. Senator Colgan has done us a major service by giving us a direction. If there are enough people and groups out there who want to make a real push for Shenandoah, then probably in 10 years, it can rise to the top. As Chief Engineering Officer on the good ship VSS Shenandoah, I am going to let the craft continue to stay tied up at the dock and take on water and wood in prearation for an arduous voyage up and down the Shenandoah Valley extolling praises of the song in every port-of-call. But it missed my time slot, and now will to have to wait for my Jamestowne escapades, particularly The Jamestowne Dodecotetrahedrylnormalizediambic Grand Jubilee Festival March and Two Step.
In the meantime, I think it fair to say that my MARCH BAND OF THE SHENANDOAH will continue to be played out this way, and I believe already has a slot on at least one community band summer concert. One small step for ....... well, you get the idea.
Randy Cabell
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon Kukla" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, March 03, 2006 9:50 AM
Subject: [VA-HIST] Washington Times (3-2-06) re state song
> Virginia remains the only state without an offical song
> Source: Washington Times (3-2-06)
>
> A House panel yesterday rejected a measure that would have designated an
> adapted version of "Shenandoah" as the interim state song, the latest
> refrain in a long ballad over which tune best represents the commonwealth.
> "The state song ought to be from a Virginian by a Virginian," said
> Delegate Terry Kilgore, one of the lawmakers who voted down the
> "Shenandoah" proposal.
>
>
> The song, most argued, is about folks leaving Virginia, crossing the "wide
> Missouri" to escape difficult economic times.
>
> Sen. Charles J. Colgan Sr. brought in a choir from the Shenandoah Valley
> to make his case for the tune, which was changed to be more
> Virginia-centric. Mr. Colgan's proposal re-tooled the lyrics to
> "Shenandoah," deleting some of the lines about fleeing the state.
>
> "Oh Shenandoah, we long to hear you. Away, we're bound away, cross our
> fair Virginia," sang the group, known as the Shenandoah Singers.
>
> State songs have long stirred emotions, especially in the South.
>
> While some Southerners proudly hum more modern state songs -- think the
> Peach State's Ray Charles-blessed "Georgia on My Mind " -- legislatures in
> Florida and Maryland have been wrangling over potentially politically
> incorrect lyrics for years.
>
> In Florida, lawmakers fought over "Way Down Upon the Swanee River," which
> refers to "darkies" and plantations.
>
> In 2002, Maryland lawmakers fought over their state song, which refers to
> Union troops as "scum" and calls President Abraham Lincoln a "despot,"
> calling it too "divisive." The tune*, "Maryland! My Maryland!" was written
> during the Civil War by a man who was angry that his roommate was killed
> by Union troops. {* i.e. "lyrics" - the tune is same as O Tannenbaum. -
> jk}
>
> Both tunes remain in place.
>
> Coming up with a new song has a sordid history in Virginia. The panel that
> was tasked with choosing a song that could be sung at football games and
> gubernatorial inaugurations hasn't met for eight years. It did narrow the
> field of singable submissions from 340 to eight, including a ditty by
> sausage magnate Jimmy Dean, but no one could agree on their favorite.
>
> Only two delegates voted in favor of the song, which would have been the
> first official state tune since lawmakers retired "Carry Me Back to Old
> Virginny" in 1997 because they felt it was racist.
>
> "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" was written by James A. Bland, a free
> black who later became a minstrel. The song, written during the 1800s,
> includes lyrics about a "darkie" who "labored so hard for old massa."
>
>
> Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006
>
>
>
> Dr. Jon Kukla, Executive Vice-President
> Red Hill - The Patrick Henry National Memorial
> 1250 Red Hill Road
> Brookneal, Virginia 24528
> www.redhill.org
> Phone 434-376-2044 or 800-514-7463
>
> Fax 434-376-2647
>
> - M. Lynn Davis, Office Manager
> - Karen Gorham-Smith, Associate Curator
> - Edith Poindexter, Curator
>
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
>
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
|
