I just received this from a friend who found it in the Norfolk
Virginian-Pilot on-line edition. The opinions expressed therein, as they
used to say, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anybody at the
Library of Virginia, or even me:
Humming a tune while state's needs go off-key The Virginian-Pilot (c)
February 2, 2006
Like swallows to Capistrano, lawmakers wing back to Richmond this time
every year. And they're often lugging some peculiar legislative
priorities.
Fixing Jacuzzi-sized potholes? Pshaw. Revamping health care? Nah.
Shoring up crumbling schools? Hardly.
Finding a state song?
Now you're talkin'. Or whistling Dixie. Wait, that's politically
incorrect, almost as bad as "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia," which used
to be our state song but was nixed in 1997 for its racist lyrics.
So, like a broken record, legislators have once again decided to use
their fleeting 60-day session to warble about, among other pressing
items, the need for a new state anthem.
The silence had grown too loud for Sen. Charles Colgan, a Prince William
County Democrat. He's proposed that the tune "Shenandoah" - about a
fellow "bound away 'cross the wide Missouri" - be the state's new
official ditty.
Never ones for rash decisions, Colgan's Senate colleagues on Tuesday
approved "Shenandoah" as the interim state song. Not, mind you, the
official one.
I have nothing against "Shenandoah." While it doesn't even mention
Virginia, it is a musically inoffensive choice. At least, it is when the
people trilling it can actually carry a tune.
The Washington Post's "Richmond Report" taped nine senators, including
good sports Louise Lucas, Tommy Norment - who wins the prize for
dramatic interpretation - and Attorney General Bob McDonnell, singing
snippets of the song. (Listen, if you're a masochist, at
http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/richmondreport/)
I do, however, have something against a General Assembly that only meets
for two months and crowds its legislative agenda with asinine items like
these.
Sadly, it doesn't end with songs.
Also up this year are bills dealing with the urgent problem of trees
blocking billboards, and more legislation for special license plates
touting the "Republic of Vietnam," or "I Voted" - great, now we'll know
who to blame - to join those already on the road who are "Friends of
Tibet" or who "Fight Terrorism" (like the rest of us embrace it).
Then there's the bill from Del. Jeion Ward, a Hampton Democrat, who
wants to make the Shenandoah Mountain salamander the official state
amphibian. Ward, of course, says she's doing it for the kiddies.
Defenders of these absurd bills say their consideration doesn't take up
much time.
Really?
Colgan told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that a committee of legislators
and music experts eventually listened to 350 songs before picking one,
sort of. That's a rough total of 17 consecutive hours, no doubt improved
by state-funded coffee and danishes.
So our legislators are fiddling to the tune of "Shenandoah" while
Virginia burns. Or at least gets good and gridlocked.
Any official ditty should at least be realistic. Given the dearth of
highway projects, a better choice might be "I Can't Drive 55." Or, for
those trapped in traffic jams on southbound I-95, "Carolina in My Mind"
would be fitting.
Here's a thought: Instead of fussing over state songs, how about fixing
some state roads and bridges?
Then again, "Shenandoah," a tune about a Virginian who's left home in
search of a way West, may be an apt choice after all.
Bronwyn Lance Chester is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot.
Reach her at 757-446-2307 or e-mail her at
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