SB661: Shenandoah; designating as official state song.

SENATE BILL NO. 661
Offered January 20, 2012
A BILL to amend and reenact § 1-510 of the Code of Virginia, relating to official emblems and designations; state song designated.
Patron-- Colgan

Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology

Whereas, the Commonwealth has no official song because "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," declared the official song of the Commonwealth in 1940, was declared the official song emeritus of the Commonwealth in 1997; and

Whereas, the official song should reference the rich tradition of the Commonwealth and invoke images of the natural and scenic beauty its citizens celebrate; and

Whereas, the Commonwealth requires an official song that can be sung on all occasions with pride and affection; and

Whereas, "Shenandoah" meets these melodic and lyrical requirements, the words of which are as follows:

Oh, Shenandoah, I hear you calling,

Calling me back home to you,

Shenandoah I have wandered widely throughout this land and across the seas,

On Shenandoah, there is no other that can match your beauty.

 

From mountains, valleys, and beautiful people,

Shenandoah, I hear you calling,

Calling me back home to you,

Bring me closer to glowing hearts,

Greet me when I see you again.

Whereas, "Shenandoah" is worthy of designation as the official song of the Commonwealth; now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That § 1-510 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 1-510. Official emblems and designations.

The following are hereby designated official emblems and designations of the Commonwealth:

Artisan Center - "Virginia Artisans Center," located in the City of Waynesboro.

Bat - Virginia Big-eared bat ( Corynorhinos townsendii virginianus).

Beverage - Milk.

Blue Ridge Folklore State Center - Blue Ridge Institute located in the village of Ferrum.

Boat - "Chesapeake Bay Deadrise."

Cabin Capital of Virginia - Page County.

Coal Miners' Memorial - The Richlands Coal Miners' Memorial located in Tazewell County.

Covered Bridge Capital of the Commonwealth - Patrick County.

Covered Bridge Festival - Virginia Covered Bridge Festival held in Patrick County.

Dog - American Foxhound.

Emergency medical services museum - "To The Rescue," located in the City of Roanoke.

Fish (Freshwater) - Brook Trout.

Fish (Saltwater) - Striped Bass.

Fleet - Replicas of the three ships, Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery, which comprised the Commonwealth's founding fleet that brought the first permanent English settlers to Jamestown in 1607, and which are exhibited at the Jamestown Settlement in Williamsburg.

Flower - American Dogwood ( Cornus florida).

Folk dance - Square dancing, the American folk dance that traces its ancestry to the English Country Dance and the French Ballroom Dance, and is called, cued, or prompted to the dancers, and includes squares, rounds, clogging, contra, line, the Virginia Reel, and heritage dances.

Fossil - Chesapecten jeffersonius.

Gold mining interpretive center - Monroe Park, located in the County of Fauquier.

Insect - Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly ( Papilio glaucus Linne).

Motor sports museum - "Wood Brothers Racing Museum and Virginia Motor Sports Hall of Fame," located in Patrick County.

Outdoor drama - "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine Outdoor Drama," adapted for the stage by Clara Lou Kelly and performed in the Town of Big Stone Gap.

Outdoor drama, historical - "The Long Way Home" based on the life of Mary Draper Ingles, adapted for the stage by Earl Hobson Smith, and performed in the City of Radford.

Shell - Oyster shell ( Crassostrea virginica).

Song - "Shenandoah"

Song emeritus - "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia Virginny," by James A. Bland, as set out in the House Joint Resolution 10, adopted by the General Assembly of Virginia at the Session of 1940.

Sports hall of fame - "Virginia Sports Hall of Fame," located in the City of Portsmouth.

War memorial museum - "Virginia War Museum," (formerly known as the War Memorial Museum of Virginia), located in the City of Newport News.