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2007 SESSION

076562285
HOUSE BILL NO. 3185
Offered January 19, 2007
A BILL to amend and reenact § 1-510 of the Code of Virginia, relating to official emblems and designations; state song designated.
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Patron-- Crockett-Stark (By Request)
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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Whereas, the Commonwealth has no official song because "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia," declared the official song of the Commonwealth in 1940, was declared the official song emeritus of the Commonwealth in 1997; and

Whereas, Lester Rays Sears wrote the music and lyrics for the song "Virginia" to reflect the rich tradition of the Commonwealth, the birthplace of the nation, and to invoke images of the natural and scenic beauty citizens of the Commonwealth celebrate; and

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

Resolved by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That "Virginia" be designated as the state song of the Commonwealth, the words of which are as follows:

I was born in Virginia,

On a little farm just east of Tennessee,

There weren't too many neighbors,

You never know who you were gonna see.

 

The Johnsons lived on a farm just down the road,

And every now and then they came around.

Their daughter's name was Virginia,

She had hair of gold and eyes of brown.

 

And how I love Virginia

In those Blue Ridge hills I long to be

And how I miss Virginia,

I hope Virginia's waiting there for me.

 

Virginia and me, we courted.

It ended when I went off on my own.

Life ain't too good in the city,

I miss Virginia and my home.

 

I'm going back to Virginia,

To the mountains and to her shining smile.

And when I see Virginia,

I'll know Virginia's worth every mile.

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."

Dog - American Foxhound.

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

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 - "Virginia," by Lester Rays Sears.

Song emeritus - "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia," 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.