Carry Me Back to Old Virginia

Lyrics (in part, i.e., enough)

Carry Me Back to Old Virginia by James A. Bland, son of a former slave

Carry me back to old Virginia,
There's where the cotton and the corn and 'tatoes grow,
There's where the birds warble sweet in the springtime,
There's where this old dreamer's heart has long'd to go.
There's where I labor'd so hard for my loved ones,
Day after day in the fields of yellow corn,
No place on earth do I love more sincerely,
Than old Virginia, the state where I was born.


Chorus Carry me back to old Virginia,
There's where the cotton and the corn and 'tatoes grow,
There's where the birds warble sweet in the springtime,
There's where this old dreamer's heart has long'd to go.


Carry me back to old Virginia,
There let me live 'til I wither and decay,
Long by the old Dismal Swamp have I wander'd,
There's where this old dreamer's life will pass away.
Mama and poppa have long gone before me,
Soon we will meet on that bright and golden shore,
There we'll be happy and free from all sorrow,
There's where we'll meet and we'll never part no more.

The Debate

In early February 1997 the Virginia State Senate, after years of debate and repeated passage of such a measure by the House of Delegates, voted to strip this song of its state song status. The House is expected to pass the measure before the legislative term ends mid-February, as they have passed similar measures in the past.

"The Virginia House of Delegates voted 100-0, with no debate, to retire the state song. Wire reports refer to a need to work out differences in House and Senate versions, but I haven't had a chance yet to determine whether that may be a potential snag.
Gov. Allen seems willing to sign the bill to retire it. He's said previously that he would support a song that all Virginians could sing with pride."

In the perennial debate on the issue, the leading contender for successor to the state song was "Sweet Virginia Breeze", with "I Love the Mountains of Virginia" also vying for the honor. "Shenandoah" has also been suggested. A recent contender is a new song by Jimmy Dean and his wife ("Virginia"?).

Daryl Lease writes in an e-mail: "Some jokesters also have suggested something by Wayne Newton (who was born [in Virginia]), Nirvana (someone in it is from Northern Virginia), or Patsy Cline [from Winchester] ('Crazy' would get my vote)."

The antebellum conservatives who wanted to preserve "Carry me back" might hasten to add Rod Stewart's "Leave Virginia alone"!!

Although the debate on the state song, at least as far as retaining the old one goes, seems to be resolved now, you might want to follow some argumentation since it also applies to states like Kentucky and Florida. Read an editorial for changing or removing the state song by Daryl Lease of The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Virginia and an editorial advocating retaining the state song, by Larry Roller in the Virginia Tech Music Department's Notes, and a second editorial by Larry suggesting some amendments to the lyrics. Watch for updates.