State Songs

First Verse

• O Tennessee, that gave us birth,
  To thee our hearts bow down
  For thee our love and loyalty
  Shall weave a fadeless crown
  Thy purple hills our cradle was;
  Thy fields our mother breast
  Beneath thy sunny bended skies,
  Our childhood days were blessed

Second Verse

• ’Twas long ago our fathers came,
  A free and noble band,
  Across the mountain’s frowning heights
  To seek a promised land
  And here before their raptured eyes;
  In beauteous majesty:
  Outspread the smiling valleys
  Of the winding Tennessee

Third Verse

• Could we forget our heritage
  Of heroes strong and brave?
  Could we do aught but cherish it,
  Unsullied to the grave?
  Ah no! the State where Jackson sleeps,
  Shall ever peerless be
  We glory in thy majesty;
  Our homeland, Tennessee

Chorus

• O Tennessee: Fair Tennessee:
  Our love for thee can never die:
  Dear homeland, Tennessee

First Verse

• Sweetness of Spring memories bring
  Of a place I long to be
  Land of Sunshine calls this old heart of mine,
  Come back to Tennessee

Second Verse

• Rocks and the rills deep tinted hills,
  There's no spot so dear to me
  Where'er I roam still it's my Home Sweet Home,
  My own, my Tennessee

Chorus

• When it’s Iris time down in Tennessee,
  I’ll be coming back to stay
  Where the mockingbird sings at the break of day
  A lilting love song gay
  Where the Iris grows,
  Where the Harpeth flows,
  That is where I long to be
  There’s a picture there that lives in memory
  When it’s Iris time in Tennessee

First Verse

• Beloved state, oh state of mine,
  In all the world I could not find,
  Where God has strewn with lavish hand,
  More natural beauty o’er the land
  From ev’ry stream and valley green
  His wond’rous art is ever seen
  Ah, let my heart beat true to thee,
  And swell with pride for Tennessee

Second Verse

• Thy rocks and rills, and wooded hills,
  My mem’ry keeps the childhood thrills
  You gave to me, that I might know
  The joys supreme, you could bestow
  The song of birds, the whisp’ring trees,
  The low of herds, the hum of bees,
  It all comes back so dear to me,
  My childhood home in Tennesseee

Third Verse

• Your battles fought, and vict’ries won,
  Your freedom bought and duty done,
  With daughters fair, and sons so brave,
  To do and dare, their deeds they gave
  Courageously, without a fear,
  And won the name of volunteer
  In sacred trust, let those who will,
  By being just, preserve it still

Chorus

• Oh, Tennessee, My Tennessee,
  Thy hills and vales are fair to see,
  With mountains grand, and fertile lands
  There is no state more dear to me
  Thro’ other climes tho I may roam,
  There will be times I’ll long for home,
  In Tennessee, Fair Tennessee,
  The land of my nativity

I was waltzing with my darlin’ to the Tennessee Waltz
When an old friend I happened to see
Introduced him to my loved one and while they were waltzing
My friend stole my sweetheart from me

I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz
Now I know just how much I have lost
Yes I lost my little darlin’ the night they were playing
The beautiful Tennessee Waltz

First Verse

• Wish that I was on ol’ Rocky Top,
  down in the Tennessee hills;
  Ain’t no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top;
  Ain’t no telephone bills;
  Once I had a girl on Rocky Top;
  Half bear, other half cat;
  Wild as a mink, but sweet as soda pop,
  I still dream about that;

Second Verse

• Once two strangers climbed ol’ Rocky Top,
  lookin’ for a moonshine still;
  Strangers ain’t come down from Rocky Top;
  Reckon they never will;
  Corn won’t grow at all on Rocky Top;
  Dirt’s too rocky by far;
  That’s why all the folks on Rocky Top
  get their corn from a jar;

Third Verse

• I’ve had years of cramped-up city life
  Trapped like a duck in a pen;
  All I know is it’s a pity life
  Can’t be simple again

Chorus

• Rocky Top, you’ll always be
  home sweet home to me;
  Good ol’ Rocky Top;
  Rocky Top, Tennessee;
  Rocky Top, Tennessee

I do not know of another state
And don’t forget the rivers
Where I had rather be
Where visitors long to stay
Than this great state I’m living in
And many have voiced in parting,
And that is Tennessee
‘I’m sure glad I passed this way’
I love the stars dearly
You will see the cattle grazing
And there are surely three
Beside a cotton field;
That show the Grand Divisions
And there’s the Grand Ole Opry
Of my home-land, Tennessee
And a feeling it’s all God’s will

Where could you find a meadow
I have lived here all my life
With grass so vividly green?
It’s where I’m going to be
Where could you find the mountains
Although I’ve traveled quite a bit,
With such majestic scene?
I’ll still take Tennessee!

You will never find so bright a moon
Oh, I sure love the state I’m in:
To shine down from above
The great state of Tennessee!
You will also see the robin
The wren, and the turtle dove

From the Smokie Mountain Mornings to the Mississippi shores
Let's take time to remember those who went before
Whose lives made a difference in the world for you and me
Their courage faith and vision are the Pride of Tennessee
Sequoyah was a Cherokee the chief of all his tribe
His people learned to read and write with the alphabet he scribed
When Tennessee became a State its Governor was clear
There was no better leader than the gallant John Sevier
From the backwoods to the Congress to his stand at the Alamo
Davy Crockett gave his life for the country he loved so

Three Presidents from Tennessee made impressions on this land
Jackson, Polk and Johnson were men who took a stand
Ida Wells Barnett fought bravely for the rights of men
When they were killed by prejudice for the color of their skin
He was drafted in the first world war though he did not want to go
His shooting skills made Alvin York a national hero

When women of Tennessee believed they had the right to vote
Ann Dallas Dudley led the fight and gave them hope
Cordell Hull had a vision for peace around the world
The United Nations where all countries' flags unfurl
From Beale Street down in Memphis to New York front page news
WC Handy's music made him father of the blues

Yes Courage, Faith and Vision are the Pride of Tennessee

TENNE-, TENNE-, TENNES-SEE!
Oh, how proud we are of thee!
Volunteer State since 1812 -
Glad our fathers picked here to dwell!

Presidents, Presidents - proud are we!
Jackson, Polk, and Johnson - three!
Crockett, Forrest, and John Sevier;
Alvin York and Hull lived here!

Baker, Gores, and Kefauver,
Served our country with honor!
U.T., Memphis and Vandy U.,
Tennessee Tech and Sewanee, too!

Appalachian Mountains, mountains high -
Reaching up in the smoky sky!
Tennessee River, flowing through -
We will cross near the Choo Choo!

Dollywood and Walking Horse Show!
Opryland and the Opry Show!
Whisky, whisky - sipping smooth -
Moon, Moon Pies and Goo Goo Goos!

Reelfoot Lake and cotton fields,
Natchez Trace and Civil War fields!
Mocking birds and raccoons grow,
And tulip poplars and iris show!

Bessie Smith and Memphis blues -
W.C. Handy and Elvis, too!
Eastman, Oak Ridge, and TVA -
Nissan, Saturn, and Country Music pay!

Chickasaw, Sequoyah, and Cherokee -
Cumberland Plateau and Mississippi!
BIRTHDAY WISHES ON 200 YEARS -
GIVE TENNESSEE A BIG, BIG CHEER!