Florida Symbols, Retired State Song

Adopted in 1913.

Sheet Music | MIDI

Land of my birth, bright sunkissed land,
Florida, my Florida.
Laded by the Gulf and Ocean grand,
Florida, my Florida.

Of all the States in East or West,
Unto my heart thou art the best
Here may I live, here may I rest
Florida, my Florida.

The golden fruit the world outshines
Florida, my Florida,
Thy gardens and thy phosphate mines,
Florida, my Florida,

In country, town, or hills and dells,
Florida, my Florida,
The rythmic chimes of the school bells
Florida, my Florida,

Will call thy children day by day
To learn to walk the patriot's way
Firmly to stand for thee for aye
Florida, my Florida.

Yield their rich store of good supply,
To still the voice of hunger's cry
For thee we'll live, for thee we'll die
Florida, my Florida.

Origin of Song:

Stephen C. Foster, one of America's Best-loved musical storytellers, wrote "The Swanee River (Old Folks at Home)" in 1851. A memorial center at White Springs honors Foster, who authored about 200 songs during his prolific career.

The Suwannee River flows southerly from the Okeefenokee Swamp in Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida, topographically slicing the Florida panhandle from the rest of the state.

After Foster wrote "The Swanee River" in 1851, he sold it to famed minstrelman E. P. Christy. Foster is reported to have chosen the "Swanee" because its two-syllable cadence fit nicely into the music he had composed. It could not have been due to a familiarity with the river's Florida section, since Foster never visited the state.

Through House Concurrent Resolution No. 22 in 1935, S. P. Robineau of Miami successfully entered "The Swanee River" as the official state song, replacing "Florida, My Florida," which had been adopted as the State Song in 1913. By 1935 Foster's rightful position as a writer and composer had been established.
 

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