Unexpected Friday Delight: A New State Song?
Emily Woodhull adopted Virginia, then wrote the state a love song. How good is it? We say, make it the state song of Virginia.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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Maybe it’s time for the Virginia Legislature to try again.
Virginia has, to put it mildly, stepped in it several times over the issue of the state song.
Despite the original embarrassing lyrics of “Carry Me Back to Old Virginia,” which celebrated slavery and the Old South, it was the state song from 1940 to 1994. Between 1994 and 1997, the Legislature did a patch job, tinkering with the lyrics. But a honker’s a honker, so in 1997 they demoted it to “State Song Emeritus” (another whiff, in my opinion.)
They tried “Oh Shenandoah,” but that didn’t work out because, well, the song wasn’t about Virginia. In 2015 the Legislature picked two — “Our Great Virginia,” and “Sweet Virginia Breeze.” Not being familiar with either, I won’t comment on quality. But that neither I nor the half dozen people I asked today could whistle a bar of either says something about their appeal.
Enter Emily Woodhull.
A city girl turned lover of Fredericksburg and the Shenandoah Valley, her new song, “Virginia, I’m Home” is a love letter to the place that took her in and she now calls home.
It’s a song that hits all the right notes, and captures the distinctive spirit of Virginia, without lapsing into predictable tropes or overt sentimentality. Rather, it’s raw, real, and welcoming.
If you disagree with making it the state song, that’s ok. Give the song a listen anyway — it’s an Unexpected Friday Delight that will leave you smiling.
And for a double-treat, check out this Tic-Toc video of Woodhull listening to her new song playing on the radio in Michigan for the first time.
To learn more about Woodhull and her music, as well as her upcoming shows right here in Fredericksburg, visit her website: Emily Woodhull - Virginia Based Singer/Songwriter
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