Bill Text: VA HB2203 | 2015 | Regular Session | Prefiled

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Bill Title: "Virginia, the Home of My Heart"; designating as the official state song.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-10 - Left in Rules [HB2203 Detail]

Download: Virginia-2015-HB2203-Prefiled.html

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15103668D
HOUSE BILL NO. 2203 Offered January 14, 2015 Prefiled January 14, 2015 A BILL to amend and reenact §1-510 of the Code of Virginia, relating to official emblems and designations; state song. ---------- Patron-- O'Bannon ---------- Committee Referral Pending ----------

Whereas, the Commonwealth has no official song because "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," declared the official song of the Commonwealth in 1940, was declared the official song emeritus of the Commonwealth in 1997; and

Whereas, the official song should reference the rich tradition of the Commonwealth and invoke images of the natural and scenic beauty its citizens celebrate; and

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

Whereas, "Virginia, the Home of My Heart," music and lyrics by Susan Greenbaum, meets these melodic and lyrical requirements, the words of which are as follows:

"Oh, Virginia, my home and my heart,

Where the rays of our brightest days start,

Home of simple and fine,

Land of dogwood and pine,

See the tidewaters rise, and the blue mountain skies.

Oh, Virginia, in your beauty I see

Future promise and proud history,

As I hold precious memories of those here and gone,

I will raise up my voice with the cardinals at dawn,

To the stars up above, I will sing of my love

For Virginia, the home of my heart!

 

Oh, Virginia, my home and my heart,

I am thankful for every part,

Mountain high, valley low,

Wooded path, river flow,

And the great days ahead, born of days long ago.

Oh, Virginia, my heart and my home,

Every sunset a heavenly poem,

May I wade in your rivers and sail on your bay,

May I wander your mountains and valleys each day,

To your wide rolling farms, I will open my arms--

Oh, Virginia, the home of my heart!"; and

Whereas, "Virginia, the Home of My Heart" is worthy of designation as the official song of the Commonwealth; now, therefore,

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."

Cabin Capital of Virginia - Page County.

Coal Miners' Memorial - The Richlands Coal Miners' Memorial located in Tazewell County.

Covered Bridge Capital of the Commonwealth - Patrick County.

Covered Bridge Festival - Virginia Covered Bridge Festival held in Patrick County.

Dog - American Foxhound.

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

Fish (Freshwater) - Brook Trout.

Fish (Saltwater) - Striped Bass.

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).

Maple Festival - The Highland County Maple Festival.

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.

Shakespeare festival - The Virginia Shakespeare Festival held in the City of Williamsburg.

Shell - Oyster shell (Crassostrea virginica).

Song - "Virginia, the Home of My Heart," music and lyrics by Susan Greenbaum.

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