Song Emeritus of Virginia

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Last Updated: Jun 23rd, 2008 - 20:07:13

Song Emeritus of Virginia
By Nora Kirkeby
Feb 7, 2008, 08:00 PST

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Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny

Song Emeritus
Written by James A. Bland in 1875

This version is thought to be the original version of the song written by James A. Bland. This version has an agricultural slant. J. Tyler Ballance a member of The Sons of Confederate Veterans sent us the correction on the lyrics. It's thought the lyrics posted below this version may be a slang version created by "watermen," hence the slant related to the sea.

Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny

Carry me back to old Virginny,
There's where the cotton and the corn and tatoes grow,
There's where the birds warble sweet in the springtime,
There's where the old darke'ys heart am long'd to go,
There's where I labored so hard for old massa,
Day after day in the field of yellow corn,
No place on earth do I love more sincerely
Than old Virginny, the state where I was born.

CHORUS

Carry me back to old Virginny,
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 darkey's heart am long'd to go.

Carry me back to old Virginny,
There let me live 'till I wither and decay,
Long by the old Dismal Swamp have I wandered,
There's where this old darke'ys life will pass away.
Massa and missis 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.

Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny Variation

These lyrics appear to be a slang version of the original song written by James Bland. The adoption and history of this song is little bit tricky. Please check out the bottom of the page for more.

On de floating scow ob ole Virginny,
I've worked from day to day,
Raking among de oyster beds,
To me it was but play;
But now I'm old and feeble,
An' my bones are getting sore,
Den carry me back to ole Virginny
To ole Virginny shore.

CHORUS:
Den carry me back to ole Virginny
To ole Virginny shore,
Oh, carry me back to ole Virginny,
To ole Virginny shore.

Oh, I wish dat I was young again,
Den I'd lead a different life,
I'd save my money and buy a farm,
And take Dinah for my wife;
But now old age, he holds me tight,
And I cannot love any more,
Oh, carry me back to ole Virginny,
To ole Virginny shore.

When I am dead and gone to roost,
Lay de old tambo by my side,
Let de possum and coon to my funeral go,
For dey are my only pride;
Den in soft repose, I'll take my sleep,
An' I'll dream for ever more,
Dat you're carrying me back to ole Virginny,
To ole Virginny shore.

Listen to the music for Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny
Courtesy of HomewithGod

History of the Song

Douthat Lake, Virginia
Photo by Aneta Kaluzna
Photo licensed under the Creative Commons

"Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny" was written by James A. Bland, an African American composer from New York who wrote over 700 songs. In 1940, "Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny" became the official state song.

The song caused a lot of controversy of its out-dated, and "racially charged" lyrics. Because of this, in 1997, it was designated the State Song Emeritus, which effectively rendered it into Virginia's history and made it an inactive symbol.

In 1998 the ACIR (Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations) was directed to recommend a new state song. They started the a competition for the state song on July 8, 1998, which received 339 official entries.

After two more rounds, when the state song had been narrowed down to the 8 finalists, the contest was officially suspended on January 5, 2000, and has remained suspended ever since.

Though there was talk of getting the contest started up again in 2004, no dates have been set.

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