THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 1, 1997 TAG: 9702010084
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: 75 lines
JIMMY DEAN, the country crooner-turned-sausage king, and his wife, Donna, didn't set out to pen an official state song. Originally, ``Virginia'' was written for Varina High School, near the Deans' 179-acre spread overlooking the James River east of Richmond.
``We said, gosh, this song is a bit too good for a school song,'' Jimmy Dean said recently.
``Varina'' was changed to ``Virginia,'' and now the song, mostly the work of Donna Dean, could be a candidate to replace ``Carry Me Back to Old Virginia,'' which was retired by the State Senate on Tuesday.
The bill to make ``Carry Me Back'' the state song emeritus now goes to the House of Delegates, which has approved similar legislation in the past.
Another song-related proposal would replace ``Carry Me Back'' with Dean's ``Virginia.'' That bill is not expected to pass.
A third bill, passed by the Senate, would create a committee of legislators and citizens who would recommend just what to do about a song. Members would have some particular knowledge or expertise in music, literature or Virginia history. They'd be charged with determining the three best alternatives for the state song and presenting them to the governor and the 1998 General Assembly. This proposal is with the house now.
Recently, musicians around the state weighed in with their opinion as to what should constitute a state song.
Robin Williams of the Augusta County folk duo Robin and Linda Williams: ``I would try to find that fine line between true emotion and sentimentality and schmaltz. I'd try to find a really good melody, a singable melody. . . . You should probably have something about the beauty of the state, the beauty of the coast, the mountains, the Piedmont.''
Robbin Thompson, the Richmond singer and co-writer of ``Sweet Virginia Breeze,'' also mentioned as a possible replacement: ``To me, the criteria for a state song is not something where you say, `We need a new state song, go write one.' It should be something popular that becomes the state song. To me, it's something that grows into a state song.''
Jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd, a native of Suffolk: ``I'd certainly try to put in how diverse the land is. . . . Virginia certainly has a lot of cultural diversity. A person growing up in Virginia has a chance to sample all kinds of things, and that's certainly part of the charm of the state to me.''
Don Reid of the Staunton-based Statler Brothers: ``I think what would constitute it would be a melody that would last the ages, not anything faddish. Lyrically, you want something that will be descriptive, reverent. . .
Dean, 66, made waves in country music with ``Big Bad John.'' He was running a hog farm when he began the Jimmy Dean Meat Co. in 1968. It's now a multimillion-dollar division of Sara Lee. The father of three and grandfather of two still serves as chairman of the board and corporate spokesperson. ILLUSTRATION: Staff file photo
Jimmy Dean...
Graphic
Proposed state song
``Virginia''
By Jimmy and Donna Dean
From the Blue Ridge to the great Atlantic Ocean
There's a Commonwealth of beauty known to man
As the mother of the Fathers of our country,
Heaven chose her as the birthplace of our land.
Virginia, dear old Virginia!
There's no place on Earth I'd rather be.
Virginia, sweet old Virginia!
My Old Dominion home keeps calling me.
When I think about the beauty of Virginia
I remember dogwoods blooming in the spring.
When the sun sets on the Shenandoah Valley
Sometimes I think I hear the angels sing . . . ''