State songs are really cheesy. What’s wrong with those people? Anyway. I found out why Virginia doesn’t have a state song. We did, but then someone got rid of it in order to have a contest to have a new one. (That makes no sense to me, but okay.) Anyway, the contest took place way back in 1998. They still have not chosen a stupid song! They narrowed it down to 8 finalists in 1999, but then for some unexplained reason they never announced a winner. It got delayed, apparently delayed indefinitely. Again, what’s wrong with those people?
I’ve listened to all of them (why the heck did I do this in the first place?) and I’ve chosen a favorite. Brilliantly and appropriately, it’s entitled, “Virginia” by Lynn K. Rinker. It’s the… least cheesy out of the eight. That one gets extra points for having a mens choir sing it rather than some smarmy pop/country/rock singer. If you care to listen (but I’d suggest you save yourself) click here. There were a few others that were okay, but they sounded rather familiar to some hymns I know, so I chose that one instead.
This really makes me wonder what other state songs are like. Are they all kinda schmaltzy? We should get Great American rock stars to do some. I don’t know who those rock stars would be, since most people would probably go with really scary pop stars (those plastic people scare me). So maybe schmaltz is okay if that means we don’t have to listen to Britney Spears singing about the “Birthplace of democracy”.