State Songs

State Song - "Washington, My Home"

This is my country; God gave it to me;
I will protect it, Ever keep it free.
Small towns and cities rest here in the sun,
Filled with our laughter. Thy will be done.

(refrain)

Washington my home;
Where ever I may roam;
This is my land, my native land, Washington, my home.
Our verdant forest green,
Caressed by silv’ry stream.
From mountain peak to fields of wheat, Washington, my home.
There’s peace you feel and understand.
In this, our own beloved land.
We greet the day with head held high,
And forward ever is our cry.
We’ll happy ever be
As people always free.
For you and me a destiny;
Washington my home.
For you and me a destiny;

Washington my home. State Song: Written by Helen Davis, arranged by Stuart Churchill, and became the official state song in 1959. © State of Washington.


State Folk Song - "Roll on, Columbia, Roll on"

Roll on, Columbia, roll on
Roll on, Columbia, roll on
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn
So roll on, Columbia, roll on.
Green Douglas firs where the waters cut through
Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew
Canadian Northwest to the oceans so blue
Roll on Columbia, roll on
Other great rivers add power to you
Yakima, Snake, and the Klickitat, too
Sandy Willamette and Hood River too
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
Tom Jefferson’s vision would not let him rest
An empire he saw in the Pacific Northwest
Sent Lewis and Clark and they did the rest
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
It’s there on your banks that we fought many a fight
Sheridan’s boys in the blockhouse that night
They saw us in death but never in flight
So roll on Columbia, roll on
At Bonneville now there are ships in the locks
The waters have risen and cleared all the rocks
Shiploads of plenty will steam past the docks
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
And on up the river is Grand Coulee Dam
The mightiest thing ever built by a man
To run the great factories and water the land
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
These mighty men labored by day and by night
Matching their strength ‘gainst the river’s wild flight
Through rapids and falls, they won the hard fight


So roll on, Columbia, roll on State Folk Song: Written by Woody Guthrie, approved as the official state folk song in 1987. © Ludlow Music, Inc.