"Washington, My Home" (sometimes stylized "Washington My Home") is the state song of Washington, in the United States. It was composed in 1951 by Helen Davis and set to music by Stuart Churchill under the name "America, My Home". Subsequently, retitled and rewritten as "Washington, My Home", it was made the state song in 1959 by an act of the Washington State Legislature. An earlier anthem, "Washington Beloved", was declared the state song in 1909 by a ceremonial resolution of the state legislature.
History
Predecessor
thumb|right|[[Edmond Meany (pictured, standing) wrote the lyrics to "Washington Beloved".]]
"Washington Beloved" was written by Edmond Meany for the University of Washington's 1906 songbook. It was debuted by the University of Washington Glee Club on December 13, 1907.
While Meany did not intend for "Washington Beloved" to be anything more than a collegiate song, a movement started to establish it as the state anthem, the lyrics being equally suitable for such use and the composer – de Koven – sufficiently prominent. Ten members of the legislature, all from Eastern Washington, abstained from voting on the resolution due to the song's lyrics which referred to "purple banners", purple being one of the school colors of the University of Washington, rival to the eastern-situated Washington State College.
In 1959, "Washington, My Home" was declared the state song in an 89–5 vote of the Washington House of Representatives and a unanimous vote of the state senate, the act thereafter promulgated by Governor Albert Rosellini. Rosellini signed the legislation establishing the song as the anthem in the governor's office in Olympia on March 19, 1959, with Davis present at the signing. After several county governments enacted resolutions supporting the campaign, a rally was held on the steps of the Washington State Capitol featuring The Fabulous Wailers, The Kingsmen, and Paul Revere and the Raiders, who performed a 30-minute version of the tune. As a compromise, the legislature ultimately preserved "Washington, My Home" as the state song while also adopting "Louie, Louie" as the state rock anthem and "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On" as the official folk song. The sponsor of the effort, Kris Brannon, said he undertook the attempt to raise awareness of the Sonics' then-imminent departure for Oklahoma City.
Reception
alt=Image of John F. Kennedy|thumb|upright=0.7|[[John F. Kennedy (pictured) suggested a lyric from "Washington, My Home" replace the state's motto Alki.]]
Following the designation of "Washington, My Home" as state song, Harry Bauer – the former director of libraries at the University of Washington – opined that: