West Virginia Music

WEST VIRGINIA MUSIC

We are all familiar with “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” But is it really about West Virginia?

Let's investigate!

(Check out all the links and be prepared to answer questions! You may want to leave the windows open!)

“Almost heaven, West Virginia. Blue Ridge Mountains…..”

“Shenandoah River”

“Life is old there, older than the trees…..”

“Miner's lady…..”

“Misty taste of moonshine…..”

Don't forget to answer all the questions!

“The West Virginia Hills" is another of our state songs.

Listen to it here.

Read about it here.

Answer questions about it here.

“West Virginia My Home Sweet Home" is another of our state songs.

Listen to it here.

Read about it here.

Answer questions about it here.

“This is My West Virginia" is another of our state songs.

Listen to it here.

Read about it here.

Answer questions about it here.

Thanks for exploring some of the music of our state.

Now let's do a trivia quiz about WV.

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Thanks for playing!

"West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home," by Julian G. Hearne, Jr (a Wheeling native, attorney, and career military officer), was designated the first official state song of West Virginia in 1947. Since then, West Virginia has recognized three more state songs; "The West Virginia Hills," adopted in 1961; "This is My West Virginia," adopted in 1963, and "Take Me Home Country Roads," adopted in 2014.

The first people in West Virginia were Paleo-Indians (10,500–9000 B.C.). They were big game hunters whose ancestors were Asian. The climate at this time was much colder, and species such as mastodon, mammoth, musk ox, and caribou were hunted. Settlements were widely scattered and temporary.

The Main Stem Shenandoah River is formed when the North Fork and South Fork converge at Front Royal, Virginia. The Shenandoah flows for 57 miles until it empties into the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The section of the Shenandoah which will be discussed is the 35 miles of river that lies within the state of Virginia. The section of the Shenandoah flowing through Clarke County is designated as a state scenic river. The Main Stem Shenandoah is a sixth order stream and averages around 150 feet in width.

"This is My West Virginia" by Iris Bell was designated an official state song of West Virginia in 1963. Iris Bell is a jazz musician, pianist, singer from Buckhannon, WV. Iris was born in 1934 and was trained in classical piano until age 14. She graduated from Stonewall Jackson High in 1951, and began playing with Charleston bands almost immediately. She led her own band, the Iris Bell Trio, from the age of 22. In 1962, she wrote "This is My West Virginia," a powerful anthem to the beauty of the state, its people and its culture.

Coal has been an important part of West Virginia’s economy for more than a century, and the state is currently the second-largest coal producer in the nation, after Wyoming. The existence of coal in West Virginia was first reported in the early 1700s, but large-scale mining did not begin until the mid-1800s. Today, coal is mined in 21 of 55 counties.The state is also the largest producer of bituminous coal. Coal deposits underlie all but two counties, both of which are located in the state's eastern panhandle. Although coal occurs in 53 of the state's 55 counties, only 43 counties have economically recoverable reserves. All West Virginia coal is bituminous. About three-fifths of coal produced is sent to nearly 20 states, including West Virginia, while the rest is sent to other countries. In fact, West Virginia produces the largest share of the nation’s exported coal, accounting for roughly 38% of exports.

"The West Virginia Hills’’ is the oldest of West Virginia’s four official state songs. In September 1885, the Glenville Crescent newspaper published the four-verse poem, credited to Ellen Ruddell King. The music was composed by Henry Everett Engle of Gilmer County who also added the words for the chorus. A movement to adopt ‘‘The West Virginia Hills’’ as the official state song began with the West Virginia Music Educators Association in 1960. A resolution to officially adopt the song passed the West Virginia legislature on February 3, 1961. During the year of the state’s centennial, ‘‘West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home,’’ by Col. Julian G. Hearne Jr. of Wheeling, and ‘‘This is My West Virginia’’ by Iris Bell of Charleston joined ‘‘The West Virginia Hills’’ as official state songs on February 28, 1963. On March 7, 2014, the legislature approved a resolution naming “Take Me Home, Country Roads” as the state’s fourth state song.

The making of illegal or moonshine whiskey has a long history in West Virginia and elsewhere. The word entered the English language about 1785 when white brandy was smuggled on the southeast England coast of Kent and Sussex. Those who made or transported the beverage worked under moonlight to escape the law. Moonshine is illegal because producers do not abide by state or federal laws regarding the licensure, manufacture, sale, and taxation of distilled spirits.