Maryland, My Maryland

The original sheet music of "Maryland, My Maryland"
Regional anthem ofMaryland
Lyrics	James Ryder Randall, 1861; 164 years ago (1861)
Music	Melchior Franck, 1615; 410 years ago (1615)
Adopted	April 29, 1939; 86 years ago (1939-04-29)
Relinquished	May 18, 2021; 4 years ago (2021-05-18)
Succeeded by	None
Audio sample
"Maryland, My Maryland" (instrumental) file help

"Maryland, My Maryland" is the formerstate song of theU.S. state ofMaryland from 1939 until 2021.^[1] The lyrics are from a nine-stanza poem written byJames Ryder Randall in 1861 and sung to an old German folk melody, "Lauriger Horatius"^[2] — the same tune used for "O Tannenbaum." Thestate's general assembly adopted "Maryland, My Maryland" as the state song on April 29, 1939.^[3]

The song's words refer toMaryland's history and geography, specifically mentioning several historical figures of importance to the state. Written at the beginning of theCivil War, it was used across the Confederacy as a battle hymn.^[4] It has been called America's "mostmartial poem".^[5]

Because of its origin in reaction to theBaltimore riot of 1861 and Randall's support for theConfederate States, it includes lyrics that refer to PresidentAbraham Lincoln as "the tyrant", "the despot", and "the Vandal", and to the Union as "Northern scum". It also mentionsVirginia as an ally and includes that state's official motto "Sic semper tyrannis". The slogan was later shouted by MarylanderJohn Wilkes Booth when heassassinated Lincoln.^[6][7] After more than ten attempts to change the state song, over 40 years, on March 22, 2021, both houses of the General Assembly voted by substantial margins to abandon "Maryland, My Maryland" as the state song without a replacement. On May 18, 2021, GovernorLarry Hogan signed the bill.^[1][6]

The poem resulted from events at the beginning of theAmerican Civil War. During the secession crisis, U.S. PresidentAbraham Lincoln (referred to in the poem as "the despot" and "the tyrant") ordered U.S. troops to be brought toWashington, D.C. to protect the capital and to prepare for war with the seceding southern states. Many of these troops were brought throughBaltimore, a major transportation hub. There was considerableConfederate sympathy in Maryland at the time; many residents opposing the use of the U.S. Army to prevent secession.^[8] Riots ensued as Union troops came through Baltimore on their way south in April 1861 and were attacked by mobs. Many Union troops and Baltimore residents were killed in theBaltimore riots. The Maryland legislature summarized the state's ambivalent feelings when it met soon after, on April 29, voting 53–13 against secession,^[9][10] but also voting not to reopen rail links with the North, and requesting that Lincoln remove the growing numbers of federal troops in Maryland.^[8] At this time the legislature seems to have wanted to avoid involvement in a war against its seceding neighbors.^[8] The contentious issue of troop transport through Maryland would lead one month later to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, also a Marylander, penning one of the United States' most controversial wartime rulings,Ex parte Merryman.^[11][12]

One of the reported victims of these troop transport riots was Francis X. Ward, a friend ofJames Ryder Randall. Randall, a native Marylander, was teaching atPoydras College inPointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, at the time and, moved by the news of his friend's death, wrote the nine-stanza poem "Maryland, My Maryland". The poem was a plea to his home state of Maryland tosecede from theUnion and join the Confederacy.^[6] Randall later claimed the poem was written "almost involuntarily" in the middle of the night on April 26, 1861. Being unable to sleep after hearing the news, he claimed that "some powerful spirit appeared to possess me... the whole poem was dashed off rapidly... [under] what may be called a conflagration of the senses, if not an inspiration of the intellect".^[13]

The poem contains many references to theRevolutionary War as well as to theMexican–American War and Maryland figures in that war (many of whom have fallen into obscurity). It was first published in theNew OrleansSunday Delta. The poem was quickly turned into a song—put to the tune of "Lauriger Horatius"—by Baltimore resident Jennie Cary, sister ofHetty Cary.^[14] It became instantly popular in Maryland, aided by aseries of unpopular federal actions there and throughout theSouth. It was sometimes called "theMarseillaise of the South".Confederate States Army bands played the song after they crossed into Maryland territory during theMaryland Campaign in 1862.^[15] By 1864, theSouthern Punch noted that the song was "decidedly most popular" among the "claimants of a national song" for the Confederacy.^[16] According to some accounts, GeneralRobert E. Lee ordered his troops to sing "Maryland, My Maryland" as they entered the town ofFrederick, Maryland, but his troops received a cold response, as Frederick was located in the unionist western portion of the state.^[17] At least one Confederate regimental band also played the song as Lee's troops retreated across the Potomac after the bloodyBattle of Antietam.

During the War, a version of the song was written with lyrics that supported theU.S. cause.^[18][19]

After the War, authorOliver Wendell Holmes Sr. compared "Maryland, My Maryland" with "John Brown's Body" as the two most popular songs from the opposing sides in the early months of the conflict. Each side, he wrote, had "a sword in its hand, each with a song in its mouth". The songs indicated as well their respective audiences, according to Holmes: "One is a hymn, with ghostly imagery and anthem-like ascription. The other is a lyric poem, appealing chiefly to local pride and passion."^[13]

Like many other songs from the American Civil War, there were multiple variations of this song that were written for both the Union and Confederacy. One version was written by American songwriterSeptimus Winner in 1862, and went like this:^[20]

Unsuccessful efforts to revise the lyrics to the song or to repeal or replace the song were attempted by members of theMaryland General Assembly in 1974, 1980, 1984, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2016, 2018, and 2019.^[21][22][23]

In July 2015, DelegatePeter A. Hammen, chairman of the Maryland House of Delegates House Health and Government Operations Committee, asked theMaryland State Archives to form an advisory panel to review the song. The panel issued a report in December 2015 that suggested that it was time the song was retired. The panel offered several options for revising the song's lyrics or replacing it with another song altogether.^[24]

The panel report stated that the Maryland state song should:

• celebrate Maryland and its citizens;
• be unique to Maryland;
• be historically significant;
• be inclusive of all Marylanders;
• be memorable, popular, singable and short (one, or at the most, two stanzas long).^[25]

In 2016, theMaryland Senate passed a bill to revise the song to include just the third verse of Randall's lyrics and only the fourth verse of a poem of the same name, written in 1894 byJohn T. White.^[26][27] This revision had the support of Maryland Senate PresidentThomas V. "Mike" Miller, who had resisted any changes to "Maryland, My Maryland" in the past.^[28][29] It was not reported out of the Health and Government Operations Committee in the House of Delegates, however.^[30]

On August 28, 2017, TheMighty Sound of Maryland, the marching band of theUniversity of Maryland, suspended playing the song until they had time to review if it was aligned with the values of the school.^[31]

On March 16, 2018, the Maryland Senate passed an amended bill that would have changed the status of "Maryland! My Maryland!" from the "official State song" to the "Historical State song".^[32] The bill received an Unfavorable Report by the House Health and Government Operations Committee on April 9, 2018.^[33]

A bill was filed in the House of Delegates for the 2020 session to appoint an advisory panel to "review public submissions and suggestions for a new State song", but the bill did not advance past the hearing because the General Assembly adjourned early because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[34][35][36]

On March 29, 2021, the Maryland legislature passed a bill to remove "Maryland, My Maryland" as the state song (with no replacement).^[37] Governor Larry Hogan signed the bill into law on May 18, 2021.^[1][6]

The songs "Michigan, My Michigan", "Florida, My Florida", and "The Song of Iowa"^[38] are set to the same tune as "Maryland, My Maryland".^[39] TheCollege of the Holy Cross^[40] andSt. Bonaventure University^[41] both use the tune for their respectivealma maters.

The socialist song "The Red Flag" has historically been sung to the same tune.^[42]

In the film version ofGone with the Wind, "Maryland, My Maryland" is played at the opening scene of the Charity Ball when Scarlett and Melanie are reacquainted with Rhett Butler.Kid Ory'sCreole Jazz Band recorded an instrumental version of "Maryland, My Maryland" on September 8, 1945, in theNew Orleans jazz revival.^[43]Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album101 Gang Songs (1961). In 1962,Edmund Wilson used the phrase "patriotic gore" from the song as the title of his book on the literature of theCivil War.^[44]

The third verse of "Maryland, My Maryland" was sung annually at thePreakness Stakes by theUnited States Naval Academyglee club;^[45] that practice was discontinued in 2020.^[46][47]

EnglishWikisource has original text related to this article:

Maryland, My Maryland

• Maryland in the American Civil War
• List of U.S. state songs

• Maryland State Archives (2004).Maryland State Song – "Maryland, My Maryland". Retrieved 27 Dec. 2004.
• The Morrison Foundation for Musical Research, Inc. (15 Jan. 2004).James Ryder Randall (1839–1908). Retrieved 27 Dec. 2004.

• Washington Post: Maryland's state song is way off-key, panel says
• "Maryland, My Maryland": Women, War, and Song, at University of Maryland Libraries

• Music of Maryland
• United States state songs
• Songs of the American Civil War
• Maryland in the American Civil War
• Preakness Stakes
• Songs about Maryland
• Songs based on poems
• Race-related controversies in music
• African-American-related controversies

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