“The Old North State” is North Carolina’s state song, adopted in 1927. The lyrics by William Gaston describe the state’s struggles and enduring spirit. The music has evolved over time, with the current version arranged by Mrs. EE Randolph in 1926. Gaston composed the lyrics in 1835 after hearing a melody from Swiss bell ringers. The song focuses on the kindness and beauty of North Carolina’s people, rather than its natural resources. North Carolina adopted the nickname “Old North State” to differentiate it from South Carolina after the colony split in the early 1700s.
North Carolina’s state song is “The Old North State,” which was adopted by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1927. The title of the song refers to North Carolina’s nickname, “Old North State,” which is one of many state emblems. Both the title and the lyrics about enduring “contempt” and “experienced” describe the struggle North Carolina endured in territorial boundary disputes and a series of economic setbacks during its formative years. While the lyrics, written by William Gaston, have remained the same, the music has evolved over the years with multiple interpretations existing. In 1926, Raleigh resident Mrs. EE Randolph arranged the music, incorporating the standardized tune by which the state song of North Carolina is known today.
Judge William Gaston, a plantation owner and member of the state supreme court, resided in the city of Raleigh during the 1835 court session. Several women in the family sang a song they had learned while attending a concert of Swiss bell ringers. Judge Gaston, enchanted by the melody, composed the verses of “The Old North State” to accompany the music. The song caught the ears of North Carolinians several years later when a chorus of young women sang it at a presidential rally for William Henry Harrison. The lyrics of the North Carolina state song show patriotic pride and a hint of the hardships the state has experienced following wars with Great Britain and a severe decline in population and prestige.
William Gaston, for whom the city of Gastonia and Gaston County are named, was proud of the state song of North Carolina. His song includes words of defense of the state despite setbacks and ridicule, and sings of his great freedom and hospitality to both children and strangers. The lyrics also offer a personal perspective of the writer as a supreme court judge, with Gaston’s proclamations of North Carolina’s “just rule” and “too true to herself not to crouch under oppression.” Unlike many other state songs that herald their states’ natural resources and beauties, “The Old North State” focuses on the kindness and beauty of its people “where abundance and peace, love and joy smile before us.”
In 1663, Charles II of England established a colony in the New World, named Carolina after his father. In the early 1700s, dissent and rebellion over local politics caused the colony to split into two distinct real territories: North Carolina and South Carolina. North Carolina adopted the nickname “Old North State” for differentiate it from South Carolina. The early years were turbulent for the fledgling state. After the American Revolutionary War from Great Britain and with the expansion of the American West in the early 1800s, North Carolina suffered a decline in population and a reputation as an impoverished state with few opportunities.
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