I discovered a few days ago that Utah has two state songs. I
knew about our state hymn, “Utah, We Love Thee.” It was in the LDS hymnbook
when I was a girl, under the name of “Land of the Mountains High.” Written by
Evan Stephens in 1895, it was performed the following January when Utah became a
state. “Utah…This is the Place” was written for the state’s centennial in 1995.
It replaced the original song in 2003, after fourth grade students at Cook
Elementary School complained that “Utah, We Love Thee” wasn’t fun to sing. Technically,
Utah still only has one official state song, as “Utah, We Love Thee” is our
state hymn. It could be worse. Tennessee has fourteen official state songs,
including eight that were added in the past two years. (The only one you’ve
ever heard of or ever will hear of is “The Tennessee Waltz.”) They even have
their own official bicentennial rap.
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