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The Montana State Ballad

Montana Melody

words by Carleen and LeGrande Harvey and music by LeGrande Harvey

    I long to be in the places that I see
    in the pictures of my dreams
    Where there's mountains full of trees,
    meadows carpeted in green
    Silent, snow-fall, clear running streams.

    Where the bear-grass blooms
    In the spring-time of the year,
    And the larch turn gold in the Fall
    Where there's deer, elk and antelope
    Beaver, bears and birds and the yippin'
    coyotes serenade them all.

   Chorus:
    Yes, there's no place like Montana,
    the Big Sky country, my home.
    A place to set my spirit free,
    a Rocky Mountain melody,
    These things are a part of me,
    Montana, Montana, my home.
    
    Charlie Russell clouds paint sunsets in the West,
    in colors of red, blue and gold.
    Snow-capped peaks reach endless to the sky,
    and the grain-fields with gentle breezes flow.

    There's high mountain lakes, Missouri river breaks
    and the open plains, where the buffalo used to roam.
    It's a cowboy song, it's where Indians belong
    God's country, my home sweet home.

    I had a dream, of how Heaven's s'posed to be,
    and when I die, that's where I want to go.
    Cause there's mountains full of trees, meadows
    carpeted in green, silent snowfall, clear running streams.

   Chorus:

Adoption of State Ballad

Rather than replace the official state song, "Montana", which had been around since 1910 and was adopted as the official state song of Montana in 1945, "Montana Melody" was adopted as the official state ballad of Montana. "Montana Melody", by Carleen and Harvey LeGrand, was adopted as the official state ballad of Montana in 1938. Seventy-two children from Jefferson High School in Helena sang the new state ballad for Governor Ted Schwinden on the day he signed legislation making it official; March 11, 1983. He urged them to help spread the new state ballad to all parts of the state.

Montana Code Annotated

The following information is excerpted from the Montana Code Annotated, Title 1, Chapter 1, Part 5, Section 11.

TITLE 1. GENERAL LAWS AND DEFINITIONS
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Part 5. State Symbols -- Official Designations

1-1-511. State ballad. The song "Montana Melody", written by Carleen Harvey and LeGrande Harvey, is the official state ballad of the state of Montana.

    History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 56, L. 1983.

Source: Montana State Web Site, December 2, 2004
Source: Symbols of Montana by Rex C. Myers and Norma B. Ashby, Copyright 1989
Source: State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols by Benjamin F. Shearer and Barbara S. Shearer, Copyright 2002
Source: State Songs America, Edited by M.J. Bristow, Copyright 2000

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