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The Missouri State Song

Missouri Waltz

arranged by Frederick Knight Logan from a melody by John Valentine Eppel, with lyrics by J. R. Shannon

    Hush-a-bye, ma baby, slumbertime is comin' soon;
    Rest yo' head upon my breast while Mommy hums a tune;
    The sandman is callin' where shadows are fallin',
    While the soft breezes sigh as in days long gone by.

    Way down in Missouri where I heard this melody,
    When I was a little child upon my Mommy's knee;
    The old folks were hummin'; their banjos were strummin';
    So sweet and low.

    Strum, strum, strum, strum, strum,
    Seems I hear those banjos playin' once again,
    Hum, hum, hum, hum, hum,
    That same old plaintive strain.

    Hear that mournful melody,
    It just haunts you the whole day long,
    And you wander in dreams back to Dixie, it seems,
    When you hear that old time song.

    Hush-a-bye ma baby, go to sleep on Mommy's knee,
    Journey back to Dixieland in dreams again with me;
    It seems like your Mommy is there once again,
    And the old folks were strummin' that same old refrain.

    Way down in Missouri where I learned this lullaby,
    When the stars were blinkin' and the moon was climbin' high,
    Seems I hear voices low, as in days long ago,
    Singin' hush-a-bye.

Origin of State Song

The melody to the "Missouri Waltz" is credited to John Valentine Eppel. However, he turned the song over to Frederick Knight Logan who developed an arrangement of the melody and arranged for the Forster Publishing Company, Chicago, IL to publish the song in 1914. At the time the "Missouri Waltz" was published

"Missouri Waltz"
also known as "Hush-a-bye, Ma Baby"

the song had no words. Forster Publishing Company hired a lyricist to write words for the melody. His name was James Royce Shannon. Or was it?

The credit for the words to the "Missouri Waltz" is often attributed to J. R. Shannon or to James Royce Shannon. Both of these names are pseudonyms for James Royce (1881-1946).

The "Missouri Waltz" began to grow in popularity and in 1944, it was played at the Democratic Nation Convention where Harry Truman received the nomination for Vice-President. Harry Truman didn't think much of the song, but others liked it and the "Missouri Waltz" was proposed as the official state song of Missouri in 1949 by Representative Floyd Snyder of Independence.

There was a lot of disagreement about the song in the General Assembly, some over the words, but much of the opposition to the song simply felt that, as stated by Representative Noel Cox at the time, "It does not portray the life of Missouri. It may be popular in Independence and Southeast Missouri, but songs like these are passing fancies. It does not link up any great historical event of the state."

Supporters won the day and, on June 22, 1949, the "Missouri Waltz", arranged by Frederick Knight Logan from a melody by John Eppel and words by James Royce Shannon, was adopted by the General Assembly as the official state song of Missouri.

The following are earlier lyrics to the "Missouri Waltz". Some of the words in the early lyrics were offensive to some people and have been replaced by less objectionable words in the popularly published versions of the song today. For example, "Mammy" has been replaced with "Mommy." "Pick-a-ninny" has been replaced with "little child" and the "darkies" have been replaced with "old folks" in today's published versions of the "Missouri Waltz".

    Hush-a-bye, ma baby, slumber-time is coming soon
    Rest yo’ head upon ma breast while Mammy hums a tune
    The sandman is callin’ where shadows are fallin’,
    While the soft breezes sigh as in days long gone by.

    Way down in Missouri where I heard this melody,
    When I was a Pick-a-ninny on ma Mammy’s knee
    The darkies were hummin,’ Their banjos were strummin’
    So sweet and low.

    Strum, strum, strum, strum, strum,
    Seems I hear those banjos playin’ once again,
    Hum, hum, hum, hum, hum,
    That same old plaintive strain.

    Hear that mournful melody,
    It just haunts you the whole day long,
    And you wander in dreams back to Dixie, it seems,
    When you hear that old time song.

    Hush-a-bye, ma baby, go to sleep on Mammy’s knee,
    Journey back to Dixieland in dreams again with me;
    It seems like yo’ Mammy was there once again,
    And the darkies were strummin’ that same old refrain.
    
    Way down in Missouri where I learned this lullaby,
    When the stars were blinkin’ and the moon was climbin’ high,
    And I hear Mammy Cloe, as in days long ago
    Singin’ hush-a-bye.

Missouri Revised Statutes

The following information is excerpted from the Missouri Revised Statutes, Title 2, Chapter 10, Section 050.

TITLE II. SOVEREIGNTY, JURISDICTION AND EMBLEMS
Chapter 10. State Emblems
SECTION 050

Section 10.050. State song. The song "Missouri Waltz", arranged by Frederick Knight Logan from a melody by John Valentine Eppel, with lyrics by J. R. Shannon, is the official state song of Missouri.

    (L. 1949 p. 275 § 1, RSMo 1949 § 10.100, A.L. 1957 p. 726)

Source: Missouri Secretary of State, (http://sos.state.mo.us), December 2, 2004
Source: Missouri General Assembly, (http://www.moga.state.mo.us/), December 2, 2004
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
Source: State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols by George Earlie Shankle, Ph.D., Copyright 1938

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