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The Arkansas State Historical Song The Arkansas Traveler
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On a lonely road quite long ago, A trav'ler trod with fiddle and a bow; While rambling thru the country rich and grand, He quickly sensed the magic and the beauty of the land. Chorus For the wonder state we'll sing a song, And lift our voices loud and long. For the wonder state we'll shout hurrah! And praise the opportunities we find in Arkansas. Many years have passed, the trav'lers gay, Repeat the tune along the highway; And every voice that sings the glad refrain Re-echoes from the mountains to the fields of growing grain. Repeat Chorus |
"Though it served as the Official State Song of
Arkansas from 1945 or 1949 to 1963, "The Arkansas Traveler" was adopted by the 1987
General Assembly as the Official State Historical Song with House Concurrent
Resolution No. 1007
(HCR1007).
Originally spelled "The Arkansaw Traveler," the melody is almost universally attributed to Colonel Sanford C. Faulkner (1803-1874), a wealthy planter from Chicot County Arkansas. (In 1873, an Arkansas county would be named after the Colonel.) The story begins when an Arkansas traveler comes opon a squatter sitting on his porch fiddling away at the same melody over and over and over again. You'll find links to two versions of the story below. There were some Arkansans who thought the story hurt the reputation of Arkansas by its portrayal of the squatter. Others responded that it was simply a bit of broad humor and "Instead of injuring Arkansas,it has carried that name to the remotest parts of the earth, and has exploited a type of easy-going citizens common to all localites the world over." Source: Arkansas Secretary of State,(http://www.sosweb.state.ar.us/educational_activity_book.html), September 22, 2004
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