Maryland, About Your State Song....

Maryland is considering removing Civil War expressions like "Northern scum" from their state song.

Maryland lawmakers are thinking maybe it's time to find a way to scrub "Northern scum" — and a few other sensitive pre-Civil War phrases — from the official state song. "Maryland, My Maryland," set to the traditional seasonal tune of "O, Tannenbaum," was written in 1861 and adopted as the state song in 1939. But now some lawmakers are pushing for a change to the warlike language in what was originally a poem that doubled as a call to arms. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller wants a new commission to examine the song and consider changing some stanzas to reflect the state's diversity and remove offensive phrases. "I love history, but there comes a time when you have to adjust," Miller, a Democrat, told senators Tuesday. A Maryland House of Delegates committee voted down a bill to change the song because members were reluctant to tinker with history.

I believe Florida still has Stephen Foster's Swanee River as their state song. You know, that classic about where "de white folks stay" and the "darkeys" contentedly sing in the fields.