Maryland, My Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland

Maryland, My Maryland is the official state song of Maryland.

The lyrics are from a nine stanza poem written by James Ryder Randall in 1861.

The poem was inspired by events at the beginning of the Civil War, when the troops President Lincoln ordered went through Baltimore City on their way to Washington, DC.

A friend of Randall’s, Francis X. Ward, was killed in the riots that occurred while the troops were moving the city. Randall was moved by his friend’s death to write the poem.

The song is set to the tune Lauriger Horatius, which is better known as O Tannenbaum.

Antietam, Maryland

The Maryland state assembly adopted the song as their state song on April 29, 1939. There are discussions in the Maryland state house as of 2016 to change some of the lyrics or have a new state song written.

 

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