THE TENNESSEE LOCAL HISTORY NETWORK

THE TENNESSEE LOCAL HISTORY NETWORK

SALUTES

TENNESSEE MILITARY PERSONNEL

 

Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee

 

Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee
What Love and Pride I Feel for Thee.
You Proud Ole State, the Volunteer,
Your Proud Traditions I Hold Dear.
 

I Revere Your Heroes
Who Bravely Fought our Country’s Foes.
Renowned Statesmen, so Wise and Strong,
Who Served our Country Well and Long.
 

I Thrill at Thought of Mountains Grand;
Rolling Green Hills and Fertile Farm Land;
Earth Rich with Stone, Mineral and Ore;
Forests Dense and Wild Flowers Galore;
Powerful Rivers that Bring us Light;
Deep Lakes with Fish and Fowl in Flight;
Thriving Cities and Industries;
Fine Schools and Universities;
Strong Folks of Pioneer Descent,
Simple, Honest, and Reverent.
 

Beauty and Hospitality
Are the Hallmarks of Tennessee.
 

And O’er the World as I May Roam,
No Place Exceeds my Boyhood Home.
And Oh How Much I Long to See
My Native Land, My Tennessee.


 

The poem entitled “Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee” by Naval Adm. William Lawrence was designated and adopted as the official state poem by Public Chapter 111 of the 88th General Assembly. Adm. Lawrence composed this poem while enduring a period of 60 days of solitary confinement in a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp. Lawrence, who spent six years as a POW during the Vietnam War, is a Nashville native and is retired from the United State Navy.

 

Volunteerism

A TRADITION PREDATING THE STATE OF TENNESSEE