GEORGIA ON MY MIND

"'Georgia on My Mind'" is a song written in 1930 by Stuart Gorrell (lyrics) and Hoagy Carmichael (music). It is the official state song of the U.S. state of Georgia. Gorrell wrote the lyrics for Hoagy's sister, Georgia Carmichael [1]. However, the lyrics of the song are written ambiguously enough as to refer to the state or to a woman named "Georgia." Carmichael's 1965 autobiography, ''Sometimes I Wonder'', records the origin: a friend suggested: "Why don't you write a song called 'Georgia?' Nobody lost much writing about the South."
The song is best known as sung by Ray Charles, who first recorded the song in 1960. It became Georgia's state song in 1979.

Contents

Versions

Ray Charles

Cultural significance

Lyrics

External references

Versions

At the beginning of World War II, the song was used for a short time by Lord Haw-Haw on the English-language German radio; it is possible that it was a recording of musician and singer Jack Teagarden.
The song has been covered by many artists, significant among them: Ella Fitzgerald, Gladys Knight, James Brown, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, The Band, Django Reinhardt, Priya Mahendra, Mina, Wes Montgomery, Willie Nelson, Michael Bolton, Widespread Panic, David Bromberg, Kurt Hartel, Van Morrison, and the British groups Coldplay and the Spencer Davis Group (with Steve Winwood on vocals) among others.
The song was also sampled in 2005 by Field Mob, Ludacris, and Jamie Foxx.

Ray Charles

It was not until Ray Charles' 1960 recording on ''The Genius Hits the Road'' that the song became a major hit. On March 7, 1979, in a mutual symbol of reconciliation after conflict over civil rights issues he performed it before the Georgia General Assembly. After this performance, the connection to the ''state'' was firmly made, and the Georgia General Assembly officially adopted one month later as the state song on April 24, 1979. This version of the song is played with a video montage each time that Georgia Public Television goes off the air (now generally only late on Sunday nights, instead of nightly).
The song was used as the theme song to the CBS sitcom ''Designing Women'', initially as an instrumental (performed by Doc Severinsen), and later in a recording by Ray Charles. Charles' version was also sampled for rap group Field Mob's 2005 single, "Georgia", featuring Jamie Foxx and Ludacris.
Sometime after 2000, Ray invited the Italian singer Giorgia to sing the song with him after learning that she was named in honor of the song.

Cultural significance

In 2003, Rolling Stone named "Georgia on My Mind" the 44th greatest song of all time.
The song is referenced in The Beatles' "Back in the USSR", with the line "Georgia's always on my mind" referring to Soviet Georgia.
The song is strongly featured in the Stone Mountain Laser Show that runs each summer outside Atlanta.
The song was one of the songs of the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta.

Lyrics

The lyrics to Ray Charles version of this song appear in the Georgia Code under license.

Georgia, Georgia,

The whole day through

Just an old sweet song

Keeps Georgia on my mind



I'm say Georgia

Georgia

A song of you

Comes as sweet and clear

As moonlight through the pines



Other arms reach out to me

Other eyes smile tenderly

Still in peaceful dreams I see

The road leads back to you



I said Georgia,

Ooh Georgia, no peace I find

Just an old sweet song

Keeps Georgia on my mind



Other arms reach out to me

Other eyes smile tenderly

Still in peaceful dreams I see

The road leads back to you



Georgia,

Georgia,

No peace, no peace I find

Just this old, sweet song

Keeps Georgia on my mind



I said just an old sweet song,

Keeps Georgia on my mind

External references

★ SophoKhalvashi.net - site of Sopho Khalvashi who presented Georgia on Eurovision 2007

★ Georgia-state-song web-page

★ Legally established lyrics