Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, the Volunteer State, has many

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

s. Official symbols of the state are designated by act of the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Tennessee Senate, Senate and a Tennessee House of Representa ...

. The earliest state symbol was the first state seal, which was authorized by the original state constitution of 1796 and first used in 1802. The current seal design was adopted in 1987. The General Assembly also has officially designated a state

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

, "Tennessee—America at Its Best," adopted in 1965, and a state

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

, "Agriculture and Commerce," adopted in 1987 and based on the words on the state seal. “The Volunteer State", was originated during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

when many Tennesseans enlisted in the military in response to Governor Willie Blount's call for volunteers. __TOC__

State symbols

State books

In 2024, ten literary works with varying degrees of connection to the Volunteer State were designated as official Tennessee state books: * "Farewell Address to the American People" written by

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

(1796) * "Democracy in America", written by

Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (29 July 180516 April 1859), was a French Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, diplomat, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works ''Democracy in America'' (appearing in t ...

(1835 and 1840) * Aitken Bible (1782) * Papers of president

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

* "

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

", written by Alex Haley (1977) * "A Death in the Family", written by James Agee (1958) * "All the King’s Men", written by Robert Penn Warren (1947) * "American Lion," written by Jon Meacham (2009) * "The Civil War: A Narrative," written by Shelby Foote (1958-1974) * "Coat of Many Colors", written by

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

(2016)

State songs

In 2003, a resolution of the 103rd General Assembly designated

songwriting A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

as an official state art form. In keeping with this designation, Tennessee has eleven official state songs: *" My Homeland, Tennessee", by Nell Grayson Taylor (words) and Roy Lamont Smith (music), was adopted as a state song by the General Assembly in 1925. *" When It's Iris Time in Tennessee", by Willa Waid Newman, was designated a state song in 1935, two years after the iris became the state flower. *" My Tennessee", by Frances Hannah Tranum, is the state's official public school song, adopted by the General Assembly in 1955. *" Tennessee Waltz", by Redd Stewart and Pee Wee King, was designated an official song of the state by the General Assembly in 1965. *" Rocky Top", by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, was adopted as an official song of Tennessee in 1982. *"

", by Vivian Rorie, was designated an official song in 1992. *" The Pride of Tennessee", by Fred Congdon, Thomas Vaughn and Carol Elliot, was designated an official song in 1996. *" Smoky Mountain Rain", a song written by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan that became a hit for

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, h ...

, was added to the list of state songs by the General Assembly on June 3, 2010, giving the state its eighth state song.Tom Humphrey
'Smoky Mountain Rain' Wins Race to Become 8th State Song
, KnoxNews website, June 3, 2010. In the 2010 legislative session, the General Assembly also considered a resolution to designate " So I'll Just Shine in Tennessee" as a state song, but took no action on that proposal. *"

", written by John R. Bean of Knoxville, was designated an official state song in 2011. *" The Tennessee in Me", written by Debbie Mathis Watts, was designated an official state song in 2023. *" Copperhead Road", a song by Steve Earle about a man making moonshine and later growing marijuana in Tennessee, became a state song in 2023. Additionally, a rap song by Joan Hill Hanks of Signal Mountain, entitled "A Tennessee Bicentennial Rap: 1796-1996", was designated the state's "Official Bicentennial Rap" song in 1996. It was written "to provide a fun and easy way for citizens and students to learn and retain some of state's history." Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' hit aged 12 i ...

, which was recorded in Nashville’s Music Row at the Quonset Hut Studio, became the official holiday song of Tennessee in 2024.

State poem

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

entitled "Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee" was designated the official state poem by the 88th General Assembly in 1973. The poem was written by U.S. Navy Admiral William P. Lawrence while in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

in a prisoner of war camp in

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

State folk dance

In 1980 the General Assembly designated the

square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances are part of a broad spectrum of dances known by various names: country dan ...

as the state's official state

folk dance A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances ...

, which it described as "a uniquely attractive art form that remains a vibrant and entertaining part of Tennessee

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

References

External links

Tennessee State Symbols
at Tennessee.gov {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Tennessee State Symbols State symbols

Symbols of Tennessee Symbols of Tennessee