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Music Teacher May Have State Singing Her Praises
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Published: January 12, 2008
Updated: 01/12/2008 12:34 am
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TAMPA - In silk ties and blue formal gowns, the teenagers smiled at the crowd and news cameras, and belted out what could be Florida's new state song - a composition inspired by the Everglades and written by an elementary school music teacher who lives in Pompano Beach.
Friday's performance was the culmination of a monthlong, statewide contest that drew 8,767 Internet votes, far less than organizers had hoped for. "Florida - Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky," had been one of three finalists and got about 4,600 votes.
Those behind the push for a new state song hoped that presenting the winning song in a new format - a live concert by young, enthusiastic voices - would quell criticism that all three finalists were lackluster and too somber.
Throughout the voting, the only way to hear the finalists was to go to the Web site and listen to raw, amateur recordings that nominees did on their own.
The winner was penned by Jan Hinton, a native of Birmingham, England, who has lived in Florida the past dozen years. Her song will be written into legislation for lawmakers to consider this year.
After the performance by the show choir from Tampa's King High School, two other renditions were done to show the versatility of Hinton's song. A singer in the choir did a solo folk version at a faster clip with his guitar. A female vocalist performed another solo version, with piano as backup.
"Anybody who was in the room and heard the song as it was presented today I think was convinced this is a great song with great possibilities," said James Perry, executive director of the Florida Music Educators' Association, which organized the Just Sing, Florida contest.
The version Hinton had submitted to the contest was a recording of her own voice, something she was sheepish about.
Not everyone agrees that Florida's current state song, known by most people as "Swanee River," should be retired to make way for a new tune. It is one of the most famous songs in the world, with a melody that is instantly recognizable.
By contrast, the contest songs were unappealing, said those who called and e-mailed their legislators. Some signed Internet petitions to keep "Swanee River."
The problem with "Swanee River," some say, is that the lyrics are outdated and recall Florida's painful past as a plantation state. Its real name is "Old Folks at Home," and its chorus calls out to "darkeys." It was originally performed as a minstrel song.
"When is the last time you heard someone openly stand up and sing that song? That's the point we're trying to make," said Sen. Anthony Hill, D-Jacksonville, who initiated the push for a new song. "We're trying to hold on to something that nobody wants to sing."
Hill says he was inspired to retire "Swanee River" after Gov. Charlie Crist nixed it from his swearing-in ceremony last year. Former Gov. Jeb Bush never used the song, either.
As Hill congratulated Hinton after the concert, he said, "Thank you for giving Florida a new song to sing."
A panel made up mostly of music educators chose Hinton's song, along with the two other finalists, from a pile of more than 243 entries submitted statewide. Internet voters did the rest.
Hinton said she took a week to write her song, an ode to the "land of flowers, land of light ... where our dreams can all take flight." She was thinking of the Everglades when she wrote "where the sawgrass meets the sky," she said.
"I was trying to think of all the things that make Florida Florida," Hinton said. "I built the song from that."
Hinton was excited, she said, as the teen voices filled a ballroom at the Tampa Convention Center. She turned to her son and told him, "That's how it should have been sung."
Now Hill has a new plan for presenting his song to lawmakers. He's taking King High School's chorus with him.
Reporter Gretchen Parker can be reached at (813) 259-7562 or gparker@tampatrib.com.
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