Alaska

Alaska has no official state waltz.

However, there are at least two contemporary contenders for that honor, both titled Alaska Waltz.  Youtube videos of both are below with more information on each below the videos.

Berde Farris's The Alaska Waltz:

Dave Stancliff's Alaska Waltz:

While the composition dates of both of these waltzes is unknown to me, I think the version by Berde Farris (1932-2015) is the earliest - probably early 1970's.  It appeared on a self-published Far-Del LP (FRLP-102) initially titled "Introducing Dan and Berde" ( with a wedding photo of the couple on the cover). It was reissued with the photo shown in the above video on the cover.  According to the interesting Hippiebilly section of Slipcue.com, Dan and Berde were both from California and lived in Rialto, California when they made the recording.  The Farris's eventually settled in Hobbs, New Mexico and were regulars in the music scene there. I have found no evidence that they ever lived in Alaska. Lyrics and a score may be found at the bottom of this blog.

Dave Stancliff is a long time resident of Alaska, residing in a "snug log cabin in Tok, Alaska." He is a composer and singer of Alaskan songs and is clearly in love with the state. If you ever make it to the mystical tax-free, attorney-free metropolis of Tok during the summer (don't even think about going in the winter) you can catch Dave with his songs and stories most evenings at the Tok R.V. Village.  Or, you can sit where you are and catch part of the show right here.  If you like what you hear, you can hear a lot more by buying one his three CD's - all Alaska focused. Alaska Waltz appeared on his first CD, If Heaven's Not Alaska, ... However, the performance in the video is not from Alaska, it is from an October 20, 2009 performance at the White River Hoedown Theater in Mountain View, Arkansas. Appearing with Dave in the video are  Joe Wadz - Mandolin, Robin Dale Ford - Bass, Pat Fitzgerald - Guitar, and Jordan Woody - Fiddle.

Before sharing lyrics and music, a few comments about these two waltzes.  They are both fine tunes - tested and approved by our local String Theory band. The Farris waltz is musically the more traditional and interesting of the two but follows the pattern of many similar country lament waltzes. Alaska's role in the song is almost incidental.  The Stancliff waltz is more a folk tune than a dance tune - and is much more fun to sing, particularly if you have an audience to join in on the chorus. Alaska plays a central role in the song.  If I were to recommend one of the two the good legislators of Alaska as an official state waltz, the Stancliff waltz would be my choice.

Lyrics and Music:

Berde Farris - The Alaska Waltz

As I sit alone tonight, I can see the northern lights

It reminds of times that I spend with you

Now my heart is breaking so, but did I ever let you go

Won't you come back again to Alaska dear and near

The Alaskan moon is shining bright on this cold Yukon night

The lights of Fairbanks are dim with a silvery hue

Please forgive me once more for its you that I adore

and without you I am sad alone and so blue

So please come back and we can start our life once again

for you don't know how lonesome I've been

But I'll wait here for you though my heart is sad and blue

'til I dance once again the Alaska waltz with you

So please come back and we can start our life once again

for you don't know how lonesome I've been

But I'll wait here for you though my heart is sad and blue

'til I dance once again the Alaska waltz with you

Dave Stancliff - Alaska Waltz

When the moonlight kisses your mountains

And the ocean sits on your sands

I will waltz with you my darling

'Neath the northern lights glowing so grand

Oh Alaska (Alaska), Alaska (Alaska)

Come waltz with me once again

Oh Alaska (Alaska), Alaska (Alaska)

You hold my heart in your hand

And when your flowers bloom in the springtime

And your fish come home from the sea

I will waltz with you my darling

'Neath that midnight sun shining so free

Oh Alaska (Alaska), Alaska (Alaska)

Come waltz with me once again

Oh Alaska (Alaska), Alaska (Alaska)

You hold my heart in your hand

When your leaves turn gold in September

And the frost creeps in with the night

I will waltz with you my darling

'Neath the harvest moon shining so bright

Oh Alaska (Alaska), Alaska (Alaska)

Come waltz with me once again

Oh Alaska (Alaska), Alaska (Alaska)

You hold my heart in your hand

 

For the music geeks, Dave sings his waltz in the key of F.  I transposed it to the key of C just so it would fit more nicely on the staff.

Transcriptions are by the author without permission of the composers - I hope there are no objections.  Suggested chords provided by Ken the Khordman. It is impossible to capture the musical artistry of the performer in these simplified transcriptions but it provides a start for the traditional folk process.

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Alabama

Alabama has no official state waltz.

However, there is a classic country waltz by Hank Williams (1923-1953) titled Alabama Waltz. Williams, a native of Alabama, wrote the song in 1948 to capitalize on the popularity of Tennessee Waltz which had been introduced earlier that year.  According to the book, Hank Williams:the Biography, he recorded it on August 29, 1949 at the E.T. Herzog studio in Cincinnati, Ohio.  That recording was not released until 1986 when it appeared on the Lost Highway album. Listen to it in the video below.

He also performed it on his radio show in 1951 sponsored by Mother's Best Flour company and a recording of that is available on Time-Life's excellent Hank Williams Unreleased Recordings CD set issued in 2008.  It is a more polished version with Williams' full band.  Listen it to it in the video below.

Most of the public got their first listen to the tune from the recording of Bill Monroe (1911-1996) and his Blue Grass Boys on a single released in May, 1950.  While appealing to bluegrass fans, it never generated the Tennessee Waltz-like popularity that Williams was hoping to achieve.  One wonders what would have happened if that original 1949 recording would have been released in a timely manner. Bill Monroe's version is below.

While never achieving the popularity of Tennessee Waltz, Alabama Waltz has shown a steady popularity as evidenced by countless covers, many available on YouTube.  If you want to create your own cover, perhaps the lead sheet below may help.

Credit goes to John Chambers abc collection for the score above.  I did transpose it from the key of D to the key of C to match Williams own choice of key.

Lyrics:

I was sad and blue, I was downhearted, too
It seemed like the whole world was lost
And I took a chance and we happened to dance
To the tune of the Alabama Waltz

Waltz, waltz, the Alabama Waltz
There all my fears and cares were lost
There in your arms, with all of your charms
We danced to the Alabama Waltz

The Alabama Waltz lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

For music geeks: the 1949 recording would suggest the tune is being sung in the key of B. I strongly suspect this is just the result of a tape recorder running a bit slow somewhere in the transfer process which lowered the pitch by half a step.

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Introduction and Index

Tennessee Waltz ...
Kentucky Waltz ...
Missouri Waltz ...

Most people have heard those tunes and many people come hum a bar or two of at least one of them.  What about the forty-seven other states?  Is there an Ohio Waltz, a Delaware Waltz or a North Dakota Waltz?

Most states have state songs, some of which happen to be waltzes.  Some states have official state waltzes. And some waltzes are closely associated with states by title or subject even though there is no official recognition of those waltzes. The objective of this blog is to work through our fifty states and to share waltzes from as many of them as possible.

Index of states currently available:

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California 

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio