Jackson Free Press

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Previous Comments

ID

157650

Comment

When did Barnett use "Go,Mississippi" as a campaign ditty? William Davis wrote and copyrighted the song in 1962 it was made the state song in May 1962. Barnett was elected governor in 1959 and couldn't run for re-election in '63 so he wouldn't have used in either of those campaigns. If he used it in his '67 run your assumption that the legislature made it the state song to honor him as a hero is way off base because it was already the state song before he used it as a campaign ditty.

Author

BubbaT

Date

2010-05-05T17:48:54-06:00

ID

157651

Comment

I did a little digging he used "Roll With Ross" as a campaign ditty in 1959 not "Go,Mississippi" They have the same music but different lyrics. Still see no reason to stop using it as the state song.

Author

BubbaT

Date

2010-05-05T18:12:22-06:00

ID

157654

Comment

Careful Bubba, facts can get in the way of a good story.

Author

kudzuking

Date

2010-05-06T08:03:15-06:00

ID

157664

Comment

So Bubba, Barnette used "Roll with Ross" to get elected in 1959. The lyrics to "Go Mississippi," which used the same tune, were copyrighted in 1962. The song originally had these delightful lyrics: Roll with Ross, roll with Ross, he's his own boss. For segregation, one hundred percent. He's not a moderate like some of the gents. He'll fight integration with forceful intent. If you're interested in how the change came about read this telling story.

Author

Ronni_Mott

Date

2010-05-06T11:12:52-06:00

ID

157672

Comment

So we are to be offended by the instrumentation? That is digging pretty deep. Nice finds, everyone. Dixie is a wild book. If anyone can recall Barnette's favorite bird, tree, land mammal, etc., take the next step.

Author

jbreland

Date

2010-05-06T14:20:32-06:00

ID

157674

Comment

I've never heard a bird sing about segregation. You, Jackson? Of course, you don't have to be offended by anything, or anyone. The question here is whether the government of MIssissippi and Jackson should celebrate old virulent racists or their symbols and tools of communication. And whether our state wants to stop proudly displaying symbols that keep us on the bottom of the heap. If you don't want to get rid of the racist symbols, don't dare complain about what the rest of the world thinks about us, all, because it's our own fault if we keep gripping the past as if it was something to be proud of. It wasn't, and just because some of you don't want us to move past all that by changing the symbols doesn't mean the rest of us support ugly symbols. Remarkably, it's the protestations in favor of keeping the symbols that makes us look like, well, the state Haley Barbour tells the world that we are. He and his ilk do not speak for all Mississippians, including white ones, and it's time we all stand up and tell the world that. Sorry if that offends some of you.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2010-05-06T14:38:09-06:00

ID

157678

Comment

So we are to be offended by the instrumentation? Actually, yes, and that's not digging that deep. The Roll with Ross campaign song was a brazenly anti-integration song. Roll with Ross Three years later it's rewritten somewhat and rolled out as the new state anthem. What was the occasion? A massive anti-integration halftime rally headed by Barnett during an Ole Miss football game here in Jackson. It was the DAY BEFORE the Oxford campus riot against admission of James Meredith. So, yeah, I'd say even the tune is a problem.

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2010-05-06T15:20:17-06:00

ID

157725

Comment

Go Mississippi was adopted by the Legislature in May, 1962--some five months before the Ole Miss/Kentucky game and the Oxford riot. Nonetheless, the song's symbolic link to Barnett and the era of racial segregation is undeniable. I don't know for certain whether Houston Davis (credited as the author of "Go Mississippi") wrote the original "Roll With Ross" lyrics on which the tune is based, but I do know that Davis co-wrote (then-Lt. Gov.) Paul Johnson's 1963 gubernatorial campaign song called "Stand Up For Johnson." The musical style is quite similar and includes lyrics promoting segregation and hailing Johnson for "standing up to Little Brother" (i.e. Bobby Kennedy) at the Ole Miss gate. I actually have an original 45 rpm record of that song that I found for a nickel at a garage sale in the early 1980s.

Author

ed inman

Date

2010-05-08T22:33:23-06:00

ID

157727

Comment

I love Ed Inman history breaks. Thanks, Ed!

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2010-05-09T15:35:28-06:00

ID

157757

Comment

This online exchange is just a foreshadowing of the sort of controversy I hope this petty issue is bound to inspire. State symbols are established in order to give a face to those who have never seen ours. Most of our other state symbols are devoted to our natural resources. We're still going to be fussing over the state flag for a long time (I'm surprised I don't see more frequent editorials about that)and changing the state song should be just as important. I reiterate: What astonishes me most about this sore thumb is that Mississippi is the most musical state in the Union (I'll pick a fight with anyone over that), and here we are letting Tennessee steal our thunder.

Author

jlyancy

Date

2010-05-10T18:37:27-06:00