Mississippi ditches state song with racist history

Song is set to the campaign tune of a former state governor who pledged to preserve racial segregation

Mississippi is doing away with a state song that traces its origins to a politician who pledged to preserve racial segregation.

“Go, Mississippi” has the same tune – but not lyrics – of a 1959 campaign jingle for Democratic governor Ross Barnett called “Roll With Ross”.

The original song’s lyrics went: “For segregation, 100 per cent. He’s not a moderate, like some of the gents.”

Barnett had unsuccessfully resisted integration of the University of Mississippi in 1962, and legislators adopted a state song that year setting new words to his campaign music: “Go, Mississippi, keep rolling along. Go, Mississippi, you cannot go wrong.”

Instead, the state will have multiple official songs – as is the case in neighbouring Tennessee, for instance.

On Thursday, the state’s Republican governor Tate Reeves signed a bill to replace "Go, Mississippi" with a new song called "One Mississippi”.

The bill also recommended the creation of a Mississippi State Songs Committee for the purpose of designating “numerous state songs so that Mississippians may enjoy state songs that are appropriate for all occasions, events, and daily activities”.

This change will come into effect on 1 July this year, marking two years since Mississippi also retired a Confederate-themed state flag.

“One Missisippi”, composed by country music singer and songwriter Steve Azar, has been chosen to represent Missisippi within the contemporary music genre.

Azar, who's a Mississippi native, had composed the song for the state's 2017 bicentennial celebration.

The lyrics of "One Mississippi" play on the hide-and-seek counting game (”One Mississippi ... two Mississippi ... three Mississippi ...) and the song deploys familiar imagery from the state such as magnolia trees, fried catfish, hurricanes and kudzu.

Additional reporting by agencies