Georgia, Georgia
The whole day through
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mindI said, Georgia, Georgia
A song of you
Comes as sweet and clear
As moonlight through the pinesOther arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams, I see
The road leads back to youI said Georgia, oh Georgia
No peace I find
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mindOther arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams, I see
The road leads back to youWhoa-whoa, Georgia, Georgia
No peace, no peace I find
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mindI said, just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind
Georgia On My Mind, which in recent years has found its way into advertising for The Masters, was written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael. The Ray Charles version became the official state song of Georgia in 1979.
For my part, I really like the Willie Nelson version. Not that there’s anything wrong with Ray Charles version, which absolutely deserves its iconic status. It’s just overused.
The song is part of what is refered to as The Great American Songbook — the collection of popular songs from the early to mid-20th century. Others in that canon include All or Nothing At All, As Time Goes By, Blue Skies, Come Fly With Me, Fly Me To The Moon, I Left My Heart In San Francisco, Luck Be A Lady, Moon River, Over The Rainbow, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Stardust, That’s Amore, Unchained Melody, White Christmas, and You’ll Never Walk Alone.
There are too many to list here. I just included a few that I can sing from memory (my parents were both music teachers and probably knew them all.)
Hoagy Carmichael (1899 – 1981) composed hundreds of songs in his career including at least fifty hits. Among the better known: Georgia On My Mind, Stardust, Heart and Soul, The Nearness of You and Skylark.
Carmichael was a Hoosier, who graduated from Indiana University’s law school. In addition to song writing, he made hundreds of recordings as a pianist, singer and band leader. He also appeared on radio and television and in a dozen movies.
As evidence of just how much Georgia On My Mind is embedded in American music, here are a few covers of the song:
First, the original Hoagy Carmichael version from 1930. The cover scene of the video is with Lauren Bacall in the movie To Have and Have Not:
And the great Ella Fitzgerald’s version (1962). Known as the First Lady of Song, Fitzerald won 13 Grammys, sold 40 million albums and received hte Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Louis Armstrong first recorded Georgia On My Mind in 1931. As a trumpeteer myself, I have long admired Armstrong. Nicknamed “Satchmo,” Armstrong was a legendary American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader from New Orleans. He also had a distinctive voice. I think his What a Wonderful World is a song that everyone should listen to.
Peggy Lee is not particularly well known today, but made more than a thousand recordings over 70 years. Lee made her first recording in 1941 and continued to perform into the 1990s. This version was recorded in the late 1940s.
This next is Ethel Waters’ version from 1939. Waters, born in 1896, performed first on the black vaudeville circuit, then went on to perform at The Cotton Club and act in movies. She was the first African American to star in her own television show, in 1939 – a variety special called “The Ethel Waters Show.” She appeared in a dozen movies.
Next, we have Annie Lennox, of the Eurythmics. She gained fame in the 1970s with The Tourists, before becoming one half of the Eurythmics. She also has had great success as a solo act.
Kane Brown recorded the song in 2024. Brown found stardom on social media before being signed to a recording contract. I rather like this version.
And lastly, here’s Willie Nelson’s take on Georgia On My Mind. Willie is … well, Willie. An American Original. I saw him in concert with the Highwaymen: Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson.
At age 92, Willie still tours. He has earned 12 Grammys, is in the Country Music Hall of Fame and has been in thirty-some films. Willie’s Georgia on My Mind, from the album Stardust (another Hoagy Carmichael tune) is my favorite. If you haven’t heard the album, you should give it a listen. His covers of tunes from The Great American Songbook, are incredible originals. Perhaps even better than his Georgia On My Mind is his rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, which he sings without ever making me think of Judy Garland.
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