“Outdated, misleading and offensive words glorifying oppression and murder are replaced with inspiring words glorifying Oregon’s natural beauty - majestic mountains, forests and rivers - as well as our love of freedom,” she said. Shapiro called the changes small but “profound” in testimony about the change. In its place is, “ Land of majestic mountains/ land of the Great Northwest/ Forests and rolling rivers/ Grandest and the best.”Īnd instead of a second verse lyric that said, “ Blest by the blood of martyrs,” the new version gets “ Blessed by the love of freedom.”Īmy Shapiro, a former music teacher who spearheaded the push for new words, has said she hesitated to sing the song with her students, the Oregonian said. The original version was, “ Land of the empire builders/ Land of the golden west/ Conquered and held by free men/ Fairest and the best.” The change replaces the first verse of the song, which referred to Oregon as “conquered and held by free men fairest and the best,” with new lyrics emphasizing Oregon’s natural beauty and “rolling rivers.” “Modernization” of the anthem may resolve this injustice, it is believed. Lawmakers also state that the changes were needed due to “an active and ongoing national movement to secure truly equal treatment for peoples of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.” Because “black and Chinese people suffered from de jure exclusion in the early decades of Oregon’s statehood,” their musicians could not take part in creating the state song. Oregon House Concurrent Resolution 11 modifies some of the lyrics, while keeping the same music of “Oregon, My Oregon,” to reflect the “significant cultural, historical, economic and societal evolution in Oregon” since the state song was adopted in 1927. State lawmakers passed a resolution to change some words of “Oregon, My Oregon” on Monday after years of activists pushing for some modern edits to the tune, the Oregonian reported. Oregon removed lyrics that social justice activists considered racist from its state anthem, and replaced them with more inclusive verses.
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