Missouri Facts

State Flower: White Hawthorn
State Animal: Mule
State Tree: Dogwood
State Bird: Bluebird
State Song: Missouri Waltz
State Insect: Honey Bee
State Fossil: Crinoid
Nickname: Show Me State
State Gemstone: Fresh water pearl

State Rock:  Mozarkite

State Musical Instrument:  Fiddle

State Folk Dance:  Square Dance
Origin of name: Indian word which means "town of the large canoe."
 

Missouri Waltz

Hush-a-bye, ma baby, slumbertime is comin' soon;
Rest yo' head upon my breast while Mommy hums a tune;
The sandman is callin' where shadows are fallin',
While the soft breezes sigh as in days long gone by.

Way down in Missouri where I heard this melody,
When I was a little child upon my Mommy's knee;
The old folks were hummin'; their banjos were strummin';
So sweet and low.

Strum, strum, strum, strum, strum,
Seems I hear those banjos playin' once again,
Hum, hum, hum, hum, hum,
That same old plaintive strain.

Hear that mournful melody,
It just haunts you the whole day long,
And you wander in dreams back to Dixie, it seems,
When you hear that old time song.

Hush-a-bye ma baby, go to sleep on Mommy's knee,
Journey back to Dixieland in dreams again with me;
It seems like your Mommy is there once again,
And the old folks were strummin' that same old refrain.

Way down in Missouri where I learned this lullaby,
When the stars were blinkin' and the moon was climbin' high,
Seems I hear voices low, as in days long ago,
Singin' hush-a-bye.

arranged by Frederick Knight Logan from a melody by John Valentine Eppel, with lyrics by J. R. Shannon