Tennessee

Also see Specific Destinations, Travel and Location Humor.

Page Toppers

Back Home in Tennessee
Down in Tennessee
In the Hills of Tennessee
A Little South of Memphis
Memories of Tennessee
Memphis in May
Memphis Sunshine
My Sunny Tennessee
My Homeland Tennessee
Rocky Top Tennessee
Smokey Mountain Memories
Sunday in Memphis
Sunny Tennessee
Tennessee Moon
Tennessee Saturday Night
Twilight Time in Tennessee
Under the Tennessee Moon
Walking in Memphis

Quotes

I sang in church growing up. Memphis is the blues capital of the world, we like to say. (Justin Timberlake)
It was great being back in Tennessee. (Levi Brown)
Memphis ain't a bad town, for them that like city life. (William Faulkner)
Memphis is a great town, man. There's a great musical community here. I'm trying to fit in. (Charles Moore)
Nashville is one of the greatest places for the best songwriters in the world. It's been fantastic to live there and to raise our family there. It's a great town. (Faith Hill)
Tennessee is on the rise. It's been known for football, but basketball is also very good. I think we set the bar really high. (Brandan Wright)

Symbols

Nicknames: The Volunteer State; The Big Bend State; The Mother of Southwestern Statesmen
Motto: Agriculture and Commerce
Slogan: Tennessee, America at its Best
Songs: Tennessee (words by Vivian Rorie), My Homeland, Tennessee (words by Nell Grayson Taylor, music by Roy Lamont Smith), When It's Iris Time in Tennessee (words by Willa Waid Newman), Tennessee Waltz (words by Redd Stewart, music by Pee Wee King), The Pride of Tennessee, Rocky Top (words by Boudleaux and Felice Bryant)
Public School Song: My Tennessee (words by Frances Hannah Tranum)
Bicentennial School Song: My Home Will Always Be in Tennessee
Bicentennial Rap Song: A Tennessee Bicentennial Rap
U.S. Bicentennial Song: Fly Eagle, Fly!
U.S. Bicentennial March Song: The Tennessee Salute
Folk Dance: Square Dance
Wild Animal: Racoon
Horse: Tennessee Walking Horse
Bird: Mockingbird
Game Bird: Bobwhite Quail
Game Fish: Largemouth Bass
Commercial Fish: Channel Catfish
Amphibian: Tennessee Cave Salamander
Reptile: Eastern Box Turtle
Insects: Firefly and Ladybug
Agricultural Insect: Honeybee
Butterfly: Zebra Swallowtail
Tree: Tulip Poplar
Bicentennial Tree: Yellowwood Tree
Flower: Iris
Wildflower: Passion Flower
Fossil: Pterotrigonia thoracica
Gemstone: Pearl
Rock: Limestone
Fruit: Tomato
Poet Laureate: Maggi Britton Vaughn
Artist in Residence: H. R. Lovell
Pro Sports Teams: TN Titans; Memphis Grizzlies (NBA)

Facts About Tennessee

Capital: Nashville
Residents: Tennesseans, Tennesseeans
State Name Origin: named for the TN River which got its name from Cherokee villages on its banks (or) from a Yuchi Indian word, "Tana-see," meaning "the meeting place."
Admitted to Statehood: 1 Jun 1796
Order of Admission: 16th state
Coastline/Shoreline: 750/1,052 miles
Length: 440 miles
Width: 120 miles
Area: 42,143 square miles
Size Rank: 36
Number of Counties: 95
Streams and Rivers: 61,075 miles
Geographic Center: 5 miles NE of Murfreesboro in Rutherford Co.
Mean Elevation: 900 feet
Highest Point: Clingmans Dome, 6,643 feet
Lowest Point: Mississippi River, 182 feet
Agricultural Products: food products, tobacco
Commercial Products: chemicals, machinery, metal products, publishing, electronic equipment, paper products, rubber and plastic products, clothing
Average Annual Rainfall: 48.5 inches
Average Winter High Temperature: 39 degrees
Record Low Temperature: -32 degrees (30 Dec 1917 Mountain City)
Average Summer High Temperature: 79 degrees
Record High Temperature: 113 degrees (9 Aug 1930 Perryville)
Official Language: English (since 1984)
More information about Tennessee

My Tennessee

(Frances Hannah Tranum)

Beloved state, oh state of mine,
In all the world I could not find,
Where God has strewn with lavish hand,
More natural beauty o'er the land.
From ev'ry stream and valley green
His wond'rous art is ever seen.
Ah, let my heart beat true to thee,
And swell with pride for Tennessee.

Thy rocks and rills, and wooded hills,
My mem'ry keeps the childhood thrills
You gave to me, that I might know
The joys supreme, you could bestow.
The song of birds, the whisp'ring trees,
The low herds, the hum of bees,
I all comes back so dear to me,
My childhood home in Tennessee.

Your battles fought, and vict'ries won,
Your freedom bought and duty done,
With daughters fair, and sons so brave,
To do and dare, their deeds they gave.
Courageously, without a fear,
And won the name of volunteer.
In sacred trust, let those who will,
By being just, preserve it still.

Oh, Tennessee, My Tennessee,
Thy hills and vales are fair to see,
With mountains grand, and fertile lands
There is no state more dear to me.
Thro' other climes tho I may roam,
There will be times I'll long for home,
In Tennessee, Fair Tennessee,
The land of my nativity.

Items of Interest

Tennessee was the last state to secede from the Union and the first re-admitted after the Civil War.
Tennessee and Missouri are both bordered by eight states--more than any other state.
Andrew Johnson held every elective office at the local, state, and federal level, including President of the United States. He was elected alderman, mayor, state representative, and state senator from Greeneville. He served as governor and of TN and US congressman, senator, and vice president, becoming President of the US following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
The Copper Basin is so different from the surrounding area it has been seen and is recognizable by American astronauts. The stark landscape was caused by 19th-century mining practices.
There were more National Guard soldiers deployed from the state for the Gulf War effort than any other state.
Greeneville has the only monument in the United States honoring both the Union and Confederate armies.
The largest earthquake in American history, the New Madrid Earthquake, occurred in the winter of 1811-12 in northwest TN. Reelfoot Lake in Obion and Lake Counties was formed by this earthquake.
Many websites state that Shelby County, TN has more horses than any county in the U.S. but that is incorrect. Shelby county includes two cities, Memphis and Germantown so is primarily urban.
Nashville's Grand Ole Opry is the longest continuously running live radio program in the world. It has broadcast every Friday and Saturday night since 1925.
Bristol is known as the Birthplace of Country Music.
Jubilee Singers of Fisk University in Nashville introduced to the world the plaintive beauty and tradition of the Negro spiritual, which became the basis for other genres of African-American music. It was because of their successful tours to raise funds for the university during the 1870s that Nashville first became known for its music.
Tennessee has more than 3,800 documented caves.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States.
The nation's oldest African-American financial institution, Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company, is located in Nashville.
The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis is at the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was slain in 1968.
The Lost Sea in Sweetwater is the largest underground lake in the United States.
The world's largest artificial skiing surface is located at the Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort in Gatlinburg. There a 5-acre artificial ski surface permits skiing in any type of weather.
Coca-Cola was first bottled in 1899 at a plant in downtown Chattanooga after two local attorneys purchased the bottling rights to the drink for $l.00.
The Scopes trial was held at Dayton in 1925.

Notable Natives

Some of these were born here, others just lived a while in the state.

James Agee (1909 - 1955) - author, poet (Knoxville)
Eddy Arnold - singer (Henderson)
Chet Atkins - guitarist, singer (Lutrell)
Polly Bergen - actress, singer, first woman on the Board of Directors of the Singer Sewing Machine Company
William Blount - governor
George Deforest Brush - artist
Hattie Caraway (1878-1950) - first woman elected U.S. Senator (Bakersville)
Samuel Powhatan Carter - only person in US history to be both an Admiral in the Navy and a General in the Army (Elizabethton)
Robert R. Church, Sr. - the South's first African-American millionaire
Davy Crockett (1786-1836) - frontiersman, state legislator, U.S. Representative (near Greeneville)
Jack Curtis - screenwriter (Stony Creek)
Sam Davis - confederate scout (Smyrna)
David G. Farragut - naval officer, first American admiral (Knoxville)
Lester Flatt (1914-1979) - bluegrass musician (Overton county)
Tennessee Ernie Ford - singer (Bristol)
Nelson B. Forrest - soldier and hero
Aretha Franklin (1942- ) - singer, "Queen of Soul" (Memphis)
Morgan Freeman (1937- ) - actor (Memphis)
Abe Fortas (1910-1982) - supreme court justice (Memphis)
Nikki Giovanni - poet (Knoxville)
Albert Gore, Jr. (1948- ) - 45th U.S. vice-president (raised in Carthage)
Red Grooms - artist (Nashville)
Richard Halliburton - author
Isaac Hayes - composer (Covington)
Benjamin L. Hooks (1925- ) - attorney, clergyman, civil rights activist, executive director of the NAACP (Memphis)
Barbara Howar - broadcaster, writer (Nashville)
Cordell Hull - secretary of state (Overton County)
Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) - military hero and U.S. president (died in TN)
Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) - U.S. president
Casey Jones ( -1900) - well-known railroad engineer (lived in Jackson)
Estes Kefauver - legislator (Madisonville)
Sandra Locke - actress (Shelbyville)
Dolly Rebecca Parton (1946- ) - actress, singer (Sevierville)
Minnie Pearl - singer, comedienne (Centerville)
James Polk - U.S. president
Elvis Aaron Presley (1935-1977) - singer, his Graceland estate is located in Memphis (moved to Memphis in 1948)
Opie Percival Read - author
Grantland Rice - sportswriter (Murfreesboro)
Carl Rowan - journalist (Ravenscraft)
Wilma Rudolph - Olympic runner (St. Bethlehem)
Sequoyah - Cherokee silversmith, the only single individual in history to create an alphabet and the first written language for a Native American people
John Sevier - first governor of TN
Cybil Shepherd (1950- ) - actress (Memphis)
Dinah Shore - actress, singer (Winchester)
William Strickland - architect, designed the capitol building, died during its construction and is buried within its walls
Tina Turner (1939- ) - singer (Brownsville)
Alvin York (1887-1964) - sergeant, WWI hero (Pall Mall)

The Tennessee State Flag
The background of the flag is crimson. In the center is a dark blue circle outlined in white. The circle contains three stars that represent the mountains in the east, highlands in the middle and lowlands in the west part of the state. The blue stripe on the edge relieves the sameness of the crimson and prevents the flag from showing too much crimson when it is limp.

You know you are from Tennessee if...

You've never met any celebrities...other than Fred Thompson
"Vacation" means going to the family reunion.
You know all four seasons: Almost Summer, Summer, Still Summer and Christmas.
You laugh when people from anywhere north of TN tries to say or spell "y'all"
It's "Mar-vull" not "Mary-ville"
It's "Knox-vull" not "Knox-ville"
A tabogan is a hat, not a sled.
You butter your hot biscuit by cutting it open, putting a slab of butter inside and closing it back up again.
Every town in East Tennessee has a 'strip' and they're not particularly safe to be in at night.
Pigeon Forge is not pronounced with a French accent.
Gatlinburg does have an 'L' in it and it should be pronounced.
Sales tax is 9.5 percent.
You shop at Walmart for groceries, not at a grocery store.
You don't drive in Knoxville on game-day. EVER.
You or your friends chew.
You can't remember the last time you saw snow.
You know when Elvis Presley Day is.
You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Tennessee.

Quips and Quotes

A Tennessee State trooper pulled over a pickup on I-65. The trooper asked, "Got any ID?"
The driver replied, "Bout whut?
A Tennessean had a flat tire. He pulled off on the side of the road, and proceeded to put a bouquet of flowers in front of the car and one behind it. Then he got back in the car to wait.
A passerby was so curious he stopped to ask what the problem was.
The man replied, "I have a flat tire."
The passerby asked, "But what's with the flowers?"
The man responded, "When you break down they tell you to put flares in the front and flares in the back! I never did understand it neither."

Songs about Tennessee

Back Home in Tennessee - Lee Clayton (1978)
Biggest Broken Heart in Tennessee - Pirates of the Mississippi (1995)
Boy From Texas, a Girl From Tennessee, A - Nat King Cole (1947)
Brand New Tennessee Waltz - Jesse Winchester (1971)
California Girl and the Tennessee Square - Glaser Brothers (1969)
Down in Tennessee - John Anderson (1986)
Flight 309 to Tennessee - Shelly West (1983)
F.O.B. Tennessee - Kenny Roberts (1952)
From Tennessee to Texas - Johnny Bush (1974)
Gettin' in to Tennessee Tonight - Gary Wolf (1982)
Girl I Left in Sunny Tennessee, The - Norman Blake (1975)
Gray Cat on a Tennessee Farm - Freight Hoppers (1996)
Grey Cat on a Tennessee Farm - The New Lost City Ramblers (1963)
Hills of East Tennessee - Lonzo and Oscar (1960)
In the Hills of Tennessee - Jimmie Rogers (1932)
Leavin' Tennessee - Robert Earl Keen (1989)
My Gal From Tennessee - Jerry Irby (1949)
My Little Home in Tennessee - IIIrd Tyme Out (1995)
My Tennessee Mountain Home - Josh 'Buck' Graves (1974)
Old Tennessee - Dan Fogelberg (1975)
Pete, the Best Coon Dog in the State of Tennessee - Jimmy Martin (1977)
Ridin' to Tennessee - Giselle MacKenzie (1953)
Rose of Tennessee - The Sawtooth Mountain Boys (2000)
Send Ten Pretty Flowers to My Girl in Tennessee - Spade Cooley (1949)
Sunday Down in Tennessee - Red Foley (1950)
Sunny Tennessee - Cowboy Copas (1961)
Sweet Tennessee - Dave Mallett (1989)
Taking it All to Tennessee - Vance Gilbert (1998)
Tennessee - The Wreckers (2006)
Tennessee Boogie - Zeb Turner (1949)
Tennessee Border - The Virginians (1998)
Tennessee Courage - Keith Whitley (1989)
Tennessee Dog - Mike Seeger (1961)
Tennessee Fish Fry - The Kay Kyser Band (1940)
Tennessee Flat-Top Box - Rosanne Cash (1987)
Tennessee Hideaway - Danny Flowers (2000)
Tennessee Homesick Blues - Dolly Parton (1984)
Tennessee Hound Dog - The Osborne Brothers (1969)
Tennessee Moon - Les Anderson (1951)
Tennessee Mountain Fox Chase - Norman and Nancy Blake (1986)
Tennessee Plates - John Hiatt (1988)
Tennessee Polka - PeeWee King (1949)
Tennessee Rock and Roll - Sons of the Pioneers (1955)
Tennessee Rose - Emmylou Harris (1982)
Tennessee Saturday Night - Pure Texas Band (1999)
Tennessee Spelling Bee - Kenny Roberts (1955)
Tennessee Tango - Eileen Barton (1952)
Tennessee Tom Cat - Bobby Wall (1958)
Tennessee Two-Step - Joe Maphis (1956)
Tennessee Walking Horse - Johnny Bond (1951)
Tennessee Waltz - Patti Page (1951)
Tennessee Woman - Alex Harvey (1973)
Twilight in Tennessee - Hugo and Luigi (1958)
Twilight Time in Tennessee - Eileen Barton (1954)
Under the Tennessee Moon - Carla Van Hoose (2007)
Waltz and That Tennessee Moon, The - Willis Brothers (1948)
When I'm Back in Tennessee - Riley Puckett (1940)

Songs about Tennessee Cities

At the Shelby County Fair - The Shelton Brothers (1935)
Chattanooga Boogie - Louie Innis (1949)
Chattanooga Choo Choo - Glenn Miller (1941)
Knock-Kneed Nellie from Knoxville - The Jumping Jaguars (1956)
Knoxville Girl - The Country Gentlemen (1963)
Knoxville Station - Bobby Austin (1972)
Last Train to Clarksville - The Monkees (1966)
McNairy County Sheriff - Lawton Williams (2005)
Nutbush City Limits - Tina Turner (1991)
Paris, Tennessee - Kenny Chesney (1995)

Songs about Memphis

All the Way From Memphis - Mott the Hoople (1973)
Big Train From Memphis - John Fogerty (1985)
Goin' Back to Memphis - Gene Simmons (1960)
I'm Memphis Bound - The Delmore Brothers (1935)
If a Train Left for Memphis - John and Audrey Wiggins (1997)
If I Ever Get Back to Memphis - Homer Joy (2007)
Leavin' Memphis, Frisco Bound - Jesse Fuller (1955)
Little South of Memphis, A - Frankie Miller (1964)
Maybe it Was Memphis - Pam Tillis (1992)
Memphis - Fred Knobloch (1981)
Memphis Belle - Toni Fisher (1959)
Memphis in May - Darrell McCall (1984)
Memphis in June - The Ramsey Lewis Trio (1962)
Memphis in the Meantime - John Hiatt (1987)
Memphis Lady - Them (1970)
Memphis Sun - Orion (1980)
Memphis Sunshine - The Bar-Kays (1972)
Memphis, Tennessee - Chuck Berry (1963)
Midnight in Memphis - Bette Midler (1978)
Music Makin' Mama from Memphis - Hank Snow (1952)
Night Train to Memphis - Roy Acuff (1943)
Queen of Memphis - Confederate Railroad (1993)
Rose of Memphis, The - Rodney Crowell (1994)
Sunday in Memphis - Big House (1997)
That's How I Got to Memphis - Deryl Dodd (1996)
Walking in Memphis - Lonestar (2003)
When Morning Comes to Memphis - Jerry Jaye (1977)
Woman Down in Memphis - Red Clay Ramblers (1977)

Songs about Nashville

3 A.M. in Nashville - Larry Burnett (2004)
Down in Nashville, Tennessee - Cowboy Copas (1949)
I Never Got to Nashville - Kaye Adams (1975)
Nashville - David Houston (1971)
Nashville Boogie - Bert Weedon (1959)
Nashville Casualty and Life - Kinky Friedman (1983)
Nashville Cats - Lovin' Spoonful (1967)
Nashville Jail - The Country Gentlemen (1990)
Nashville Jumps - Cecil Gant (1949)
Nashville Shuffle Boogie - Mark O'Connor (1991)
Nashville Skyline Rag - Earl Scruggs (1970)
Neon of Nashville - The Flatlanders (2004)