page_title: Washington, My Home
section_title: Reception
hierarchical_section_title: Washington, My Home / Reception
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo portrait of John F. Kennedy, President of the United States.
context_page_description: "Washington, My Home" is the state song of Washington, in the United States. It was composed in 1951 by Helen Davis and set to music by Stuart Churchill under the name "America, My Home". Subsequently, retitled and rewritten as "Washington, My Home", it was made the state song in 1959 by an act of the Washington State Legislature. An earlier anthem, "Washington Beloved", was declared the state song in 1909 by a ceremonial resolution of the state legislature.
context_section_description: Following the designation of "Washington, My Home" as state song, Harry Bauer – the former director of libraries at the University of Washington – opined that:
  ... it is highly questionable whether legislators are well advised in usurping the traditional prerogative of citizens by arbitrarily adopting a state song. In questions relating to fine arts, a legislature should confirm, not affirm. Congress did not make "The Star-Spangled Banner" our national anthem in 1931. Years after the people of the United States decided the matter, Congress merely officially approved the choice.
  John F. Kennedy once praised the lyrics of "Washington, My Home" and suggested its line "for you and me, a destiny" replace the state's commonly accepted, though unofficial, motto Alki, the latter a word in the local creole Chinook Jargon roughly meaning "by and by", "eventually", or "future".
caption: John F. Kennedy (pictured) suggested a lyric from "Washington, My Home" replace the state's motto Alki.
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