50 State Uke Quest
We finally completed our quest to visit all 50 state capitols in the United States. Amazing!
While traveling to all the states was itself a challenge, we added a twist to this journey. For a visit to count, Peg had to record Terry plucking at least part of the state song on ukulele at the capitol. This required some work beforehand because some states have multiple state songs, a few states have had public disputes over what the “official” state song is, and a couple states have no state song at all. In addition, finding sheet music for these songs was not always easy. We ultimately selected what we thought was an appropriate song for each state after consulting multiple published resources. All music was played on a 2009 Pono PCO concert ukulele that survived trips on planes, trains, and automobiles all across the country with only a couple of minor dents and bruises to show for it. We apologize for the quality of some of the recordings; we did our best given the questionable talent of the ukulele player and the videographer, and the often-challenging recording conditions. To complete our documentation we also mailed ourselves a postcard from each state.
In the end it was truly a remarkable journey. The 50 state uke quest allowed us to see things we could never would have experienced otherwise, and we learned much along the way. We feel we have only scratched the surface of what this country has to offer, and there will be more journeys ahead in our future.
Terry & Peg
Select a state (or scroll):
| AK | AL | AR | AZ |
CA | CO | CT | DE |
FL | GA | HI | IA |
ID | IL | IN | KS |
KY | LA | MA | MD |
ME | MI | MN | MO |
MS | MT | NB | NC |
ND | NH | NJ | NM |
NV | NY | OH | OK |
OR | PA | RI | SC |
SD | TN | TX | UT |
VT | WA | WI | WV |
WY | USA |
Capital: Montgomery
Song played: "Alabama" (play video)
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Capital: Juneau
Song played: "Alaska's Flag" (play video)
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Capital: Phoenix
Song played: "Arizona March Song" (play video)
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Capital: Little Rock
Song played: "Arkansas Traveler" (play video)
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Capital: Sacramento
Song played: "I Love You, California" (play video)
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Capital: Denver
Song played: "Where the Columbines Grow" (play video)
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Capital: Hartford
Song played: "Yankee Doodle" (play video)
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Capital: Dover
Song played: "Our Delaware" (play video)
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Capital: Tallahassee
Song played: "Florida (Where the Sawgrass Meet the Sky)" (play video)
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Capital: Atlanta
Song played: "Georgia On My Mind" (play video)
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Capital: Honolulu
Song played: "Hawai'i Pono'i" (play video)
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Capital: Boise
Song played: "Here We Have Idaho" (play video)
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Capital: Springfield
Song played: "Illinois" (play video)
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Capital: Indianapolis
Song played: "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" (play video)
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Capital: Des Moines
Song played: "Song of Iowa" (play video)
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Capital: Topeka
Song played: "Home on the Range" (play video)
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Capital: Frankfort
Song played: "Blue Moon of Kentucky" (play video)
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Capital: Baton Rouge
Song played: "You Are My Sunshine" (play video)
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Capital: Augusta
Song played: "State of Maine Song" (play video)
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Capital: Annapolis
Song played: "Maryland, My Maryland" (play video) (revoked as state song in 2021)
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Capital: Boston
Song played: "All Hail to Massachusetts" (play video)
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Capital: Lansing
Song played: "Michigan, My Michigan" (play video)
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Capital: St. Paul
Song played: "Hail! Minnesota" (play video)
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Capital: Jackson
Song played: "Go, Mississippi" (play video)
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Capital: Jefferson City
Song played: "Missouri Waltz" (play video)
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Capital: Helena
Song played: "Montana" (play video)
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Capital: Lincoln
Song played: "Beautiful Nebraska" (play video)
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Capital: Carson City
Song played: "Home Means Nevada" (play video)
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Capital: Concord
Song played: "Old New Hampshire" (play video)
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Capital: Trenton
Song played: "I'm From New Jersey" (play video)
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Capital: Santa Fe
Song played: "O, Fair New Mexico" (play video)
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Capital: Albany
Song played: "I Love New York" (play video)
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Capital: Raleigh
Song played: "The Old North State" (play video)
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Capital: Bismarck
Song played: "North Dakota Hymn" (play video)
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Capital: Columbus
Song played: "Beautiful Ohio" (play video)
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Capital: Oklahoma City
Song played: "Oklahoma!" (play video)
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Capital: Salem
Song played: "Oregon, My Oregon" (play video)
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Capital: Harrisburg
Song played: "Pennsylvania" (play video)
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Capital: Providence
Song played: "Rhode Island's It For Me" (play video)
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Capital: Columbia
Song played: "Carolina" (play video)
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Capital: Pierre
Song played: "Hail! South Dakota" (play video)
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Capital: Nashville
Song played: "Tennessee Waltz" (play video)
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Capital: Austin
Song played: "Texas, Our Texas / Yellow Rose of Texas" (play video)
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Capital: Salt Lake City
Song played: "Utah...This is the Place" (play video)
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Capital: Montpelier
Song played: "These Green Mountains" (play video)
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Capital: Richmond
Song played: "Shenandoah (Our Great Virginia)" (play video)
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Capital: Olympia
Song played: "Washington My Home" (play video)
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Capital: Charleston
Song played: "The West Virginia Hills" (play video)
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Capital: Madison
Song played: "On, Wisconsin" (play video)
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Capital: Cheyenne
Song played: "Wyoming" (play video)
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Capital: Washington DC
Song played: "Star Spangled Banner" (play video)
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