“Alabama the beautiful,
At least that’s what the signs say.
And it’s where my past lies
As deep as the Alabama clay.
It’s where I spent my summers
Out on the dusty dirt roads.
It’s where I earned a few battle scars
And once upon a time broke my nose.
It’s where my family lives
And where they’ll always be.
It’s where I spent many a days
Swinging on my old tire swing.
It’s where I shelled butter beans
And got tangled up in tomato vines.
It’s where I learned to ride a horse
And fell from trees I thought I could climb.
Then there’s Georgia, so sweet and so clear,
At least that’s how the song goes.
And it’s here that my future lies
And where my family will still grow.
It’s where I first learned to read
And where I first picked up a ball and bat.
It’s where twenty-two years later
I’m still wearing an Alabama baseball hat.
It’s the place where my sister was born
And where we grew up playing in the dirt.
It’s where I rode my first rollercoaster
And lived through my first concert.
It’s where I finished high school
And where I married the love of my life.
It’s the place I thought I’d almost died
On a curvy road out there near I-75.
It’s where I built my dreams
And never saw the end of a few.
It’s where I conquered so many fears
And gained some new ones, too.
It’s where I lost a good friend
But she lays in rest in the Alabama sun.
Georgia’s where my heart first broke
But Alabama’s where it’s whole and one.
You see, I’m torn between two places,
I’m always missing the one I’ve had to depart.
I’m living with Georgia on my mind
And Alabama in my heart…”
-Written by Jaimie Elizabeth Russell (Miller)
(Originally May 23rd 2010, edited June 15th, 2015)