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During these trying times, North Carolina remained for Taylor a geographic remedy.įor Taylor, landing a record deal of any sort at this point must have seemed earth-shattering, but when he moved to London in 1967 and did indeed sign a record deal, the event was perhaps singular in the changes it foretold: Taylor was the first American on the new label Apple Records, founded and run by a small band out of Liverpool called the Beatles. As a teenager, Taylor moved north for a fragmented and somewhat disastrous stint in boarding school (read: mental breakdown), came home for a spell at Chapel Hill High, moved to New York City, picked up a nasty drug habit, then returned to North Carolina again in an effort to sober up. His father worked at the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine, serving for a time as its dean. At age 3, he moved here with his family from Boston, Massachusetts, settling in a Chapel Hill home up a wooded rise from Morgan Creek. North Carolina rightfully lays claim to Taylor as our own. Because when I hear “Carolina in My Mind,” Carolina actually is in my mind. And, if it were up to me, it would be our official state song. And it’s beautiful, memorable, and finely wrought and wistful, sweet, and haunting and even a little dark at times. It has followed me across the country for years like some nostalgic albatross, appearing when least expected. So I mean no disrespect when I say this, but I have never in my life heard “The Old North State.” James Taylor’s “Carolina in My Mind,” on the other hand, has snuck into my ears at least a thousand times. I’ve perused the lyrics: They defend the state against defamers, celebrate the inner beauty of Carolina girls, and employ the word “Hurrah!” 20 times, all things I am proud to put my support behind. I’m sure “The Old North State” is a fine song. may, at its own discretion, alter, modify, delete or otherwise change these Guidelines.North Carolina’s official state song, the five-verse power-rouser “The Old North State,” was adopted as such by the General Assembly of 1927. is a distributor (without any obligation to verify) and not a publisher of these questions and answers. will make an effort to obscure email addresses, telephone numbers, website addresses, social media accounts, and similar details.ī does not accept responsibility or liability for any question and answers. Comments and media that include 'hate speech', discriminatory remarks, threats, sexually explicit remarks, violence, and the promotion of illegal activity are not permitted. Please avoid using profanity or attempts to approximate profanity with creative spelling, in any language. Promotional content will be removed and issues concerning ’s services should be routed to our Customer Service or Accommodation Service teams. Please don’t include personal, political, ethical, or religious commentary. The most helpful contributions are detailed and help others make better decisions. Questions and answers should be property or room related. Your question will be published on after it has been approved and answered.ī questions and answers guidelines