The State Songs
"Where the Columbines Grow" was adopted as the official state song on May 8, 1915, by an act of the General Assembly. The words were written and the music composed by A.J. Fynn. In 1896 while traveling by horse and wagon to visit Native American tribes in the San Luis Valley, Fynn received inspiration to write the song after he came across a beautiful Colorado mountain prarie which was covered with columbines. He dedicated the song to the Colorado pioneers.
"Rocky Mountain High" was written by John Denver and Mike Taylor in 1973. It was adopted as our second State Song with the passage of SJR07-023 on March 12, 2007. After the song's release in 1973 there was some controversy as some people thought that it encouraged drug use. In 1985, John Denver responded by saying that these people had obviously never experience the beauty and wonder of the Rocky Mountains. John Denver's real name was Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. but his stage name came from the capital city of Colorado.