SCRAPHEAP OF HISTORY

Maryland Votes to Ditch State Song That Rails Against ‘Northern Scum’ and Abraham Lincoln

The song is a Civil War-era call to arms for the Confederacy against President Abraham Lincoln, who is portrayed as a bloodthirsty despot.

Maryland’s state song—which includes the charming lyrics: “Huzza! She spurns the Northern scum! She breathes! She burns! She’ll come!”—has been ditched by state lawmakers, for obvious reasons. According to The New York Times, the song, “Maryland, My Maryland,” is a Civil War-era call to arms for the Confederacy against President Abraham Lincoln, who is portrayed in the song as a bloodthirsty despot. On Monday, Maryland’s House of Delegates gave final passage to repeal the song, and has now sent the measure to Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. The governor hasn’t confirmed whether he will sign off on the song’s repeal, but he has said previously that he doesn’t like it. The song, set to the traditional Christmas melody of “O, Tannenbaum,” was written as a poem in 1861 and adopted as the state song in 1939. State lawmakers have been trying to get rid of it for decades.