SING THE STATES #10: Virginia

I love Virginia. As a kid living near D.C. I had an inexplicable affinity for the state - so much so that for my whole second-grade year after we moved to California, I told people I'd lived in Virginia, not Maryland. For some reason that I can't remember, my little 8-year-old brain thought it was cooler to be from Virginia, even though half the kids I knew probably didn't know where that was anyway.

Years later, after high school, I spent about a year living in the western part of Virginia - in Lexington, Roanoke and Vinton. And I can honestly say, VA is one of the most stunningly beautiful parts of the country that I've been to. Anyone who's ever seen the Shenandoah Valley in the fall, or driven the Blue Ridge Parkway in the spring would probably agree. I think everyone should spend some time in Virginia. Especially lovers, according to the t-shirts and postcards.

And that includes "broken-hearted lovers", according to Jeremy Messersmith in the song below. Jeremy's a writer of sweet, wispy pop ballads from Minneapolis who stole my heart with this song last year, off his record The Silver City. He strikes a great balance between the insightful singer-songwriter and the indie pop type, never falling perfectly into either camp - but instead finding a blissfully perfect nitch in between. Enjoy!

Also considered: Foo Fighters - Virginia Moon; The Greyboy All-stars - Quantico, VA; The Rolling Stones - Sweet Virginia; The National - You've Done It Again, Virginia

Jeremy Messersmith - Virginia
from the album The Silver City (Amazon/iTunes)


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