Texas legislates an official state music: western swing

Bob Wills would be proud. (Anybody else?)

The Texas State Legislature yesterday voted to make western swing the official music of Texas. What with Bob Wills — the "King of Western Swing" — hailing from Texas and all, this makes a kind of sense. (Here's U.S. Sen. John Cornyn waxing poetic on the subject, in essay format.)

Photo credit flickr user Stevesworldofphotos

I suppose those legislators down in Austin were scrambling for something else to designate as a state thing during this legislative session besides the red drum (or "red fish"), which was also singled out for recognition as the state saltwater fish. Otherwise, they might have appeared to be twiddling their state-thing-naming thumbs.

A state music? Well, it had to happen, after Arizona went and snatched up the Colt Peacemaker as their official state gun. (Even though everybody knows that particular piece never would have seen the gunsmoke-obscured light of day if not for Texas Ranger Samuel Walker's feedback to the Colt factory prior to the Mexican-American War.)

Take that, Arizona!