This story originally aired December 16, 2015. Quick, what’s Colorado’s state song? Isn’t it “Rocky Mountain High?"
Yes, but there’s more to the story. In 2007, lawmakers made John Denver’s ode to his adopted home the second state song. The official one is called, “Where the Columbines Grow,” adopted by state lawmakers 100 years ago. Yet few Coloradans have heard it, let alone know the words or music. Rob Natelson thinks it’s time to reclaim the song. He’s a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Independence Institute, the Denver-based Libertarian think tank, who has written a paper about the song’s history. Natelson spoke with Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner.
