Georgia On My Mind
Saturday, June 28th, 2008
After 3 days of exhausting bilateral talks, we were back on the road to Paris. I was again in the car with Phoung and Jeremy, and this time with my roommate Cyril from Togo, Africa and the only rose among the thorns – Shorena who is from the Republic of Georgia, an Eastern European country that requires no visa to enter. And for a little bit of trivia, Shorena proudly said that Ray Charles’ hit song “Georgia On My Mind” does not refer to the American State of Georgia, but to her Republic Of Georgia in Europe. We can’t help but sing “Georgia On My Mind” on the road back to Paris. I was taken by the melody which made me do a little research and found out that this song was actually written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell in 1930. And that in 1979, “Georgia On My Mind” became the official state song of Georgia in the United States. That means, Ray Charles neither wrote nor composed the song. Hmmm, Shorena….
