How “Georgia” Was Created
The Financial Times tells us: ‘The languid, almost sensuous lyrics of “Georgia on My Mind†could as easily be about a lover as the southern US state the 1930 song celebrates. Certainly, the line “Other arms reach out to me, other eyes smile tenderly†suggests a woman (or man) might be involved. But combine Stuart Gorrell’s lyrics with Hoagy Carmichael’s music and the sense of place becomes palpable. Yet Indiana-raised Carmichael had never set foot in Georgia when he composed the tune. What’s more, it seems that the idea for the song wasn’t even his. According to his biographer, Richard M Sudhalter, it was the saxophonist Frank Trumbauer who suggested Georgia as a subject. After all, he reasoned: “Nobody ever lost money writing songs about the South.‒
