[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 40 (Monday, October 11, 1993)]
[Page 2026]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6606--Country Music Month, 1993

 October 7, 1993

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Country music is one of America's unique musical forms. Our 
immigrant ancestors from Great Britain and Ireland brought their tunes 
and melodies with them, and those songs were reshaped by life and 
landscape in our new Nation. In Appalachia, the Piedmonts, the Ozarks, 
the Mississippi Delta, and the Pine Barrens, those songs and ballads 
were forged from the spirit of working men and women, farmers and field 
laborers, miners and railroad workers, and pioneers crossing the Great 
Plains.
    They blended with songs of African Americans, Mexican Americans, and 
Cajuns. Out of this wellspring came Western swing, honky-tonk, blues, 
gospel, and shape note music, creating a family of many musical cousins. 
Country music is not one voice, but many, irresistible to the ear and to 
any heart that likes to sing. The instruments that accompany the songs 
are also from our ancestors of many lands--the dulcimer from Germany, 
the fiddle from all of Europe, the banjo from Africa.
    Country music is about the American story. It fuses the traditions 
of many cultures and celebrates what makes us Americans. Country lyrics 
tell tales of life and love, joy and heartbreak, toil and celebration. 
From early folk singers like Woody Guthrie to such legends as Roy Acuff, 
Hank Williams, and Patsy Cline to today's bright stars--the singers all 
let loose the soulful music inside their hearts. In its rhythms and 
words, we can hear the lonesome sound, as well as the festive spirit, of 
our beloved land.
    The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 102, has designated the 
month of October as ``Country Music Month.'' I urge all Americans to 
join me in recognizing the role that country music has played in shaping 
our cultural heritage.
    Country Music Month is a time to recognize the contributions of 
singers, songwriters, musicians, and all in the industry who work to 
bring us the very best of country music and dance. Throughout the month 
of October, let us celebrate country music in our homes and towns across 
the United States.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim October 1993 as Country Music 
Month.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of 
October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
eighteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:54 p.m., October 8, 
1993]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on October 8, and it will be published in the Federal Register 
on October 13.