TAMPA, Fla. -- The winner of a new state song contest was announced Friday in Tampa.

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Click here to listen to the song. (Courtesy of Florida Today)

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"Florida, Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky" beat out two competitors in an online competition at JustSingFlorida.org conducted by the Florida Music Educators Association, Local 6 News partner Florida Today reported.

State Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville, and Rep. Ed Homan, R-Tampa, have agreed to sponsor legislation to replace Stephen Foster's "Old Folks At Home" as Florida's official state song in the 2008 legislative session. Gov. Charlie Crist didn't have the song -- also known as "Swannee River" -- sung at his inauguration last year and has supported the search for a new one.

"No one is saying it should be erased from Florida history," said James Perry, executive director of the FMEA. "But it's a song that a lot of people aren't comfortable singing."

The state altered Foster's original lyrics, with their slavery-era dialect and racial stereotypes, but "Old Folks At Home" still referred to a long-gone era of plantations in Florida. The three new songs nominated as a replacement celebrated a more modern Florida.

The FMEA said 8,020 ballots were cast and that "Sawgrass" won with more than half the vote.

In addition to state song legislation, lawmakers will also consider a bill by Rep. Dave Murzin, R-Pensacola, to designate a different tune as Florida's official state "anthem." But that wouldn't affect adoption of a new state song.

"Florida, Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky" was written by Jan Hinton of Pompano Beach.

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