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Jim Brown

Govenor Jimmy Davis Brought Us Sunshine

It could be the most recognized American song worldwide. Go to a small Asian community where little or no English is spoken then start humming “You Are My Sunshine.” More likely than not, the locals will join in.
Everyone knows the words to a down-home tune written by a Louisiana country singer and movie star. And he was sworn in as Louisiana Governor 70 years ago this week.
Jimmy Davis was a popular country singer in the 1930s, and made a number of western movies including the likes of Cyclone Prairie Rangers, Mississippi Rhythm and Square Dance Katy. But throughout the world, he made his mark with “Sunshine.”
After serving two terms as Louisiana Governor, Davis spent a lot of time at his farm in Northeast Louisiana, traveling back and forth from the state capitol in Baton Rouge. The governor was friends with my senior law partner in Ferriday, and made a habit of stopping by our office for a coffee break. I was a wet-behind-the-ears, 26-year-old attorney, and often the only one in the office. So Jimmy Davis would talk at length about his life and gave me my initial political education.
He would often ask me to notarize some document, which I was glad to do. “So what do I owe you Brother Brown?” he would ask. I would settle for a few verses of “Sunshine.” He regularly inquired if I could find him a raccoon. Up in redneck country, we just call it a coon. His favorite meal was to cook up a coon stew.
Knowing the request would always come from him, I asked some local hunters I represented to drop off a raccoon if they could fine one in their hunting escapades. I generally kept a raccoon or two in the office freezer.
Davis made one last futile effort for a third term as governor in 1971, while I made my foray in politics running for state senator. He often campaigned with his band in the district where I was running, and I would put up signs that read: “Come to the Jim Brown for Senator campaign rally. Special guest-Governor Jimmy Davis.”
Davis laughed when he caught on to what I was doing, and would call me up on the platform to introduce me as the district’s next state senator. He supported me every time I ran for public office after that.
Throughout my 28-year political career, Jimmy Davis would often come by my Baton Rouge office, or call me to come visit him at his home right by the state capitol. I always knew when he needed a notary.
My last call was a few weeks before he died in 2000. He was donating a piece of property and needed the deed signed, but he insisted he pay me something. “Okay, Governor,” I told him, “when you pass on, I want you to give me your driver’s license number.” You see, Davis instituted the license requirement during his first term as governor in 1944. And the number on his license? Number one.
“A done deal,” he told me.
Of course, I never actually got it. But it was a good way to end our 35-year relationship with a smile.
And Sunshine? Who was she? A past lover? A devoted family member? No. Sunshine was Jimmy Davis’s horse. The palomino mare is buried up on the Northeast Louisiana farm.
I pass that way occasionally, and remember back on my many conversations with the governor. And yes, I do hum a few bars of “You always Are My Sunshine.”

“I rejoice in the knowledge that death is only the beginning. It is my hope and prayer that all of those who visit my final resting place shall remember this - I’ll meet you in the morning.”
— Jimmy Davis

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. You can also hear Jim’s nationally syndicated radio show each Sunday morning from 9 a.m. till 11 a.m., central time, on the Genesis Radio Network, with a live stream at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

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