"She's such a sweet girl from a sweet family," said Deborah Gilbert, orchestra director at Mobberly Baptist Church and marketing associate for Opera East Texas. Gilbert wrote the score to "Texas is Pure and Great" and performed it for Texas Day.

Crane heard the song live for the first time Friday. Holding a microphone with her right hand as her left hand draped her right thigh, Crane beamed through her own shyness as she led the song for first-graders, many who knew the song well enough to sing along.

Crane's ditty has done more, perhaps, than add to the list of songs about Texas. It's kindled a friendship between Crane's mother and Gilbert, who also wants to see the song published in statewide music textbooks.

"What started out as a favor for my friend, Carolyn Wynn, has turned into something much more," said Gilbert, decked out in Western gear for the performances. She also plans to make a recording of the song using young talent. "It's just written by a child, and it should be sung by children."

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