Drivers in Alabama will soon be greeted with the slogan "Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama."

The state is paying Universal Records, which owns the trademark for the phrase from the Lynyrd Skynyrd rock anthem, $75,000 for five-year rights. The phrase will be featured on new green and white signs at the state line. Smaller versions of the signs will be placed at welcome centers.

Currently, the signs say "Alabama the Beautiful."

The new signs will be erected during the next few months, State Transportation Director John Cooper announced last week and will cost $61,000.

The state's agreement with Universal will allow it to use the phrase in other types of tourism promotions and Alabama has the option of renewing the agreement after the first five-year term.

The phrase is a natural fit and an important part of marketing the state to visitors, Lee Sentell, Alabama Department of Tourism and Travel Director, told AP.

"'Sweet Home Alabama' works for our state because it is a very popular song, and it is a very popular phrase," he said.

"Sweet Home Alabama," a Southern rock classic, was released 40 years ago this year. The song, recorded in Doraville, Ga., was the band's cheeky response to artist Neil Young's "Southern Man." In 2009, the state began using the phrase on car license plates and it remained there until the design was changed this year.

The song appears in numerous movies, including "Forrest Gump," 2003's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Crimson Tide," "Con Air," "Joe Dirt," "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Despicable Me," and is a fixture at University of Alabama football games.

You can read more about "Sweet Home Alabama," here.