“Roadrunner,” first recorded by the Modern Lovers in the early 1970s and best known from the group’s 1976 debut album, is an unabashed musical valentine to Massachusetts, where its songwriter, Jonathan Richman, was raised. In a confessional style, as if he’s telling you a story, the Natick native sings about driving past a Stop & Shop and says he loves Route 128 at night. Perhaps most famously, he declares, “I’m in love with Massachusetts.”

Now “Roadrunner” could become the official rock song of the Commonwealth. On Thursday, state Representative Martin “Marty” Walsh of Dorchester filed a bill to make that happen.

Walsh was prompted by a petition from Joyce Linehan, a mover and shaker in the local community through her work as an arts publicist and on political campaigns.

“I wish I could tell you that I had to convince Marty, but I really didn’t,” Linehan said from her home in Dorchester. “He sees the value of this song and how well it represents Massachusetts and might allow others who aren’t from here to see the state through a different lens.”

Richman may not be a household name, but “Roadrunner” has become a beloved and deeply influential part of rock’s pantheon. With its largely two-chord structure and Richman’s spirited delivery, it has been hailed as the first punk song and covered by everyone from the Sex Pistols to Joan Jett and Yo La Tengo. Richman’s band, the Modern Lovers, included then-Harvard student Jerry Harrison, who later became part of Talking Heads, and David Robinson, who went on to fame with the Cars.

Linehan may be perfectly positioned to help propel the song to state recognition. A publicist for such local groups as First Night and ArtsEmerson, she is well connected in both the rock music and political worlds. The former manager of the Lemonheads, Linehan was an A&R rep for Sub Pop Records (she has a Nirvana gold record on her wall) and runs her own label, Ashmont Records, with musician Joe Pernice. She was also heavily involved with Elizabeth Warren’s senatorial campaign after having volunteered for other local and state campaigns.

Walsh, who says his taste in music leans more toward U2 (“I’m an Irish politician, how could I not [love them]?”) admitted he hadn’t heard “Roadrunner” before Linehan reached out to him but quickly recognized its merits.

“I’m not going to compare a rock song to what the Founding Fathers did, but it is about our state’s history and we have to be proud of the people who have made it that way,” Walsh said. “The issues of substance abuse and public safety are important issues, and we take them very seriously on Beacon Hill. But I also think we have to look at the other side of what makes our state so rich in tradition and history. And this is part of it.”

Walsh’s bill will be assigned to a committee and given a date for a public hearing that could happen as early as April, Walsh said. If it gets a favorable committee vote, it moves to the full House of Representatives and, if passed, to the Senate. Then if both branches approve the bill, it goes to Governor Deval Patrick for signing.

Linehan first got the idea for the campaign after reading a 2007 article in The Guardian, the British newspaper that sent a writer on a journey to places mentioned in “Roadrunner.” In various recorded versions, Richman sings of everything from the Mass. Pike and the Prudential Tower to Deer Island, Mattapan, and Roslindale. More recently, Linehan said, she was “incensed” when RadioBDC, the online radio station launched by Boston.com, polled listeners about which song it should play for its inaugural broadcast. “Roadrunner” came in second to the Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ “I Want My City Back.”

“The song that represents Massachusetts to its core clearly is ‘Roadrunner,’ ” Linehan said, adding she probably first heard it in heavy rotation on WBCN.

In Boston, many musicians consider “Roadrunner” a classic that they could play on the spot. Bill Janovitz, singer and guitarist for local alt-rock band Buffalo Tom, recalls performing “Roadrunner” in jam sessions at places like Toad.

“I just remember what an anthem it was,” Janovitz said. “It’s absolute poetry and cuts right into the essence of what makes suburban Massachusetts so interesting.”