Sunday, March 15, 1903: A new state song
Posted on March 20th, 2007 – 10:40 PMBy Ben Welter
“Hail Minnesota,” originally written in 1904 by a University of Minnesota student, was adopted as Minnesota’s state song in 1945. Its first few lines:
Minnesota, hail to thee!
Hail to thee our state so dear!
Thy light shall ever be
A beacon bright and clear.An earlier attempt at a state song, introduced in St. Paul in 1903, didn’t make the cut. But you have to admire the effort. Ellen L. Ferry crammed in so much more detail: the Mississippi River, the broad prairie, tall pines, gallant volunteers, golden grain, Lake Superior — pretty much everything but the beloved walleye, Teddy Roosevelt’s State Fair speech and Sid Hartman. The Minneapolis Tribune covered the debut of these long-forgotten lines:
SING NEW STATE SONG
LADIES OF THE G. A. R. TEST IT
AT ST. PAUL RECEPTION
Written by Ellen L. Ferry of Minneapolis, and Was Well-Received by the Veterans and Their Wives Who Were Present at the Function.
The new Minnesota state song, written and composed by Ellen L. Ferry, a Minneapolis woman, and dedicated to the Minnesota veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic, was sung for the first time Friday evening at a reception given by the Ladies of the G. A. R. at the Metropolitan hotel, St. Paul, during the convention of the state G. A. R.
It is written to the tune of “Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching,” and was very well-received by the members of the G. A. R. who were present at the reception. Following are the verses.
Sing we in triumphant song – Minnesota, great and strong
Sends unto the world these words of hearty cheer;
Here at homes and work for all – prairie broad and pines so tall —
Wealth from rivers, lakes and mines await you here.
Chorus: Minnesota! Minnesota!
Our loved state, the true “North Star!”
First in time of Union’s fears.
Marched her gallant Volunteers. *
Now brave sons go forth to guard our lands afar!
Mississippi, from our lakes, its proud way to southward takes,
Jointly by lovely Minnehaha, rippling free —
On by farm, and mill, and town, bearing untold treasure down
To the mighty, ever-changing, changeless sea.
O’er Superior’s waters wide, from the Zenith City’s side,
Speed the ships of Minnesota, swift and sure.
Laden deep with golden grain, that shall feed beyond the main
Millions of God’s people there, rich and poor.
Once an Indian hunting ground, where the war-cry oft did sound.
And the blazing torch the settler’s home did fire –
Famed Twin Cities now doth stand, mills the greatest in the land –
Schools that bid youth to higher things aspire.
Pioneers, to thee, so bold, Volunteers both young and old,
Women, too, who gave for home and country all.
Statesmen, who so wisely planned, state and nation strong should stand,
Back across the years our thanks and praise we call.
* Historic fact: “The First Minnesota Volunteers” was the first regiment to respond to President Lincoln’s call for volunteer troops for the civil war.
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| A little rain couldn’t stop the Grand Army of the Republic parade in St. Paul in 1901. (Photo courtesy mnhs.org) |
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