"Michigan, My Michigan" is a very popular anthem in the State of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, but it is not an official state song. The only official anthem, a song called "My Michigan

My Michigan

My Michigan is the title of the State of Michigan's only official state anthem. It was written by Giles Kavanagh and H. O'Reilly Clint in 1933. It was published by Clint's own music publishing company at Detroit...

", was formally adopted in 1937 – which humourists might say was probably the only time it was ever sung, because everyone thinks the official song is "Michigan, My Michigan".

History

According to the State of Michigan website, Winifred Lee Brent Lyster of Detroit wrote the original 1862 lyrics of "Michigan, My Michigan" to the tune of "O Tannenbaum

O Tannenbaum

"O Tannenbaum", or, in its English version, "O Christmas Tree", is a Christmas carol of German origin.A Tannenbaum is a fir tree or Christmas tree...

, O Tannenbaum", also called "O Christmas Tree", and also the tune of "Maryland, My Maryland

Maryland, My Maryland

"Maryland, My Maryland" is the official state song of the U.S. state of Maryland. The song is set to the tune of "Lauriger Horatius" and the lyrics are from a nine-stanza poem written by James Ryder Randall...

". Her husband, Henry, was a Civil War surgeon, and Mrs. Lyster was inspired to write the song after the Battle of Fredericksburg

Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...

.

Major James W. Long of Grand Rapids wrote new lyrics in 1886 but kept the original tune and original Civil War sentiment. In 1902, Douglas Malloch wrote the current lyrics for a convention of the Michigan State Federation of Woman's Clubs in Muskegon. He deemed them more suitable for a peacetime anthem. A new tune was also composed for the song by composer W. Otto Miessner

W. Otto Miessner

William Otto Miessner was an American composer and music educator.-Life and career:Born in Huntingburg, Indiana, Miessner was the son of Charles Miessner and Mary Miessner . He graduated from Huntingburg High School in 1898. He earned a diploma from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where he...

 of Detroit.

1862 lyrics Home of my heart, I sing of thee! Michigan, My Michigan, Thy lake-bound shores I long to see, Michigan, my Michigan. From Saginaw’s tall whispering pines To Lake Superior’s farthest mines, Fair in the light of memory shines Michigan, my Michigan. Thou gav’st thy sons without a sigh, Michigan, my Michigan, And sent thy bravest forth to die, Michigan, my Michigan. Beneath a hostile southern sky They bore thy banner proud and high, Ready to fight but never fly, Michigan, my Michigan. From Yorktown on to Richmond’s wall, Michigan, my Michigan, They bravely fight, as bravely fall, Michigan, my Michigan. To Williamsburgh Battle of Williamsburg The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War...  we point with pride— Our Fifth and Second, side by side, There stemmed and stayed the battle’s tide, Michigan, my Michigan. When worn with watching traitor foes, Michigan, my Michigan, The welcome night brought sweet repose, Michigan, my Michigan. The soldier, weary from the fight, Sleeps sound, nor fears the rebels’ might, For "Michigan’s on guard tonight!" Michigan, my Michigan. Afar on Shiloh’s Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...  fatal plain, Michigan, my Michigan, Again behold thy heroes slain, Michigan, my Michigan. "Their strong arms crumble in the dust, And their bright swords have gathered rust; Their memory is our sacred trust," Michigan, my Michigan. And often in the coming years, Michigan, my Michigan, Some widowed mother ‘ll dry her tears, Michigan, my Michigan, And turning with a thrill of pride, Say to the children at her side, At Antietam Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000... your father died, For Michigan, our Michigan. With General Grant’s victorious name, Michigan, my Michigan, Thy sons still onward march to fame, Michigan, my Michigan. And foremost in the fight we see, Where e’er the bravest dare to be, The sabres of thy cavalry, Michigan, my Michigan. Dark rolled the Rappahannock’s flood, Michigan, my Michigan, The tide was crimsoned with thy blood, Michigan, my Michigan. Although for us the clay was lost, Still it shall be our broadest boast: At Fredericksburg our Seventh crossed! Michigan, my Michigan. And when the happy time shall come, Michigan, my Michigan, That brings thy war-worn heroes home, Michigan, my Michigan, What welcome from their own proud shore, What honors at their feet we’ll pour, What tears for those who’ll come no more, Michigan, my Michigan. A grateful country claims them now, Michigan, my Michigan, And deathless laurel binds each brow, Michigan, my Michigan; And history the tale will tell, Of how they fought and how they fell, For that dear land they loved so well, Michigan, my Michigan.

1886 lyrics Land of my love, I sing of thee, Michigan, my Michigan; With lake-bound shore, I'm proud of thee, Michigan, my Michigan. The sweet winds whisper through thy pines, The jewels glitter in thy mines, And glory on thy chaplet shines— Michigan, my Michigan. I've traveled all thy confines o'er, Michigan, my Michigan; From lake to lake, and shore to shore, Michigan, my Michigan. I've seen thy maimed, thy halt, thy blind, I’ve seen the ones bereft of mind, To all of them thou art so kind— Michigan, my Michigan. Thou art so pure, but modest, too, Michigan, my Michigan; Thou art so brave and still so true, Michigan, my Michigan. No promise unfulfilled;—on trust Thy noble sons have bit the dust, Remembered are they. For thou art just— Michigan, my Michigan. The axe resounds 'mid woodland trees, Michigan, my Michigan; The sails of commerce court thy breeze, Michigan, my Michigan. And templed cities rise in sight, And happy eyes catch heaven's light, Our God protects thee through the night, Michigan, my Michigan. Oh! Alma Mater, at thy shrine, Michigan, my Michigan; I worship thee as most devine, Michigan, my Michigan, "Tuebor" "I’ll protect," 'tis true— Oh, fair peninsula! and you— Shine out a gem in starry blue, Michigan, my Michigan, Thy diadem —thy hero sons, Michigan, my Michigan; Thy choicest love—their helpless ones, Michigan, my Michigan. And just as long as song shall ring From those who bring an offering, To thee, my love, this song shall sing— Michigan, my Michigan.

1902 lyrics A song to thee, fair State of mine, Michigan, my Michigan. But greater song than this is thine, Michigan, my Michigan. The whisper of the forest tree, The thunder of the inland sea, Unite in one grand symphony Of Michigan, my Michigan. I sing a State of all the best— Michigan, my Michigan. I sing a State with riches blessed— Michigan, my Michigan. Thy mines unmask a hidden store, But richer thy historic lore, More great the love thy builders bore, Oh, Michigan, my Michigan. How fair the bosom of thy lakes, Michigan, my Michigan. What melody each river makes, Michigan, my Michigan. As to thy lakes, the rivers tend, Thine exiled children to thee send Devotion that shall never end, Oh, Michigan, my Michigan. Rich in the wealth that makes a State, Michigan, my Michigan. Great in the things that make men great, Michigan, my Michigan. Our loyal voices sound thy claim Upon the golden roll of fame; Our loyal hands shall write the name Of Michigan, my Michigan.