1. |
Song of Wisconsin
01:29
|
|||
|
SONG OF WISCONSIN
Jerry Way
Sing me a song of Wisconsin,
Take me back to my old home.
I’ll hear a song of Wisconsin
Ev’rywhere I roam.
Sing me a song of Wisconsin,
Play it sweet and sing it low.
I’ll hear a song of Wisconsin
Ev’rywhere I go.
Warm and green in the summer,
Scarlet and gold in the fall,
White with snow in the wintertime,
And the spring is the grandest of all.
Sing me a song of Wisconsin,
As I ramble, as I roam,
I’ll hear a song of Wisconsin,
Wisconsin, my old home.
|
||||
2. |
The Ice Age
02:21
|
|||
|
THE ICE AGE
Many thousand years ago,
Glaciers made of ice and snow,
Mile by mile from Arctic north,
Through Canada came creeping forth.
In Wisconsin, north and east,
For early man and mammoth beast,
The land was changed in every way.
The glaciers’ crush moved day by day.
REFRAIN:
The Ice Age! The Ice Age!
Formed the land with glacial floe.
The Ice age! The Ice Age!
Many thousand years ago.
Mountain, plain, and wide plateau
Were ground to rocky sand, and so
Piles high in glacial drifts,
Moraines were left by massive shifts.
As tons of glacier came to rest,
And spared Wisconsin’s southern west,
The age of ice released its grip,
And melting ice began to drip.
(REFRAIN)
The Great Lakes, formed in glacial chill,
With melted ice to fill.
The winding streams and rivers, too,
Began to flow as they now do.
When climate warmed so long ago,
The soil lay fresh for plants to grow,
Till evergreens and hardwood trees,
From north to south, swayed in the breeze.
(REFRAIN)
|
||||
3. |
Wisconsin Prologue
04:47
|
|||
|
WISCONSIN PROLOGUE
In the 17th Century, the Winnebago, Dakota, and Menomonie
Saw the Fox, Miami, Sauk, and Potawatomi
In flight from the Iroquois, as the Huron, the Kickapoo, and Illinois,
The Ottawa, and Chippewa roamed Wisconsin free.
REFRAIN:
Wisconsin! Wisconsin!
Long may her song be sung!
In 1634, Jean Nicolet first landed on the Green Bay shore,
Father Marquette and Jolliet came later to explore.
The fur traders saw a chance to claim Wisconsin’s land for France.
Then 1712 began to tell of War’s advance. (REFRAIN)
In 1754, the French and the English went to war
To take the land, assume command of Wisconsin’s wooded shore.
Then in 1763, under terms that were signed with the peace treaty,
Wisconsin now would bow to England’s royalty. (REFRAIN)
In 1774, a change by England was in store.
Wisconsin next to old Quebec had her territory torn.
Then in 1775, the American Revolution arrived.
The time had come for freedom, liberty, and life. (REFRAIN)
In 1783, America won a great victory,
Her lands increased by all lands east of the Mississippi.
And the Great Lakes southern shore would be part of America forevermore.
Her sovereignty was free, her liberty restored. (REFRAIN)
When the 1820’s came, the miners called “Badgers” by nickname
Dug by day and slept in caves and brought Wisconsin fame.
Then in 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th state,
The 29th day of May in 1848. (REFRAIN)
|
||||
4. |
Wisconsin Canon
00:42
|
|||
|
Wisconsin is the Badger State
And Forward is her motto.
Hurrah for the Badger State!
Hurrah for her motto!
|
||||
5. |
Paul Bunyan
02:38
|
|
||
|
PAUL BUNYAN
In the early logging days of Wisconsin,
When the northern stand of big white pine stood tall.
From the southern Great Lakes region of Ontario
Came that legendary lumberjack named Paul.
REFRAIN:
Paul Bunyan! Paul Bunyan!
Timber man of great northwestern fame.
Paul Bunyan! Paul Bunyan!
Big Paul Bunyan was his name.
In his stockings, he stood twelve foot eleven.
He was eight hundred eighty pounds of lumberjack.
Combed his big black burly beard with a buck saw.
He was the strongest man that ever swung an axe.
(REFRAIN)
For his breakfast, he ate six hundred pancakes,
Seven hams, twelve dozen eggs all piping hot,
Thirty seven pounds of beef and one whole venison,
Fried potatoes, bread, and coffee by the pot.
(REFRAIN)
Big Paul’s spirit led the men who cleared Wisconsin,
Sailed the logs on down the river to the mill,
Sawed the lumber for our homes and opened farmlands.
His legend lives on in our hearts and always will.
(REFRAIN)
|
||||
6. |
Babe, the Blue Ox
02:32
|
|||
|
BABE, THE BLUE OX
REFRAIN:
Babe, the Blue OX!
What a giant of a lumber beast!
He was wide and long,
He was big and strong,
He was the pride of the Great Northeast.
Babe was found by ol’ Paul Bunyan
In the Winter of the Deep Blue Snow.
He could haul a whole section of timber;
Just hook him up, and away he’d go. (repeat REFRAIN)
Now, the links of ol’ Paul’s log chain
Were the size of a railroad car,
But the Blue Ox Pulled that log chain
Into a solid iron bar. (repeat REFRAIN)
Babe would eat four tons of hay bales
With the baling wire and all.
And he kept on growing bigger,
Till he was fourteen pines trees tall. (repeat REFRAIN)
Babe would walk through Minnesota,
With the size of the tracks he makes,
When his hoof prints filled with water,
They became ten thousand lakes. (repeat REFRAIN)
|
||||
7. |
||||
|
THE CIVIL WAR EAGLE, OLD ABE
In eighteen hundred and sixty-one,
The Civil War struggle had just begun.
Some soldiers got an eagle from Old Dan McCann,
And they called the eagle “Old Abe.”
From the Chippewa River to Madison,
Wisconsin’s Eighth Regiment came on the run.
The lumberjack soldiers saw a war to be won,
And they followed the eagle, Old Abe.
REFRAIN:
Old Abe! Singing Old Abe!
Singing a song of a war eagle brave.
Old Abe! Singing Old Abe!
The Civil War Eagle, Old Abe!
In eighteen hundred and sixty-two,
The Eagle Regiment knew what to do.
Perched on a shield colored red, white, and blue,
They carried their eagle, Old Abe.
In eighteen hundred and sixty-three,
The war was raging on land and sea.
To preserve our Union and make men free,
In the midst of the battle, Old Abe. (Repeat REFRAIN)
In eighteen hundred and sixty-four,
The eagle screamed with the cannon’s roar,
And high o’er the battlefield Old Abe would soar.
The soldiers were proud of Old Abe.
In eighteen hundred and sixty-five,
The moment of victory then did arrive.
Wisconsin’s War Eagle was very much alive,
The Regiment’s hero, Old Abe. (Repeat REFRAIN)
In eighteen hundred and sixty-six,
The eagle retired into politics.
At soldiers’ reunions he’d do all his tricks.
They’d always remember Old Abe. (Repeat REFRAIN)
I
|
||||
8. |
||||
|
THE GREAT PESHTIGO FOREST FIRE
The summer and the autumn of 1871,
The woods became like tinder drying in the sun.
For northeast Wisconsin in the forest ‘round Green Bay
The 8th of October was a most fateful day.
REFRAIN:
Fire! Fire, burning in the night,
The forest filled with fright,
Her creatures all in flight.
Fire! Fire, an eerie flaming light,
An awful fearsome sight,
The Great Peshtigo Forest Fire!
The heat was like a furnace, and blasting in the wind,
It roared on through the brush piles where the pine trees had been thinned.
As great sheets of fire came falling from the sky,
The lumber town of Peshtigo was not prepared to die. (repeat REFRAIN)
Folks headed for the river, with burning all around.
The heat and smoke were blinding, they were falling to the ground.
One thousand two hundred lost their lives that tragic day.
A million acres, ashes on both sides of Green Bay. (repeat REFRAIN)
The county called Kewaunee, and Door County, too,
The river called Oconto felt the fire rumble through.
From Birch Creek to Marinette, to Little Suamico,
The land was scorched to ashes, as it was in Peshtigo. (repeat REFRAIN)
|
||||
9. |
||||
|
WE GOTTA LOTTA CATTLE IN WISCONSIN
REFRAIN”
We gotta lotta cattle in Wisconsin,
America’s Dairyland State.
With butter, milk, and cheese
Of a quality to please,
Our dairy cattle make Wisconsin great!
We got Holsteins. (They’re the black cows.)
We got Guernseys. (They’re the brown cows.)
The farmer milks the cows twice ev’ry day.
We got Brown Swiss. (They’re light brown.)
We got Jerseys. (They have pretty eyes.)
Wisconsinites are proud when people say: (repeat REFRAIN)
We got Swiss cheese. (Full of holes.)
We got Limburger. (It’s so sticky!)
Colby, mozzarella, and what’s more,
We got cheddar (sharp and mild)
For your cheeseburger. (Yummy!)
Ya buy ‘em at your local burger store. (repeat REFRAIN)
We got yogurt. (Plain and fancy).
We got ice cream. (Ev’ry flavor.)
For malts and cones and sundaes, it’s the best.
We got butter. (For your bread.)
We got whipped cream. (What a topping!)
Wisconsin cows are equal to the test. (repeat REFRAIN)
|
||||
Jerry Way Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
I've been composing, performing and teaching music for a fair number of years now. I love the pictures that words and music can paint in a person's imagination, while hearing a good song; A guitar is a fine companion for story-sharing. Music is a life-long journey, so the younger we start enjoying it, the better. I'm proud to pass my songs along to new generations. ... more
If you like Jerry Way, you may also like:
Mind, Man, Medicine
by The Secret Sisters
The Alabama duo's fifth album exults in dusty Americana, showcasing rich vocal harmonies alongside blissful folk instrumentation.
go to album
More contemplative folk from the Minnesota singer-songwriter, sustained by raw full-band arrangements and philosophical lyrics.
go to album
Irish singer-songwriter Oisin Leech's acoustic folk music is characterized by its muted beauty and intimate, solitary quality.
go to album
Various Artists - Gaza Calling
by Nuovo Canzoniere Partigiano
featured on Bandcamp Radio Mar 15, 2024
go to album
Space Bath
by Sami Freeman, feat. James Jackson, Beaunoise, Mia Pixley
A gorgeous journey through a kaleidoscopic array of sonic approaches melted together that feels old and new at the same time.
go to album
Ship To Shore
by Richard Thompson
The legendary Richard Thompson's new solo album exemplifies his many musical paths, from pop and cabaret to jazz to traditional folk.
go to album
Sparkling and knotty indie rock from this Australian group with interlocking guitars and shifting rhythms.
go to album
