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On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away

 

 
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On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away
 
 
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"On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" is the state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of Indiana's
Indiana

The State of Indiana was the 19th U.S. state admitted into the union. It is located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America....
 official state song
List of U.S. state songs

Introduction Forty-nine U.S. state of the United States have one or more state songs, selected by the State legislature as a symbol of the state....
. Written and composed by Paul Dresser
Paul Dresser

Paul Dresser was an important United States songwriter of the late 19th century and early 20th century....
, the Indiana General Assembly
Indiana General Assembly

The Indiana General Assembly is the State legislature , or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate....
 adopted it as the official state song March 14, 1913, adding to the Indiana Code
Indiana Code

The Indiana Code is the code of laws for the US State of Indiana. The contents are the codification of the all the laws currently in effect within Indiana....
, Title 1, Article 2, Chapter 6, Section 1. After the passage of the law the song was sung by a joint session of both houses of the state legislature. The song speaks of the Wabash River
Wabash River

The Wabash River is a long river in the eastern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery, Ohio across northern Indiana to Illinois where it forms the southern Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary....
, which flows through the state. The familiar chorus is:

Round my Indiana homesteads wave the cornfields,
In the distance loom the woodlands clear and cool.
Oftentimes my thoughts revert to scenes of childhood,
Where I first received my lessons, nature's school.
But one thing there is missing in the picture,
Without her face it seems so incomplete.
I long to see my mother in the doorway,
As she stood there years ago, her boy to greet.


Oh, the moonlight's fair tonight along the Wabash,
From the fields there comes the breath of newmown hay.
Through the sycamores the candle lights are gleaming,
On the banks of the Wabash, far away.


]]
Many years have passed since I strolled by the river,
Arm in arm, with sweetheart Mary by my side,
It was there I tried to tell her that I loved her,
It was there I begged of her to be my bride.
Long years have passed since I strolled thro' there churchyard.
She's sleeping there, my angel, Mary dear,
I loved her, but she thought I didn't mean it,
Still I'd give my future were she only here.


The more widely known song "Back Home Again in Indiana
Back Home Again in Indiana

" Indiana" is a song composed by Ballard MacDonald and James Hanley, first published in January of 1917. While it is not the official state song of the United States state of Indiana , it is perhaps the best-known song that pays tribute to the Hoosier....
" references "On the Banks" in the last two lines of the chorus, both musically and lyrically.

There is also a Swedish language
Swedish language

Swedish is a North Germanic languages language, spoken by around 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the coast and on the ?land islands....
 text of the song, known as Barndomshemmet (The childhood home) with lyrics by Karl-Ewert Christenson.






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"On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" is the state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of Indiana's
Indiana

The State of Indiana was the 19th U.S. state admitted into the union. It is located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America....
 official state song
List of U.S. state songs

Introduction Forty-nine U.S. state of the United States have one or more state songs, selected by the State legislature as a symbol of the state....
. Written and composed by Paul Dresser
Paul Dresser

Paul Dresser was an important United States songwriter of the late 19th century and early 20th century....
, the Indiana General Assembly
Indiana General Assembly

The Indiana General Assembly is the State legislature , or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate....
 adopted it as the official state song March 14, 1913, adding to the Indiana Code
Indiana Code

The Indiana Code is the code of laws for the US State of Indiana. The contents are the codification of the all the laws currently in effect within Indiana....
, Title 1, Article 2, Chapter 6, Section 1. After the passage of the law the song was sung by a joint session of both houses of the state legislature. The song speaks of the Wabash River
Wabash River

The Wabash River is a long river in the eastern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery, Ohio across northern Indiana to Illinois where it forms the southern Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary....
, which flows through the state. The familiar chorus is:

Round my Indiana homesteads wave the cornfields,
In the distance loom the woodlands clear and cool.
Oftentimes my thoughts revert to scenes of childhood,
Where I first received my lessons, nature's school.
But one thing there is missing in the picture,
Without her face it seems so incomplete.
I long to see my mother in the doorway,
As she stood there years ago, her boy to greet.


Oh, the moonlight's fair tonight along the Wabash,
From the fields there comes the breath of newmown hay.
Through the sycamores the candle lights are gleaming,
On the banks of the Wabash, far away.


]]
Many years have passed since I strolled by the river,
Arm in arm, with sweetheart Mary by my side,
It was there I tried to tell her that I loved her,
It was there I begged of her to be my bride.
Long years have passed since I strolled thro' there churchyard.
She's sleeping there, my angel, Mary dear,
I loved her, but she thought I didn't mean it,
Still I'd give my future were she only here.


The more widely known song "Back Home Again in Indiana
Back Home Again in Indiana

" Indiana" is a song composed by Ballard MacDonald and James Hanley, first published in January of 1917. While it is not the official state song of the United States state of Indiana , it is perhaps the best-known song that pays tribute to the Hoosier....
" references "On the Banks" in the last two lines of the chorus, both musically and lyrically.

There is also a Swedish language
Swedish language

Swedish is a North Germanic languages language, spoken by around 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the coast and on the ?land islands....
 text of the song, known as Barndomshemmet (The childhood home) with lyrics by Karl-Ewert Christenson. The Swedish text is about the emigration from Sweden
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
 to the USA and was an early hit for Ernst Rolf
Ernst Rolf

Ernst Rolf, real name Ernst Ragnar Johansson, , was a Sweden revue actor and singer.Ernst Rolf was born in Falun, Dalarna in central Sweden, where his father was a tailor and member of the temperance movement....
.

Bibliography

  • Dresser, Paul. "On The Banks Of The Wabash, Far Away". New York: Howley, Haviland & Co. (1897).


External links

  • , Harry MacDonough
    Harry Macdonough

    John Scantlebury Macdonald was a Canada singer and recording industry executive. Under the pseudonym Harry Macdonough, he was one of the most prolific and popular tenors during the formative years of recorded music....
     (Edison Gold Moulded 1570, c. 1910)—.