Did you memorize the state song in elementary school? In my classroom, it wasn’t a favorite song, but perhaps you would be interested in its history.
The tune was written by Sallie Hume Douglas in 1915 under the title, “Garden of Paradise”. Lyrics were written two years later by a University of Idaho student, McKinley Helm, and paired with Sally’s tune. It became known as “Our Idaho”, was used as the school song and went like this:
A pioneer state built a college to share
Its youth and its rigorous life
That flourished and grew from year to year
Beset by political strife.
Then fire destroying the child of the state,
But quickly she sprang up anew,
Upon the ashes that marked where the old
Had ‘eft a bold spirit that grew.
And now on a hill that is searched by the winds
There stands in security
Proud of her youth and a
pioneer still
A staunch University.
And here we have Idaho
Scourged on her way to
fame,
Silver and gold in the
sunlight blaze,
And romance lies in her
name.
Singing, we’re singing of
you.
Ah, proudly, too,
All our lives thru, we’ll
go
Singing, singing of you,
Alma Mater, our Idaho.
The words were revised by
Bethel Packenham thus:
Alma Mater, the hope of a
pioneer race;
You’re fashioned of dreams
and of toil,
Thy walls and thy towers by
stout hearted men
Were raised from the rock
and the soil.
Now ours is the heritage,
rich and so full,
The gain of their toil and
their tears;
And ours is the fruit, and
the harvest is ours;
O Idaho, gift of the years.
So we have fed of thy
bounteous store,
Our voices now praise thee
in song
We tearlessly smite at the
oncoming years,
Yes, we, whom thy spirit
made strong.
And here we have Idaho,
Winning her way to fame
Silver and gold in the sunlight
blaze,
And romance lies in her
name.
Singing, We’re singing of
you.
Ah, proudly, too,
All our lives thru, we’ll
go
Singing, singing of you,
Alma Mater, our Idaho.
Albert J. Thomkins,
Director of Music in the Boise Public Schools, wrote yet another set of verses.
When the song was officially adopted in 1931 as the state song in the state’s
21st Legislature and was renamed, “Here We Have Idaho”, the lyrics
were not specified, and it is difficult to give credit to any one person for
the verses as we learned them in school.
You’ve heard of the wonders
our land does possess,
Its beautiful valleys and
hills.
The majestic forests where
nature abounds,
We love every nook and rill.
CHORUS
And here we have Idaho,
Winning her way to fame.
Silver and gold in the
sunlight blaze,
And romance lies in her
name.
Singing, we’re singing of
you,
Ah, proudly too. All our
lives thru,
We’ll go singing, singing
of you,
Singing of Idaho.
2nd VERSE
There’s truly one state in
this great land of ours,
Where ideals can be
realized.
The pioneers made it so for
you and me,
A legacy we’ll always
prize.
Forgive me for this link to
a pioneer parody version of “Singing of Iderho” from YouTube:
