Illinois’ state song forgotten by many

For almost a century, Illinois has had an official state song, a fact that few Illinoisans know. It’s likely that even fewer know any of the words.

The tune, “Illinois,” was named the official state song by the General Assembly in 1925. It’s routinely played by the University of Illinois marching band before home football games, but is rarely heard elsewhere.

Today, only a handful of Illinoisans could sing a line of the song, which has its origins in a public relations move. The tune was written in the early 1890s to promote Chicago as host of the 1893 World’s Fair.

The city did, in fact, land the fair, which is considered a hallmark moment in the cultural history of the state. Whether the song had anything to do with it is unknown, but one thing is clear: More Illinoisans knew the state song a century ago than now.

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The song “Illinois” originally was a four-verse tune set to a ditty composed by Archibald Johnston, a prominent musician of the Gilded Age. Johnston’s work, titled “Baby Mine,” first appeared in 1870 but never gained much popularity.

Johnston’s tune is not to be confused with a sentimental song of the same name that was used in the 1941 Disney movie “Dumbo.”

The words were composed by Charles H. Chamberlin, a Civil War veteran who is obscure today. He penned the song for a friend, Col. O.B. Knight, to perform in both Illinois and Washington, D.C., to drum up support for Chicago as a host of the fair.

The song seemed to catch on in some sectors, including at the University of Illinois, where Walter Howe Jones, the director of the university’s School of Music from 1895 to 1901, made some changes. He set the lyrics to his own music in 1901, which was used in some campus song books. Jones’ version, however, was otherwise seldom used.

The prestige of the original version was established in 1925, when Florence Fifer Bohrer of Bloomington, Illinois’ first female state senator, introduced a bill to name “Illinois” as the official state song. Johnston’s original melody was kept as the basis for the official version of the state song, which easily passed June 30, 1925.

Now armed with an official designation, the song continued to be a favorite of marching bands. In 1935, Col. Armin Hand, a beloved band leader from Chicago and member of a great musical family, created a “stylized” version of the song and promptly dedicated it to the sitting governor, Henry Horner.

Since 1949, the song has been played at all University of Illinois home football games by the Marching Illini, the school’s gridiron band.

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Indeed, the lyrics have a stirring quality. The first verse begins “By thy rivers gently flowing, Illinois, Illinois / O’er thy prairies verdant growing, Illinois, Illinois.”

The third verse plays on the state’s rich Civil War history: “When you heard your country calling, Illinois, Illinois / Where the shot and shell were falling, Illinois, Illinois.”

The fourth verse, which includes the words “thy wondrous story,” references the state’s most famous citizen, Abraham Lincoln, as well as Ulysses S. Grant. That verse was added on the recommendation of Chamberlin’s wife, Lydia.

Chamberlin had penned the first three stanzas and read them to Lydia.

According to a 1908 account, “she suggested it would not be complete without mentioning the name of Lincoln.”

Chamberlin wrote the fourth stanza the next day.

He read the lines in public for the first time at his local Grand Army of the Republic post, where he was the vice commander. However, Chamberlin’s breakout moment was at a speech delivered by future President William McKinley at the venerable Chicago Auditorium in February 1894.

McKinley heard the song and asked to meet Chamberlin. He then warmly shook Chamberlin’s hand and declared “you have produced a song that will never be forgotten.”

Of course, that prediction never came true, as most Illinoisans have no idea of the song.

Some people remembered it, at least for a while. On Feb. 11, 1909 – the day before the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth – the Dixon Evening Telegraph declared that “the song ‘Illinois’ is to the state what ‘America’ is to the nation, and will probably be sung at every Lincoln exercise in the state tomorrow.”

Among the activities in the state that year was a celebration in Oregon, where a local women’s quartet was scheduled to perform the song. One local lady had written some additional verses of her own, another example of changes to the song.

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Many have called for upgrades to the song for decades. In preparation for the 150th anniversary of Illinois statehood in 1968, Win Stracke, a folk artist from Chicago, composed two more verses, describing the state’s progress since its founding in 1818.

Around the same time, a fresh marching band arrangement by popular big band leader John Warrington was created.

Some senior Illinoisans recall singing versions of the song in music classes in school in the 1950s and 1960s. In 2018, the Illinois House passed a resolution to promote the playing of “Illinois” at official events, particularly at state universities.

Still, the song is barely recognized by most state residents today. Occasional commentary, including an article in Chicago Magazine in December 2020, calls for the song to be abolished and replaced with something more modern.

Its lyricist, Charles Chamberlin, would disagree, as he carried considerable pride in his work. He didn’t get to enjoy it for long, however, as he died at age 53 on Sept. 16, 1894 – only one year after the World’s Fair that had given rise to the song.

Chamberlin is buried in Forest Park, where his tombstone in Forest Home Cemetery is inscribed with the words to “Illinois.”

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He can be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.