Jeff Daniel’s version of Michigan, My Michigan via YouTube, very appropriate for Memorial Day.
A tribute to the Michigan men who fought and died during the American Civil War. In 1862 a young Detroit woman named Winifred Lee Brent composed a song that was to become Michigan’s unofficial state anthem.
Sung to the tune of “O Tannebaum”, it was soon sung by numerous homesick Michigan soldiers. Michigan sent 90,000 soldiers to preserve the republic; 14,000 would never return.
Here are the words:
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.
Their strong arms crumble in the dust,
And their bright swords all have gathered rust;
Their memory is our sacred trust,”
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.