The Iowa Corn Song is a 1912 song that was created by the Iowa

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic body, Masonic society. Founded in 1872 in New York City, it is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and has over ...

. The song was first published in 1921 after more additions were made to it. It has been played often since its creation to this day by various groups and ceremonies. It has also been performed with original renditions by musicians and songwriters like

Percy Faith Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian–American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of instrumental ballads and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizin ...

and

The Browns The Browns were an American country and folk music vocal trio best known for their 1959 Grammy-nominated hit, "The Three Bells". The group, composed of Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie, had a close, smooth harmony characteristi ...

History

Iowa Shriners decided to write their own Iowa song, after listening to songs about other states at a Shriner Conclave in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, in 1912. Shriner and Secretary of the

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

Chamber of Commerce George Hamilton began the process by writing words to the chorus of the song "Travelling" by

George Botsford George Botsford (February 24, 1874 – February 1, 1949) was an American composer of ragtime and other forms of music. Early life and education Botsford was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Sioux Falls, Dakota Territory. He grew up mostly ...

. English immigrant John Beeston created the musical score for the Shriner band leading the Iowa Corn Song to be popular at the Georgia Conclave. New lyrics were later added by Ray W. Lockard with a

musical setting A musical setting is a musical composition that is written on the basis of a literary work. The literary work is said to be ''set'', or adapted, ''to music''. Musical settings include choral music and other vocal music. A musical setting is made to ...

that was developed by Edward Riley. The final version was first published in 1921.

Reception and legacy

A tradition is for singers to raise their arms above their head when the words "tall corn" are sung during the chorus's last line. Volume 12 of ''Successful Farming'' in 1922 advertised ordering pieces of music as a

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

gift with the Iowa Corn Song as a choice. The advertisement stated that "it is the famous Corn song, sung by Iowa delegations at all conventions".

performed the song with his orchestra. The song was recorded on an early 20th century

phonograph A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

. Al Grady of the ''

Iowa City Press-Citizen The ''Iowa City Press-Citizen'' is a daily newspaper published in Iowa City, Iowa, United States that serves most of Johnson County and portions of surrounding counties. Its primary competitors are '' The Gazette'' of Cedar Rapids, which has a n ...

'' said in 1964 that people raised in Iowa have "always considered it the Iowa 'Corny' Song, an American Legion promotion which pictures Iowans as country clods from Coonskin Corners." Grady continued by saying that "maybe we are country clods! Maybe there is a Coonskin Corners... Think what you will of tradition, the Iowa Corn Song is a very solid little melody with a lot of kick, easily learned, easily hummed, easily whistled and easily sung".

References

{{reflist

External links

1921 sheet music
1912 songs Songs about Iowa Shriners