Iowa Stubborn
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"Iowa Stubborn" is a song by
Meredith Willson Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flautist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 1 ...
from his 1957
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
''
The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...
''. It is the first sung number in the show, following the show's unusual spoken opening, "Rock Island". The piece is sung in a
schottische The schottische is a partnered country dance that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian-era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina (Spanish ...
or "soft-shoe" rhythm. In the lyrics, the reserved and stoic citizens of River City,
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
seek to persuade a visitor (who turns out to be the musical's
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
, Professor Harold Hill) to "give Iowa a try." They sing of their "chip-on-the-shoulder attitude we've never been without that we recall. ... And we're so by God stubborn we can stand touchin' noses for a week at a time, and never see eye to eye."


References to Iowa and Iowan characteristics

Wilson lived in Iowa until he was 16 years old, and in his autobiography, he describes the concept of Iowa stubbornness this way: "My brother is a very smart man in the industrial field.  Light
aggregate concrete Construction aggregate, or simply aggregate, is a broad category of coarse- to medium-grained particulate material used in construction. Traditionally, it includes natural materials such as sand, gravel, crushed stone. As with other types of ag ...
.  In fact, he is an expert.  I don't mind telling that to you, but it's the first time I've ever told it to him.  That's what we call Iowa-stubborn." Eight Iowa cities are named near the end of the song, in the following order: #
Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...
#
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 ...
#
Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality *Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta **District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...
#
Marshalltown Marshalltown is a city in Marshall County, Iowa, and is the county seat of the county. With a population of 27,591 at the 2020 census, it is the 16th largest city in the state. Marshalltown is home to the Iowa Veterans Home and Marshalltown C ...
# Mason City (Willson’s birthplace) # Keokuk #
Ames AMES, short Air Ministry Experimental Station, was the name given to the British Air Ministry's radar development team at Bawdsey Manor (afterwards RAF Bawdsey) in the immediate pre-World War II era. The team was forced to move on three occasion ...
# Clear Lake The song has been praised for representing both the service-oriented friendliness and the irrefragable conservativism characteristic of Iowans.


References

Songs from The Music Man 1957 songs Songs about Iowa Songs written by Meredith Willson {{show-tune-stub