Oregon, My Oregon
Template:Short description Template:Infobox anthem "Oregon, My Oregon" is the regional anthem of the U.S. state of Oregon. Written for a song contest in 1920, the 16-line, 2-verse song became the state's official state song in 1927.
The lyrics, widely considered to convey racist sentiments, were updated by an act of the Oregon Legislature in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
History
In 1920, the Society of Oregon Composers held a competition to select a state song for Oregon.<ref name=bluebook>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=ohp>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The winning entry, "Oregon, My Oregon," was a collaboration between John Andrew Buchanan, who wrote the lyrics, and Henry Bernard Murtagh, who composed the music.<ref name=ohp/> Buchanan was an amateur lyricist who was an Astoria city judge,<ref name=ohp/> while Murtagh was a professional musician with a Broadway credit,<ref name=ibdb>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but who was best known as a professionally trained theatre organist on the West Coast during the silent movie era.<ref name=ohp/><ref name=pstos1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=pstos2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=cor>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=na>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Following the song's selection, the Society promoted the song by conducting performances at public gathering spaces around the state and at schools and universities (the state Superintendent of Public Instruction had endorsed the song).<ref name=ohp/>
On February 12, 1927, the song was officially adopted as the state song by a joint resolution of the Oregon State Legislature.<ref name=ns>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2009, legislator Gene Whisnant proposed choosing a new official state song.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2017, a bill proposed in the Oregon Legislative Assembly sought to update the song's lyrics, "to reflect cultural, historical, economic and societal evolution" of the state.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Description
Buchanan's lyrics contain two main themes: honoring the early settlers and pioneers of Oregon, and praise for the natural beauty of the state. Murtagh composed the song as a march in F major. Unlike two other similarly named state songs—"Maryland, My Maryland" and "Michigan, My Michigan"—"Oregon, My Oregon" is not set to the tune of "O Tannenbaum."
On June 6, 2021, the Oregon Legislature approved changes to the lyrics of Oregon's state song.<ref name="HCR11">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="oreg-2021jun7">Template:Cite news</ref> Amy Donna Shapiro, an Oregonian, replaced "Land of the Empire Builders, Land of the Golden West; Conquered and held by free men, Fairest and the Best" in the first verse with "Land of Majestic Mountains, Land of the Great Northwest; Forests and rolling rivers, Grandest and the best", and "Blest by the blood of martyrs" in the second verse with "Blessed by the love of freedom".<ref name="HCR11"/>
Lyrics
Sources:<ref name="HCR11"/><ref name="oreg-2021jun7"/>
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