''Alaska's Flag'', officially known as ''Beyond Your Dreams Within Your Reach'', is the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...
of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
.
Lyrics
Unique among
state songs, its
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
explain the
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
ism of the
Alaskan flag. The lyrics are:
Eight stars of gold on a field of blue
Alaska's flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby;
The gold of the early sourdough's dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear," the "Dipper," and, shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
O'er land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska's flag to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier.
The connection between the song and the flag happened both by design and circumstance. It was the result of the linkage among three individuals:
Benny Benson,
Marie Drake
Claudia Marie Drake (née Slater; February 11, 1888 – March 5, 1963) was an American social worker and educational administrator. She is known for writing the lyrics to " Alaska's Flag", the official state song of Alaska.
Biography
Drake spen ...
, and Elinor Dusenbury. They did not directly collaborate, but instead, Marie Drake built on the work of Benny Benson, and Elinor Dusenbury built on the work of the other two.
Benny Benson inspired the effort, Marie Drake wrote the lyrics, and Elinor Dusenbury composed the song.
[
]
History
Alaska's official flag is based on Benny Benson's design, which was submitted in a Territory-wide contest for schoolchildren sponsored by the American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...
in 1926. At that time Benny was a thirteen-year-old seventh-grader of Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n-Aleut
The Aleuts ( ; russian: Алеуты, Aleuty) are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleut people and the islands are politically divided between the U ...
and Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
descent, studying at the Territorial School at Seward and a resident of the Jesse Lee Mission Home. The Alaska Territorial Legislature officially adopted his design on May 2, 1927. The proclamation praised his winning entry for, "its simplicity, its originality and its symbolism." On the design submission, Benny had written the following words of explanation: “The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not
''Myosotis'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. The name comes from the Ancient Greek "mouse's ear", which the foliage is thought to resemble. In the northern hemisphere they are colloquially known as forget-me-no ...
, an Alaska flower. The North Star
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
is for the future of the state of Alaska, the most northerly in the Union. The dipper is for the Great Bear — symbolizing strength.”
Alaska Department of Education
The Alaska Department of Education & Early Development (EED) is the state agency controlling primary and secondary education in Alaska. It is headquartered in Juneau. employee Marie Drake echoed Benny Benson's explanation of his design in a poem she wrote in 1935. Marie Drake had become the Territorial Assistant Commissioner of Education in 1934.
She edited and wrote most of the material for the School Bulletin, which was circulated throughout the Territorial school system. The poem first appeared on the cover of the October 1935 School Bulletin.[
Elinor Dusenbury soon composed a song around the poem and the flag. The wife of the Commanding Officer of the Chilkoot Barracks at Haines from 1933 to 1936, she had fallen deeply in love with Alaska, but she left when her husband was transferred. She said, "I wrote the music for Marie's beautiful poetry from pure unadulterated homesickness for Alaska! I shed more tears on the boat going out than I ever have before or since. I had a book on Alaska with the picture the flag and Marie's poem." In the summer of 1938, Dusenbury visited ]Juneau
The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the s ...
and played her setting of the poem for Marie on the piano at the Baranof Hotel. Happiness came to the poet's eyes.[
The song began gradually to be played unofficially, and steadily grew in popularity over the next two decades.]
To the surprise and delight of both women, the Territorial Legislature adopted ''Alaska's Flag'' in 1955.[ It became the official State song when the Territory of Alaska entered the union as the 49th state in 1959.][
]
Historical notes
Benny Benson chose the background color of the flag to represent both the blue sky and the forget-me-not.[ The Legislature later named the forget-me-not as the official State flower. This provides another symbolic link, one between the official State flag, the official song and the official flower.][
The late Carol Beery Davis, a Juneau resident, and musician wrote a second verse to the Alaska Flag song and gifted the words (protected by copyright) to the University of Alaska Foundation in 1987. It has been unsuccessfully proposed as an addition to the official lyrics several times.][ The last time was during the legislative session of 2011, but the time limit in the Senate expired before the bill could come up for a vote.]
References
External links
Alaska's Flag
lyrics, via Alaska State Library
musical score and lyrics (first verse only), via Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development
The never-adopted second verse
{{authority control
Music of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
Symbols of Alaska
1935 songs
National anthem compositions in F major
Songs about Alaska