"Where the Columbines Grow" is one of the two official state songs of the U.S. state of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. It was written and composed by Dr. Arthur John Fynn in 1911, and was adopted on May 8, 1915. In the early to mid-2000s, there was debate over replacing "Where the Columbines Grow" with John Denver's "

Rocky Mountain High "Rocky Mountain High" is a folk rock song written by John Denver and Mike Taylor and is one of the two official state songs of Colorado. Recorded by Denver in 1972 it is the title track of the 1972 album '' Rocky Mountain High'' and rose to No. ...

" or

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

's rare song "Colorado". In 2007, the Colorado legislature named "Rocky Mountain High" as Colorado's second official state song, paired with "Where the Columbines Grow". In October 1978, Dave Beadles (then music director for 740 KSSS, Colorado Springs) petitioned Governor

Richard Lamm Richard Douglas Lamm (August 3, 1935 – July 29, 2021) was an American politician, writer, and attorney. He served three terms as 38th Governor of Colorado as a Democrat (1975–1987) and ran for the Reform Party's nomination for Preside ...

to temporarily change the state song for Country Music Month to "Colorado", written by Dave Kirby. The petition was successful and Kirby was flown to Colorado for the occasion.

Lyrics

: Verse 1 : Where the snowy peaks gleam in the moonlight, : Above the dark forests of pine, : And the wild foaming waters dash onward, : Toward lands where the tropic stars shine; : Where the scream of the bold mountain eagle, : Responds to the notes of the dove, : Is the purple robed West, the land that is best, : The pioneer land that we love. : Chorus : Tis the land where the columbines grow, : Overlooking the plains far below, : While the cool summer breeze in the evergreen trees, : Softly sings where the columbines grow.'' : Verse 2 : The bison is gone from the upland, : The deer from the canyon has fled, : The home of the wolf is deserted, : The antelope moans for his dead, : The war whoop re-echoes no longer, : The Indian's only a name, : And the nymphs of the grove in their loneliness rove, : But the columbine blooms just the same. : Verse 3 : Let the violet brighten the brookside, : In sunlight of earlier spring, : Let the fair clover bedeck the green meadow, : In days when the orioles sing, : Let the goldenrod herald the autumn, : But, under the midsummer sky, : In its fair Western home, may the columbine bloom, : Till our great mountain rivers run dry. : Verse 4 : From the far eastern prairie and lakeland, : From still farther lands by the sea, : Over perilous paths to our mountains, : Came the pioneers, fearless and free. : They came with the bold resolution : A commonwealth here to create, : And the watchword they bore was the name we adore, : “Colorado,” the columbine state.

Notes

References

{{List of U.S. state songs Music of Colorado

Songs about Colorado

Lyrics

See also

Notes

References