"I Love You, California" is the

state song A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

and

regional anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short s ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

, originally published in 1913. It was adopted in 1951 and reconfirmed in 1987 as the official state song. The lyrics were written by Francis Beatty Silverwood (1863–1924), a

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, ...

clothier, and the words were subsequently put to music by Abraham Franklin Frankenstein (1873–1934), then conductor of the Orpheum Theatre Orchestra, with an inaugural performance by

Mary Garden Mary Garden (20 February 1874 – 3 January 1967) was a Scottish-American operatic lyric soprano, then mezzo-soprano, with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century. She spent the latter part of her chil ...

. Frankenstein was a cousin of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

's'' long-time music and art critic Alfred V. Frankenstein. The song was published by Hatch & Loveland, Music Printers, Los Angeles, California, and copyrighted by F.B. Silverwood in 1913. It was the official song of expositions held in San Francisco and San Diego in 1915.

History

Premiere

Later in 1913, the song was introduced by opera star

, associated with the Chicago Grand Opera at that time. "Mary Garden stopped Grand Opera to make this California song famous," read the notices virtually ensuring the popularity and success of the new song. The renowned soprano wrote on stationery from the

Hotel Alexandria The Hotel Alexandria is a historic building constructed as a luxury hotel at the beginning of the 20th century in what was then the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its elegant design and the fact that its public rooms sat disused for dec ...

in Los Angeles:

Played aboard the SS ''Ancon''

"I Love You, California" was played aboard the steamship ''Ancon'', which on August 14, 1914, became the first merchant ship to pass through the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

State legislative designation

In 1951, the State Legislature passed a resolution designating it as California's state song. California Government Code section 421.7 states, "I Love You, California", a song published in 1913 with lyrics by F.B. Silverwood and music by A.F. Frankenstein, is an official state song." In 1987, "I Love You, California" became the official state song by law.

Commercial use

In late 2012,

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...

began running a TV advertisement in California, with "I Love You, California" as the soundtrack and visuals showing the Californian state flower, Californian flag, and other Californian icons. The song also serves as the theme music for the state’s public television human interest series “California’s Golden Parks”, presented by

Huell Howser Huell Burnley Howser (October 18, 1945 – January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing ''California's Gold'' and his human interest sh ...

In popular culture

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

of the song is heard when the player builds the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

in '' Civilization VI: Gathering Storm'', accompanied by the first four lines of

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

's poem ''A Bridal Song''. The song is also the official anthem of the New California Republic in the ''

Fallout Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the ...

'' universe.

Lyrics

Other non-official state songs

During the years following, several attempts were made to make other songs the official state song. In 1921, Lynden Ellsworth Behymer (1862–1947),

impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

, and Bessie Bartlett Frankel (Mrs. Cecil Frankel) (1884–1959), donated a sum of money to the California Federation of Music Clubs to hold a contest for lyrics to a state song "of real value." The judges were Benjamin Franklin Field (1868–1960), chairman of the federation and chairman of the committee of judges, Grace Atherton Dennen (1874–1927), editor and publisher of ''The Lyric West'', and Blanche Robinson (Mrs. Martin Hennion Robinson) (''née'' Williams; 1883–1969), composer. The original deadline, October 1, 1921, was extended to December 31, 1921 and the prize money was increased to $100.''Offering Prize for State Song'',

Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Oakland, California, and a predecessor of the '' East Bay Times''. It was published by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' ...

, Sect B, p. 5, December 11, 1921 The judges selected Mary Lennox of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

on January 17, 1922, as the winner was "California, Sweet Homeland of Mine":

References

External links

1913 Victor Records recording
by Elsie Baker
Sheet music
{{authority control California, I Love You Songs about California Music of California 1913 songs Symbols of California