Here We Have Idaho

Here We Have Idaho

Regional anthem of Idaho
LyricsMcKinley Helm
Albert J. Tompkins
MusicSallie Hume Douglas, 1915
Adopted1931 (1931)

"Here We Have Idaho" is the official state song of Idaho.[1] The music was originally composed by Sallie Hume-Douglas for a song titled "Garden of Paradise,"[2] which Hume-Douglas copyrighted in 1915.[3] In 1917, two students at the University of Idaho used the music for their entry in a campus song contest.[2] McKinley Helm wrote a verse for the song, and Alice Bessee adapted the "Garden of Paradise" music to fit. Under the title "Our Idaho," the song won the contest that year and eventually became the university's alma mater.[4] The university later learned that Hume-Douglas had copyrighted the music, and obtained permission from her to continue using it for "Our Idaho."[2]

In the meantime, Albert J. Tompkins, Director of Music in the Boise Public Schools, had written two additional verses for the song. These were combined with Helm's verse (used as a chorus) to form "Here We Have Idaho," which the Idaho Legislature designated[5] as the Idaho state song in 1931.[6]

  1. ^ Idaho Blue Book. State of Idaho. 2004.
  2. ^ a b c "Garden of Paradise".
  3. ^ Randy Stapilus (19 October 2010). It Happened in Idaho: Remarkable Events That Shaped History. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 113–. ISBN 978-0-7627-6704-5.
  4. ^ "Idaho Profile" (PDF). Sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  5. ^ Rebecca Stefoff (2008). Idaho. Marshall Cavendish. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-7614-3003-2.
  6. ^ The Bulletin. Missouri Historical Society. 1962.

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