On the Banks
of the Wabash, Far Away
Written by Paul
Dresser
Composed by Paul Dresser
'Round my Indiana homesteads
wave the cornfields,
In the distance loom the
woodlands clear and cool.
Oftentimes my thoughts revert to
scenes of childhood,
Where I first received my
lessons, nature's school.
But one thing there is missing
in the picture,
Without her face it seems so
incomplete.
I long to see my mother in the
doorway,
As she stood there years ago,
her boy to greet.
[CHORUS]
Oh,
the moonlight's fair tonight
along the Wabash,
From the fields there comes the
breath of newmown hay.
Through the sycamores the candle
lights are gleaming,
On the banks of the Wabash, far
away.
Many
years have passed since I
strolled by the river,
Arm in arm, with sweetheart Mary
by my side,
It was there I tried to tell her
that I loved her,
It was there I begged of her to
be my bride.
Long years have passed since I
strolled thro' there churchyard.
She's sleeping there, my angel,
Mary dear,
I loved her, but she thought I
didn't mean it,
Still I'd give my future were
she only here.
Source: http://www.ai.org/sic/emblems/state_song.html
Adopted by the 1913 General Assembly