On, Wisconsin! - Wikipedia

"On, Wisconsin!" is the fight song of the Wisconsin Badgers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. With modified lyrics, it is the official state song of Wisconsin.

"On, Wisconsin!" was also the cry that Arthur MacArthur, Jr. used in the Battle of Chattanooga at Missionary Ridge, in the Civil War.

History

The tune was composed in 1909 by William T. Purdy as "Minnesota, Minnesota," with the intention of entering it into a competition for a new fight song at the University of Minnesota.

Carl Beck, a former Wisconsin student, convinced him to withdraw it from the contest at the last minute and allow his alma mater to use it instead. Beck then wrote the original, football-oriented lyrics, changing the words "Minnesota, Minnesota" to "On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin!"^[1] (The eventual winner of the competition became known as the Minnesota Rouser.)

The lyrics were rewritten for the state song in 1913 by Judge Charles D. Rosa and J. S. Hubbard. The song was widely recognized as the state song at that time but was never officially designated. Finally in 1959, "On, Wisconsin!" was codified in Chapter 170, Laws of 1959, and is incorporated in Section 1.10 of the statutes.

"On, Wisconsin!" was regarded by John Philip Sousa as "the finest of college marching songs".^[2]^[3] It has become one of the most popular fight songs in the country, with some 2,500 schools using some variation of it as their school song.^[4] There have been persistent rumors that the rights to the song are owned by Paul McCartney or Michael Jackson.^[5] The song is actually in the public domain in the United States.^[6] The international rights are unclear.^[6]

Lyrics

On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin! Plunge right through that line!

Run the ball right down the field, a touchdown sure this time.

On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin! Fight on for her fame,

Fight! Fellows! Fight! Fight, fight, we'll win this game.

On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin! Stand up, Badgers sing!

'Forward' is our driving spirit loyal voices ring.

On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin! Raise her glowing flame!

Stand, fellows, let us now salute her name!^[7]

Battle cry

"On, Wisconsin!" was the cry that Arthur MacArthur, Jr. used in the Battle of Chattanooga at Missionary Ridge during the American Civil War. He seized the regimental colors, and rallied his regiment with "On, Wisconsin!", for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.^[8]

References

^ The Minnesota Rouser : Minnesota Marching Band : U of M
^ McGrath, Hazel (March 1948). "Songs to Thee, Wisconsin!". Wisconsin Alumnus. 49 (6): 16–17. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
^ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1999). "Wisconsin State Symbols". State of Wisconsin Blue Book (1999-2000). Joint Committee on Legislative Organization. p. 935. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
^ "School Songs". Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
^ When Is Art Free? | csmonitor.com
^ ^a ^b Jenny Price. "Fight on for Her Fame". On Wisconsin, Winter 2009.
^ "On, Wisconsin". kb.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
^ Douglas MacArthur. "Martial Roots of a Warrior's Glory". Life Magazine, January 10, 1964, p. 50.

External links

MP3 file of "On, Wisconsin!" played by the University of Wisconsin Marching Band
"On Wisconsin!" - original sheet music at UW Mills Music Library's Wisconsin Sheet Music Database
One Hundred Years of "On, Wisconsin!"

v t e University of Wisconsin–Madison
Located in: Madison, Wisconsin
Colleges and schools	Agricultural and Life Sciences Business Education Engineering Human Ecology International Studies Journalism and Mass Communication Law Letters and Science Library and Information Studies Medicine and Public Health Music Nursing Pharmacy Public Affairs Social Work Veterinary Medicine
Campus	Abraham's Woods Agriculture Hall Allen Centennial Gardens Arboretum Bascom Hill Chamberlin Hall Chazen Museum of Art Dairy Barn DeLuca Biochemistry Building Geology Museum Heating Station Lake Mendota Lakeshore Nature Preserve Lathrop Hall Law Building Memorial Union North Hall Pine Bluff Observatory Space Science and Engineering Center Red Gym Science Hall State Street Stock Pavilion Synchrotron Radiation Center Union South Washburn Observatory Weinert Center Wisconsin Union Theater
Athletics	Baseball Basketball (M W) Crew Football Ice hockey (Men Women) Men's soccer Softball Volleyball Camp Randall Field House Kohl Center LaBahn Arena University Ridge Golf Course Bucky Badger Grateful Red Paul Bunyan's Axe Heartland Trophy
History	Camp Randall Experimental College Past Chancellors Sifting and winnowing Single-grain experiment Slab of Bacon Sterling Hall bombing Teaching Assistants Association WHA Wisconsin Idea Wisconsin Idea Theatre Wisconsin school Wisconsin School (diplomatic history)
Media and publications	The Badger Herald The Daily Cardinal Scandinavian Studies Tandem Press UW Press The Wisconsin Engineer Wisconsin Law Review WSUM
People	Alumni, faculty and staff Academics Athletics
Research	Biotron Carbone Cancer Center Center for Limnology Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center Helically Symmetric Experiment History of Cartography Project IceCube Neutrino Observatory Law in Action Madison Symmetric Torus McArdle Laboratory Morgridge Institute for Research Pegasus Toroidal Experiment UW Hospital & Clinics University Research Park Viaspan WIYN Consortium WiCell Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation WISCAPE Wisconsin Energy Institute Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
Student life	Forensics Fundamentally Sound Grateful Red Hoofers Humorology Iron Shield Society Jump Around MadHatters Marching Band On, Wisconsin! Undergraduate Projects Lab Varsity Wisconsin Film Festival Wisconsin Union
Related	University of Wisconsin System The War at Home (1979 documentary)
Founded: 1848

v t e Wisconsin Badgers football
Venues	Randall Field (1895–1916) Camp Randall Stadium (1917–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Iowa Minnesota Nebraska
Culture & lore	Bucky Badger "On, Wisconsin!" Marching band "Jump Around" Tall Grass Game Crazylegs
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders Retired numbers
Seasons	1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball
Venues	Red Gym (1904–1930) Wisconsin Field House (1930–1998) Kohl Center (1998–present)
Rivalries	Marquette
Culture & lore	Bucky Badger "On, Wisconsin!" Grateful Red
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics

Official fight songs of the Big Ten Conference

Illinois Loyalty and Oskee Wow-Wow (Illinois)
Indiana, Our Indiana (Indiana)
Iowa Fight Song (Iowa)
Maryland Fight Song and Maryland Victory (Maryland)
The Victors (Michigan)
Victory for MSU (Michigan State)
Minnesota Rouser (Minnesota)
Hail Varsity and Dear Old Nebraska U (There Is No Place Like Nebraska) (Nebraska)
Go U Northwestern (Northwestern)
Across the Field and Buckeye Battle Cry (Ohio State)
Mighty Oregon (Oregon)
Fight On, State (Penn State)
Hail Purdue! (Purdue)
The Bells Must Ring (Rutgers)
Sons of Westwood (UCLA)
Fight On (USC)
Bow Down to Washington (Washington)
On, Wisconsin! (Wisconsin)

History

Lyrics

Battle cry

See also

References

External links