Music and Performing Arts Library

This classic tune was designated the official state song of Illinois in 1925, after the proposal bill was presented to the State Senate by the state's first female senator, Florence Fifer Bohrer. It was originally written in 1893 by Charles H. Chamberlin, a Civil War veteran, and the lyrics were later adapted to Archibald Johnson's "Baby Mine". The song was then introduced at the reunion of the Army of the Potomac in Chicago, where President McKinley called it "a song that will never die." Indeed, one of the song's verses has been immortalized on Chamberlin's tombstone and continues to keep its legacy strong.

There are several different versions of this song available in the Library's collection. The copy found in the Fighting Illini Song Book is in common time and contains two verses, whereas the copies found in Illinois Songs: A Collection of the Songs of the University of Illinois and in the University of Illinois Song Book (1st and 3rd editions) use the same lyrics but present the music in a different key and time signature. The College Songs and Illinois Sing Songs collections only contain the lyrics to this song, but include an extra verse, and there are even more versions to be found in the Music and Performing Arts Library's U.S. Historic Sheet Music Collection.

For more about "Illinois: By Thy Rivers Gently Flowing" including recordings, consult the Resources for Further Research page on the left hand navigation.