GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Of the various official state symbols for Michigan, including the American Robin and the Petoskey stone, one symbol that has remained in obscurity is the state’s official song: “My Michigan” by Giles Kavanagh and H. O’Reilly Clint.
Originally written in 1933 by Kavanagh and Detroit-based Clint, “My Michigan” was declared “an official state song” by Michigan’s Senate in 1937. However, due to a surprise problem, the state was not permitted to play the song in any official capacity.
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“It was registered to (Clint’s) publishing company, which no longer exists,” said Rachel Francisco, senior manager of marketing and institutional engagement at the Detroit Historical Society. “The state did not buy the rights to the song … the state didn’t have the right to perform the song.”
“There are very few copies of (“My Michigan”) around, and we have one in our collection,” Francisco said.
Michigan planned to use “Michigan, My Michigan” as the governor’s entry tune during the inaugural ball of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, but the preceding state alphabetically — Maryland — had an official state song with the same “O Christmas Tree” tune as “Michigan, My Michigan.”
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