Official Song of the
State of North Dakota

North Dakota Hymn
Written by James W. Foley
Composed by Dr. C. S. Putnam
North Dakota, North Dakota,
With thy prairies wide and free,
All thy sons and daughters love thee,
Fairest state from sea to sea;
North Dakota, North Dakota,
Here we pledge ourselves to thee.

Here thy loyal children singing,
Songs of happiness and praise,
Far and long the echoes ringing,
Through the vastness of thy ways;
North Dakota, North Dakota,
We will serve thee all our days.

Onward, onward, onward going,
Light of courage in thine eyes,
Sweet the winds above thee blowing,
Green thy fields and fair thy skies;
North Dakota, North Dakota,
Brave the soul that in thee lies.

God of freedom, all victorious,
Give us Souls serene and strong,
Strength to make the future glorious,
Keep the echo of our song;
North Dakota, North Dakota,
In our hearts forever long.


In 1926 Minnie J. Nielson, North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction, asked Poet James Foley of Bismarck to write the lyrics for a song about North Dakota. Foley created a poem that could be sung to the tune, The Austrian Hymn. Dr. C. S. Putnam, conductor of the North Dakota Agricultural College Band in Fargo, arranged music for Foley's work. The First public presentation of the North Dakota Hymn was in the Bismarck City Auditorium in 1927.