The first lyrics were written in 1918 by Ballard
MacDonald and the music by Robert A. "Bobo" King, who
used the name Mary Earl. The melody is partly based on
"Song of India" by Rimsky-Korsakov and "Beautiful
Dreamer" by Stephen Foster. A bill passed by the Ohio
General Assembly in 1969 made it the state's official
song and in 1989 adopted an amendment to section 5.09
of the Ohio Revised Code which changed the original
words to a new set, written by Wilbert McBride.
SHEET MUSIC