- Source: Iowa Stubborn
"Iowa Stubborn" is a song by Meredith Willson from his 1957 musical The Music Man. It is the first sung number in the show, following the show's unusual spoken opening, "Rock Island". The piece is sung in a schottische or "soft-shoe" rhythm. In the lyrics, the reserved and stoic citizens of River City, Iowa seek to persuade a visitor (who turns out to be the musical's protagonist, Professor Harold Hill) to "give Iowa a try." They sing of their "chip-on-the-shoulder attitude we've never been without that we recall. ... And we're so by God stubborn we can stand touchin' noses for a week at a time, and never see eye to eye."
References to Iowa and Iowan characteristics
Wilson lived in Iowa until he was 16 years old, and in his autobiography, he describes the concept of Iowa stubbornness this way: "My brother is a very smart man in the industrial field. Light aggregate concrete. In fact, he is an expert. I don't mind telling that to you, but it's the first time I've ever told it to him. That's what we call Iowa-stubborn."
Eight Iowa cities are named near the end of the song, in the following order:
Dubuque
Des Moines
Davenport
Marshalltown
Mason City (Willson’s birthplace)
Keokuk
Ames
Clear Lake
The song has been praised for representing both the service-oriented friendliness and the irrefragable conservativism characteristic of Iowans.
References
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Iowa Stubborn
- The Music Man
- Davenport, Iowa
- The Music Man (1962 film)
- The Music Man (2003 film)
- The Music Man (album)
- 1964 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
- Milton Parsons
- 1990 Northern Iowa Panthers football team
- 1979 Iowa State Cyclones football team
