Michigan’s Beloved Unofficial Anthem Gets a Modern Makeover & Video

The song that many in Michigan (especially in the Upper Peninsula) consider to be the state's unofficial anthem has been remade nearly 50 years later, and now it even has an official music video.

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Michigan's Official State Song

The official state song is one that many have likely never heard. It was written back in 1933 by Giles Kavanaugh and H. Clint O'Reilly. The song, "My Michigan", isn't often used. In fact, few people even know that it's the official state song.

READ MORE: 'Old Whitey' Continues to Haunt Lake Superior Divers 

Strangely, I wasn't able to even track down an official website of any kind with the lyrics to the song. Only this instrumental version.

There are several mentions of the lyrics in other articles online, but all link to now-dead links on the State of Michigan's website. The closest I came to anyone having the lyrics is this random post from a blogspot account called "A to Z the USA".

This is likely because most Michiganders consider a different song - "Michigan, My Michigan" - which was written by Winifred Lee Brent Lyster in 1862 and sounds like it's set to the tune of "Oh, Christmas Tree" - to be the state's official song. It's so widely considered to be the state's song that Jeff Daniels has recorded a version of it.

The Unofficial State Song of Michigan

But there are others, mostly Yoopers, I suppose, who consider a third song to be the song of Michigan. The song was released by Gordon Lightfoot back in 1976. Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" hauntingly tells the tale of the night of November 10, 1975, when the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank during the "gales of November" while crossing Lake Superior. 

Home Free Remakes 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald'

An a cappella group based in Minnesota has remade the Gordon Lightfoot classic and has also released an official music video for their version.

The video shows a reenactment of how the band (and the lyrics of the song) believe things looked aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald that fateful night.

The video was not filmed aboard the actual vessel (for obvious reasons), but it was filmed aboard a ship. In fact, it may have been two. In the credits in the video's description on YouTube, the band thanks "Nathan Fodness aboard the Rendezvous II and the entire team at DECC aboard the William A. Irving". All of the filming was done in Duluth, Minn.

Check out the video:

The chilling song mixed with the visuals definitely gave me goosebumps - what about you?