The tune was composed in 1909 by William T. Purdy as "Minnesota, Minnesota," with the intention of entering it into a competition for a new fight song at the
University of Minnesota. Carl Beck, a former Wisconsin student, convinced him to withdraw it from the contest at the last minute and allow his alma mater to use it instead. Beck then wrote the original, football-oriented lyrics, changing the words "Minnesota, Minnesota" to "On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin!" (The eventual winner of the competition became known as the
Minnesota Rouser.) The
lyrics were rewritten for the state song in 1913 by Judge
Charles D. Rosa and J. S. Hubbard. The song was widely recognized as the
state song at that time but was never officially designated. Finally, in 1959, "On, Wisconsin!" was codified in Chapter 170, Laws of 1959, and is incorporated in Section 1.10 of the
statutes. "On, Wisconsin!" was regarded by
John Philip Sousa as "the finest of college marching songs". It has become one of the most popular fight songs in the country, with some 2,500 schools using some variation of it as their school song. There have been persistent rumors that the rights to the song are owned by
Paul McCartney or
Michael Jackson. The song is actually in the
public domain in the United States. The international rights are unclear. ==Lyrics==