Lyr Req: Western Wisconsin

Subject: Western Wisconsin
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 02 Dec 99 - 12:27 AM

In 1970 I heard a song on the radio called, I believe, "Western Wisconsin". I must have heard it often, because I can remember 95% of the words, and the tune. What I don't remember is who wrote it, who sang it, and anything else about it. The chorus goes, "Every summer in Western Wisconsin, a thousand miles from the sea." Any help?

Aloha,
Mark Cohen

Subject: RE: Western Wisconsin
From: Midchuck
Date: 02 Dec 99 - 08:35 AM

I have a cassette with this song on it. It's entitled just "Rosebud," which is evidently both the name of the group and of the album. I don't have the cassette cover, so that's all I know. I think that the group consisted of one of the better-known female folksingers of the sixties boom, with a couple of dudes added for backup. Judy Henske comes to mind, but I have no idea if that's right.

The cassette is like 30 years old. I don't know if the tape would break right away if I tried to play it or what.

I think I did buy it originally because I liked that same song, which is why I remembered I had it.

Subject: RE: Western Wisconsin
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 21 Jan 00 - 02:14 AM

Thanks, Midchuck. The name Rosebud does sound familiar. Anybody else know about the song or the group?

Subject: RE: Western Wisconsin
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 25 Sep 02 - 05:06 AM

Refresh...2 1/2 years later. Any more info on this song?

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Western Wisconsin
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 25 Sep 02 - 05:10 AM

Hmmm...guess I didn't know about Google searches back then! Western Wisconsin by Judy Henske and Jerry Yester. Midchuck was right!

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: Lyr Add: WESTERN WISCONSIN (J Henske/J Yester)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Sep 02 - 01:21 PM

Ya, OK already, and the lyrics, somebody?
Oh, ya, just follow da link, already.
-Joe Offer, from southeastern Wisconsin, a long ways away-

---

WESTERN WISCONSIN
(Judy Henske / Jerry Yester)

It wasn't so long ago, under the willow trees,
My cousin Nancy and me,
We took off our shoes and we waded the Chippewa,
There where the water goes running down to Red Wing,
A rusty old rowboat, our kingdom of kingdoms.

Every August we went to the fairgrounds,
My cousin Nancy and me.
We were strapped on the ponies that walked in a circle
And she fell in love with a carnival cowboy
Who lifted her up on the raggedy pony.

Every summer in western Wisconsin,
A thousand miles from the sea.
Every summer in western Wisconsin,
A thousand miles from the sea.

Now we are living where there are no sidewalks,
My wife, my baby and me,
And every Sunday we go to the ocean,
And sit in the sunshine with beautiful strangers,
And oh, how my heart is achin' for Nancy.

1971 "Rosebud"

Subject: RE: Lyr req: Western Wisconsin
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 26 Sep 02 - 03:57 AM

If I trust my memory (not always a wise move these days), I think that the fourth line was "Down where the water goes running into Redwing", the first line of the second verse was "And every August we'd go to the fairgrounds", and "carnival-cowboy" was actually "tall rugged cowboy". But I could be wrong...I often am! And I'm not sure about "We were strapped on the ponies that walked in a circle" -- that's the one line I can't remember at all. And "Chippawah" is spelled "Chippewa", unless it's different in Wisconsin. OK, so much for quibbling. I'm glad I finally found the words, and would love to know more about the song. I do remember that it was sung by a man, who I guess was not Judy Henske.

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Lyr req: Western Wisconsin
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 26 Sep 02 - 08:01 AM

Never heard the song, but I know the area. Redwing is in Minnesota and is a great, historic town. It's on the banks of the Mississippi. Chippewa Falls is in Wisconsin. From what I remember, there used to be a Chippewa indian reservation somewhere up in that area. My wife and I drove through there last year and I asked about the reservation and everyone's eyes just glazed over. I'm sure there are indians up there to this day, but the young bucks are probably all listening to Eminem.

:-)

Jerry

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Western Wisconsin
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 29 Sep 02 - 08:18 PM

That would be the Chippewa River, which gets its start by flowing out of Lake Chippewa up in Sawyer County, right next to the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, which belongs to the Chippewa tribe, also known as the Ojibwe or Anishinabe. My favorite Wisconsin radio station comes from there: WOJB. (See an article here.) If their programming is any indication, Indians are NOT listening to Eminem.

My wife's family owns a cabin in Burnett County. We spend weekends there whenever we can through the summer. Saturday nights, I like to listen to "Honky Tonk" between 7:30 and midnight. That show consists of mostly OLD country music: Patsy Cline, Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb, etc. (But last night I heard a John Prine/Iris Dement duet that I want to hear again.)

Nowadays, if you want to find a reservation, just follow the billboards to the nearest casino. All the casinos in Minnesota and Wisconsin are Indian-owned.

On major holidays (Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day) there is nearly always a pow-wow going on somewhere in the area. I've attended a few, and I have always found Native Americans very hospitable to visitors.

Getting back to the song and the river...

The "fairgrounds" probably refers to a county fair, and county fairs usually take place in county seats. Looking at a map, I see the Chippewa River flows through 3 county seats: Chippewa Falls, in Chippewa County; Eau Claire, in Eau Claire County; and Durand, in Pepin County. Then it flows into the Mississippi River, near the town of Pepin, Wisconsin. Red Wing, Minnesota, however, is about 20 miles upstream along the Mississippi from the mouth of the Chippewa. So connecting the Chippewa River with Red Wing, Minnesota is kind of a stretch. But the song is about childhood memories, so I suppose it's forgivable if those memories are kind of geographically vague.

Chippewa Falls is about 100 miles from the Lac Courte Oreilles reservation, so that's probably why you got a blank stare, Jerry. Is that where you asked?

If you had asked in Red Wing, they should have been able to direct you to Treasure Island Resort & Casino, which belongs to the Prairie Island Dakota (Sioux) Reservation.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Western Wisconsin
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 29 Sep 02 - 09:06 PM

Thanks, Jim: Are there any reservations that aren't casinos, anymore? I mean, I don't expect to see indians living in long houses anymore, but it seems like reservations are mostly, if not all casinos. My wife and I were in D.C. a couple of weeks ago where I did a house concert for FSGW, and the Smithsonian was holding their first Pow Wow on the mall... great to see.

I spent a summer in the Arctic and had a chance to see some real live escimos. Not exactly Nanook of the North.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Western Wisconsin
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 30 Sep 02 - 02:08 AM

Thanks, Jim, that's the kind of information that makes the 'Cat so much fun. I suppose it would make geographical sense if the line were: Down where the water came running down from Redwing... -- which, for all I know, it may well have been.

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Western Wisconsin
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 30 Sep 02 - 05:05 PM

Well, casinos are usually built on major highways, and you often have to get a little ways off the main highways to see where people actually live. I've driven through reservations in Minnesota, South Dakota, and Colorado, and what I saw was depressing--the same signs of rural poverty you might see anywhere. But that was years ago, before the casinos. I don't know if things are getting better everywhere, but I know that in some places, they are getting a LOT better due to the casinos. The most profitable ones are those located near big cities, like the Mystic Lake Casino & Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota, not far from the Twin Cities, which may be the biggest in the US. There are new housing developments going up near there, which I think are part of the reservation, and quite nice houses, too.

Still, it's hard to see anything you'd recognize as traditional Indian culture, unless you attend a powwow.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Western Wisconsin
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Feb 08 - 12:44 AM

I just heard a sound sample of Judy Henske singing WESTERN WISCONSIN on her album "She Sang California" at Amazon.com, and the line definitely is:

"There where the water comes running down from Red Wing"

--so the song is geographically accurate after all.