The Minnesota Nordic
We were Nordics a few generations ago
Came to Minnesota a land of lakes, ice, and snow
We were poor and looking for land
Brothers and daughters provided a laboring hand
We built a church that served as our base
A center of help while nurturing our grace
We played our music and danced with great joy
A polka tune often brought a girl to a boy
We worked the land with horses and with steam
Built the railroads in search for a dream
We cleared the land and sold timber to the mills
Plowed the land and pastured the hills
We married our children and buried the old
Organized towns in spite of the cold
We had big families and divided the chores
Built our barns with big wide doors
We learned the trades and took pride in our name
Carpentry and masonry became our father’s fame
We learned to read and speak a new tongue
Traded with Indians and carried a gun
We joined unions and voted the party line
Built the cities from brick and from pine
We endured a depression with the strength of our will
Gathered coal from along the tracks to keep out the chill
We joined the army in two great wars
Buried our dead returned from distant shores
We became scholars and taught in the schools
Raised each generation according to our rules
We’re Americans with immigrant cultural cast
Looking ahead while respecting the past
The Professor
We were Nordics a few generations ago
Came to Minnesota a land of lakes, ice, and snow
We were poor and looking for land
Brothers and daughters provided a laboring hand
We built a church that served as our base
A center of help while nurturing our grace
We played our music and danced with great joy
A polka tune often brought a girl to a boy
We worked the land with horses and with steam
Built the railroads in search for a dream
We cleared the land and sold timber to the mills
Plowed the land and pastured the hills
We married our children and buried the old
Organized towns in spite of the cold
We had big families and divided the chores
Built our barns with big wide doors
We learned the trades and took pride in our name
Carpentry and masonry became our father’s fame
We learned to read and speak a new tongue
Traded with Indians and carried a gun
We joined unions and voted the party line
Built the cities from brick and from pine
We endured a depression with the strength of our will
Gathered coal from along the tracks to keep out the chill
We joined the army in two great wars
Buried our dead returned from distant shores
We became scholars and taught in the schools
Raised each generation according to our rules
We’re Americans with immigrant cultural cast
Looking ahead while respecting the past
The Professor