Musician Marc C. Miller had long thought Portland needed a song – a la “New York, New York,” “Chicago is My Kind of Town,” or “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” – but he couldn’t come up with a focus until he saw Portland’s new statue (at the time) – Portlandia.
“I felt like writing about Portland through Portlandia’s eyes” (The Oregonian, 14-February-1987).
Old town, downtown, fountains and lights,
The Willamette reflecting our city at night
From bridges, nightspots in neighborhoods, too.
Together, we grow in love and respect for you.Hours, days, weeks at a time,
Holiday weekends, time to unwind.
From winter’s reign through summer’s fall,
The lady of seasons belongs to us all.Portlandia
Gazing upon the busy streets,
Reflecting the mountain’s history
Through her eyes,
She fills me with pride.
After a little lobbying and luck he got Mayor Bud Clark and the other members of the City Council to listen, and on May 3, 1989, with the adoption of resolution 34547, the song “Portlandia” was established as the official Portland City Song.
Does anyone know where I might be able to hear the song? Or even some sheet music??
thanks.
@ian – here ya go! This links to the sheet music for Portlandia, and it auto-downloads:
https://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/Record/2842314/File/Document
I was a part of Mrs. Denny’s third/fourth grade class at Chapman elementary school, and Mrs. Carver’s music class, when we petitioned the city to make Portlandia our city song. It was Mrs. Denny and her classes of 88/89 that made this our city song. We got to meet Bud Clark and the city commissioner at the time, Earl Blumenhauer. We sang the song at city hall, and watched Bud Clark sign the song into the city’s law. We recorded the song in an actual recording studio as well, and I still have the tape of the original recording. We sang Portlandia in Pioneer Square for the grand opening of Pioneer Place Mall in 1989. It was a lucky time to be a kid in Mrs. Denny’s/Mrs. Carver’s classes.