Serenade of the Sunflowers by Harry Edward Mills

We are the original settlers,
And this is our commonwealth
We ever shall claim
Both the name
And the fame
Which the squatter has taken by stealth.

We came with the elk and the cactus
Not yet was the Indian here
And still we remain
Though the grain
Of the plain
Has banished the bison and deer.

We never would yield to invasion,
Though enemies thickened around.
When corn, wheat and rye
Raised their high
Battle cry
We laughed at their blusterous sound.

We cheered when the plowman attacked us:
His furrows we hailed with delight.
Wherever he trod
Every rod
Of his sod
We seized as a prize of the fight.

The Sun is our gallant defender;
We thrive in his furious glow
Then withers the maize
In the blaze
Of his rays,
But we only flourish and grow.

They wanted a title for Kansas,
A title resplendent and great
A name
That should shame
Every claim
To her fame
So they called her the Sunflower State.