Letters: Two More Classic Wisconsin Songs

In the Fall 2009 On Wisconsin, you have Stephen Thompson pick the songs that sayUW-Madison [“When You Say Wisconsin in Song”], but I was a little shocked by some of the [omissions]. Bill O’Brien’s “Cool at the Union” is a bit obscure, perhaps, for somebody of Thompson’s youth, but nevertheless is the classic song about UW-Madison. More surprising was the lack of mention of the Cork ’n Bottle String Band’s “Lake Mendota High” (a parody of John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High”). The group has performed countless times right on the shores of the lake, giving both the band and the song a permanent place in UW-Madison music history.

Tim Ringwood ’87

Denver, Colorado

Published in the Winter 2009 issue