“Iowa, Iowa, That’s Where the Tall Corn Grows”

“Iowa, Iowa, That’s Where the Tall Corn Grows” was used as Henry A. Wallace’s theme song at the 1944 Democratic National Convention. Played repeatedly during a sudden surge of support for Wallace, it helped give the convention’s demonstration a recognizable sound and exposed the distance between the crowd’s enthusiasm and the political maneuvering on the floor.

A Theme Song for Wallace

The tune entered the convention’s account immediately after Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his speech from a railroad car in San Diego. Roosevelt had spoken of winning the war and creating international organizations to prevent another one. No sooner had his speech ended than a demonstration for Wallace broke out across the stadium. The chant “We want Wallace!” filled the hall, and the organist began playing “Iowa, Iowa, That’s Where the Tall Corn Grows” over and over.

The repetition made the song more than incidental accompaniment: it became the musical emblem of a demonstration that was growing in volume and drawing attention to Wallace’s strength among the delegates and spectators. The episode is particularly vivid because the speech itself had come from an unseen speaker; once it ended, the convention’s response took over the soundscape.

Crowd Enthusiasm and Political Maneuvering

The song’s repeated performance coincided with urgent activity among the party leaders. Ed Pauley, furious at the demonstration, threatened to cut the amplifier wires unless the tune was changed. Meanwhile, Bob Hannegan conferred with Mayor Kelly and Chairman Jackson. To Wallace’s floor leaders, the swelling display seemed to offer an opportunity to nominate Wallace immediately.

The moment captures a tension between visible enthusiasm and control of convention procedure. The song and chant came from the crowd’s response; the leaders’ discussions concerned whether and when that energy could be converted into votes. The music did not settle the nomination, but it made the strength of the Wallace demonstration difficult to ignore.

The Song Amid the Balloting

On the second ballot, Wallace led until Ed Flynn transferred 74 New York votes to Harry Truman. Truman then moved ahead, and Alabama’s John Bankhead withdrew and cast 22 votes for Truman, prompting further switches. As the count turned, the galleries continued to roar, “We want Wallace!” The account thus distinguishes the song’s specific role after Roosevelt’s speech from the chant that persisted during the later ballot: both belonged to the convention’s expression of Wallace support, but the reported musical performance belongs to the earlier demonstration.

The episode establishes the tune as a Wallace theme song at this convention, not as a song repeatedly used across the campaign. Its importance lies in the way a familiar musical refrain gave a large, momentary display of political enthusiasm a form the convention could hear even as its floor arithmetic began to favor Truman.