I consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to classic and traditional song lyrics, but I realized today that I had no clue what the real words to this inauguration classic are. When I hear the tune, the first thing that pops into my head is the line from My Fellow Americans: “Hail to the Chief, he’s the Chief and he needs hailing!”. As I’m fairly certain these lines, however dignified, are not actually the words to the official Presidential Anthem, I decided to do some investigating.

The lyrics have undergone some transformation over the years, but the music is still the same tune by James Sanderson from his musical adaptation of Sir Walter Scott’s The Lady of the Lake.

Anyways, a little Google-fu and here are the modern (Albert Gamse) lyrics to the song:

“Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation,
Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all,
Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation
In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.
Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander,
This you will do, that’s our strong, firm belief.
Hail to the one we selected as commander,
Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief!”