Celebrating songs of Leelanau: Ingemar Johansson’s Pearl of America

From staff reports

Our story series celebrating songs inspired by Leelanau County and the Sleeping Bear Dunes continues with Pearl of America, written by Ingemar Johansson of the band Song of the Lakes.

For many, the song Pearl of America encapsulates the serene beauty and profound connection to northern Michigan’s stunning landscape. But for its creator, Johansson, the journey to this musical ode was a personal odyssey that began across the Atlantic.

After exploring life as a 32-old man, Johansson landed in northern Michigan to start a family on the shores of Lake Michigan. One of the first places his wife Lisa took him to was Platte Bay of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It was love at first sight. This pristine beauty, so different from his European roots, would soon become the muse for a song that resonated deeply with many.

He had grown up in Sweden and spent several years in Göteborg on the west coast of the country, literally on the opposite side of the Atlantic. In pursuit of a different life, he had the opportunity to cross the ocean. He met the love of his life, Lisa, who eventually brought him to Benzie County where she had, as so many other current residents of the area, spent childhood summers with her family.

His discovery of the beautiful shoreline of Lake Michigan through the eyes of an open-minded adventurer was overwhelming.

“I was taken aback by the clear sweet waters, the dune landscape, the fine sandy beach, the eagles, the loons, the clear skies where blue meets the blue on the horizon, and the amazing solitude one can find in these parts,” says Johansson. “The song was planted in my head.”

He had been writing songs for a few years, but it was the raw authenticity and storytelling of American roots music, particularly after watching the iconic film The Last Waltz with The Band, that truly sealed his fate. He knew he had to go where this profound music was made, where stories were sung from the heartland.

Taking in the amazing sights at the Sleeping Bear Dunes, he pictured this place as a unique pearl in this Midwestern landscape. The sheer majesty of it sparked an immediate recognition: this place, this feeling, was the Pearl of America. The title was born even before the song’s melody or lyrics took shape. The song became a staple for Song of the Lakes, the band Johansson formed in the early 1980s with Mike Sullivan, Rick Jones, and Lisa. It appeared as if the song resonated with people living here and visiting from all corners of the world.

“The song captures the wonder and deep connection with the sweetwater seas of Lake Michigan,” says Sullivan, his fellow musician and bandmate. “At a festival, a tired young mother with a newborn, walked by the stage. Struggling with a backpack and stroller, she suddenly stopped as the opening melody of the song played. She began to gently sway with the music and entered a blissful state of awe.”

Sullivan continues, “I have seen this reaction many times over the years. Audiences are often transfixed by the song’s magical qualities. It triggers a fundamental appreciation for the natural beauty that surrounds us. One fan expressed that whenever he hears Pearl of America it takes him back to summertime in northern Michigan. Perfectly crafted in image and melody, the chordal structure replicates the soothing rhythm of waves lapping onto the Lake Michigan beach. People have suggested the song deserves to be the Michigan State Song. It exemplifies the power of music in the hearts and minds of the listener.”

The song became the title cut of their band’s first recording and has been a staple at most of their performances since, notably at the Sleeping Bear Dune climb with the Traverse City Symphony and, years later, with the Benzie Symphony.

“Pearl of America is a beautiful poem to our home, Michigan, and it tells us how vital our state is to the ecosystem of the nation,” says Tom Riccobono, Benzie Symphony Conductor. “It shows us that familiar emotion when you return back home. It was a distinct honor to perform the orchestral version of the song with the Benzie Symphony and Song of the Lakes. It was most definitely the highlight of that season.”

Here are the lyrics for the song:

“Lake Michigan beautiful Pearl of America thank you for finding me a home

I’ve been gone for so long, been sailing the seas thru many a land I have roamed

Your whispering breeze with your sweet summer seas guided me through all the rains

They led me through gales with your winds in my sails to the place where I wish to remain

Lake Michigan glorious pearl of America thank you for leading me your way

Thanks for blue waters for your sons and your daughters thanks for the sails in the bay

I arrived with the eagle, fearless and proud soaring high in the sky

She would nest many moons amidst Sleeping Bear Dunes I will stay and away she will fly

I found me a home in the land of the sand

By the edge of your foam so gentle and grand I think

I will stay where it’s safe and it’s warm

And I won’t sail away, until the very last storm”

Click here for a link to the CD version of the song.

Here’s the link to the version with the Benzie Symphony.

Song of the Lakes perform every Wednesday during July and August at the Manitou Tallship in Traverse City West Bay for the sunset cruise.

Previous installments in our Songs of Leelanau series featured Laura Hood’s “Eddy Up,” Les Dalgliesh’s “The Ways of Leelanau,” Jeff Maharry’s “Good Harbor Bay,” Seth Bernard’s instrumental ode to the Manitou Islands, Blake Elliott’s “Small Town” and Louann Lechler’s “I’m Proud to Say I Live in Leelanau County.”