Ballard MacDonald (October 15, 1882 – November 17, 1935) was a Tin Pan Alley lyricist.
Born in Portland, Oregon, among his credits are:
Beautiful Ohio, Rose of Washington Square, Second Hand Rose, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, Back Home Again in Indiana, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, Play That Barbershop Chord, Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!, Somebody Loves Me, Bend Down, Sister, Down in Bom Bombay and On the Mississippi.
He was a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). "(Back Home Again in) Indiana" is a song composed by Ballard MacDonald and James Hanley, first published in January of 1917. While it is not the official state song of the U.S. state of Indiana (that honor belongs to "On the Banks of the Wabash"), it is perhaps the best-known song that pays tribute to the Hoosier State.
The tune was introduced as a Tin Pan Alley pop-song of the time. It contains a musical quotation from the already well known "On the Banks of the Wabash", as well as repetition of some key words and phrases from the lyrics of the latter: moonlight, candlelight, fields, new-mown hay, sycamores, and of course the.