Posted on 08/09/2006 7:42:28 AM PDT by MAD-AS-HELL
Which school has the best fight song? The debate has been raging for years and will continue to rage long after any of us are alive. The truth is that the context in which the song is played is often more important than the song itself. For example, you're sitting in Michigan Stadium watching your beloved Wolverines face Ohio State in a tight game. With a minute remaining and Michigan up by three, the Buckeyes are marching down the field and threatening to score when Leon Hall intercepts a Troy Smith pass and returns it for a touchdown, sealing the victory. At that point, the Michigan fighting band could play Livin' la Vida Loca and, as Morgan Freeman said in Shawshank Redemption, it would sound "so beautiful it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. it would sound like the greatest piece of music you've ever heard." In other words, the emotions of a moment can cloud your objectivity. That's where we come in. After spending the past week hunkered down in the SIOC listening studio, we’ve poured through hundreds of fight songs and have come out with our Top 5. 1. "The Victors," University of Michigan 2. "Anchors Aweigh," U.S. Naval Academy 3. "Boomer Sooner," University of Oklahoma. 4. "Rocky Top," University of Tennessee 5. "Notre Dame Victory March," Notre Dame Those are ours. Take a listen and give us your Top 5.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
Oh, they had a little party down in Newport;
There was Harry, there was Mary, there was Grace.
Oh, they had a little party down in Newport,
And they had to carry Harry from the place.
Oh, they had to carry Harry to the ferry,
And the ferry carried Harry to the shore;
And the reason that they had to carry Harry to the ferry
Was that Harry couldn't carry any more.
For California, for California,
The hills send back the cry,
We're out to do or die,
For California, for California,
We'll win the game or know the reason why.
And when the game is over, we will buy a keg of booze,
And drink to California 'till we wobble in our shoes.
So drink, tra la la,
Drink, tra la la,
Drink, drank, drunk last night,
Drunk the night before;
Gonna get drunk tonight
Like I never got drunk before;
For when I'm drunk, I'm as happy as can be
For I am member of the Souse family.
Now the Souse family is the best family
That ever came over from old Germany.
There's the Highland Dutch, and the Lowland Dutch,
The Rotterdam Dutch, and the Irish.
Sing glorious, victorious,
One keg of beer for the four of us.
Sing glory be to God that there are no more of us,
For one of us could drink it all alone. Damn near.
Here's to the Irish, dead drunk. The lucky stiffs....
did you see this?
Go Irish!
Tie for #1 - Michigan & Notre Dame
#2 - USC
#3 - Buckeye Battle Cry / Ohio State
#4 - Boomer Sooner (from Yale's Boola Boola)
#5 - Texas
...second in the S-E-C.
Good ole rocky top
Another guaranteed victory.
There. Fixed.
While I'm a Tiger fan (Geaux Tigers!) that isn't even the best from a Louisiana university. I'm partial to what McNeese State now uses as their fight song:
Jolie Blonde
Joli Blond gardez d'en qua tu fais
Tu ma quittez pour t'en aller
Tu ma quittez pour t'en aller
Avec un autre.
Qu'ell es poire et qu'ell avenir
Ma je peu avoir.
http://www.mcneese.edu/songs/music/Jolie_Blonde.mid
The "California Drinking Song" is one of the most popular Cal songs among students and alumni - everyone knows the words to this song! One of Cal's most unusual songs, over the years, no less than five different songs have been melded together to form today's current rendition. The core element of "California Drinking Song" is "Rambled," otherwise known as "California." The tune is based on the song "Oh, Didn't He Ramble," by Cole and Johnson (copyright 1906). The words were changed to what we know as "For California, for California, The hills send back the cry, We're out to do or die...," and first appeared in printed form in 1906. The author of the text is unknown.
For a long time, the Band often played "Rambled" at football games, playing the chorus twice. When the "Drinking Song" element that follows was also played, it was known as "Rambled Into." In Rochelle Paul's master thesis, "Song Traditions of the University of California at Berkeley," she mentions that "in 1939, the University Band and the Glee Club went down to Los Angeles for the UCLA vs. California football game. When they returned, both groups had joined additional verses of a whole new song to the old 'California' song. [Since then] even more verses have accumulated." The verses Paul refers to follow the "Rambled" part of "California Drinking Song." Titled "One More Drink for the Four of Us," this part of "California Drinking Song" is a traditional song of conviviality, sung throughout the United States (for example, Ohio State University has its own version of this song).
The origins of other elements of "California Drinking Song" are more difficult to pinpoint. It is believed that the "Speaking Start" (The steward went below...,) is from a traditional Navy drinking song; the origins of the "Singing Start" (Oh, they had a little party down in Newport...,) are unclear. "California Drinking Song" ends on a dominant seventh chord, which leaves a sense of unresolution. Consequently, the song beckons for additional lyrics which band members and students have been more than willing to supply. Many different versions currently circulate through campus. This song is often sung (with accompaniment) by the Band.
I should add that the Cal Drinking Song is - unlike the fight song "Big C" which is used only by Berkeley and UCLA - used by all 9 (is it 10 now?) UC campuses, except perhaps UC Santa Cruz, where the perpetually stoned Banana Slugs disdain drinking.
That's their fight song? Interesting choice! It's a great song, but I'm still partial to my Fightin' Tigers. :)
Yep. They say we have a serious chance at a bowl this year.
I'll believe it when I see it.
Aw, it seems someone is still a little bitter about the "Bush-Push".
;-)
I wish I could think of 5 fight songs, but there's always only one song on my mind - Michigan's 'The Victors'. In my last stint in A2, I lived near the stadium and there was nothing like hearing the band play that song, with the music just floating into my kitchen.
!!!GO BLUE!!! UM '71 & '99
I lived in Norman for a while and have to admit 'Boomer Sooner' has a catchy refrain, but it ain't no Victors.
Great minds and all that.
:^)
I believe he was a math professor at Harvard.
He graduated from Harvard College in 1947, and did graduate work in mathematics at Harvard. He taught at Harvard and MIT, did a stint in the Army in the mid-'50s and later taught for many years at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Oh, you typed that all wrong. Allow me to correct ...
We are the Aggies of the Kiddie Corps
Good little Aggies ages 2 to 4
We play the soldier boy from morn' to night
We are the boys who show that (insert gay voice here)"real true fight"
The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You
That is the song they sing so well
(makes me so mad I could just spit)
There's more, but it's been so many years. Maybe someone else can finish it for me.
Hook 'em!
Let's Go Peay!
What's Navy Blue and Gold? I love that one.
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