Difference between revisions of "School songs"

From WikiCU
Jump to: navigation, search
m (Roar, Lion, Roar)
(Stand, Columbia)
 
(46 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
[[Image:Rahrah.jpg|thumb|240px]]
+
[[Image:Rahrah.jpg|thumb|240px|Imagine yourself looking like this as you sing these songs.]]
 
Columbia has a number of '''School songs'''. You probably don't know the words to most (or all) of them. That's OK. You have this page.
 
Columbia has a number of '''School songs'''. You probably don't know the words to most (or all) of them. That's OK. You have this page.
  
 
== Alma Mater ==
 
== Alma Mater ==
Alma Mater literally means "nourishing mother". The motto (and original name) of the [[w:University of Bologna|University of Bologna]] (the oldest continually operating university in the world) is ''Alma Mater Studiorum'' ("Nourishing Mother of Studies").
+
In the United States "Alma Mater" is the term for a school song or hymn (it is also colloquially used as a general term for the school from which one graduated.) Columbia University's official Alma Mater is "Stand, Columbia." Some individual schools have their own songs, most notably Columbia College ("Sans Souci.")
  
While in the context of Columbia [[Alma Mater]] almost always refers to the Daniel Chester French sculpture that graces the steps to [[Low Library]], in the United States "Alma Mater" is the term for a school song or hymn. At Columbia there is a University alma mater in addition to individual school alma maters for some divisions, most notably for [[Columbia College]]. It is also colloquially used as a general term for the school from which one graduated.
+
The term "Alma Mater" literally means "nourishing mother". The motto (and original name) of the [[w:University of Bologna|University of Bologna]] (the oldest continually operating university in the world) is ''Alma Mater Studiorum'' ("Nourishing Mother of Studies"). Of course, in the Columbia context, Alma Mater almost always refers to the [[Alma Mater|Daniel Chester French sculpture]] that graces the steps to [[Low Library]],  
 +
 
 +
=== Stand, Columbia ===
 +
''Stand, Columbia'' is the official University alma mater. Written by Gilbert Oakley Ward (CC 1902) as the Class Ode for the [[Class Day]] ceremonies in [[1902]] to the tune of the "Austrian Hymn" (Haydn's Emperor Quartet, which also serves as the melody for the German national anthem, both with the old lyrics of "Deutschland über alles" and the present less jingoistic version beginning "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit").<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=NkAjAQAAIAAJ&dq=%22stand%20columbia%22%20ward&pg=PA405#v=onepage&q=%22stand%20columbia%22%20ward&f=false Columbia University Quarterly, Vol. IV, No. 4, pgs. 405-406], September 1902.</ref> It became at some point thereafter the official song of the University.
 +
 
 +
Note that the song actually has three verses in the original, but the middle verse about "mighty patriots" and "warriors" is largely absent from performances. Today the song is traditionally performed at University events such as the [[Baccalaureate Ceremony]] and [[University Commencement]], as well as various alumni functions.
 +
 
 +
<blockquote style="border: 0px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); padding: 1em;">
 +
{|
 +
|
 +
1.
 +
Mother, stay'd on rock eternal,
 +
:Crown'd and set upon a height,<br>
 +
Glorified by Light supernal
 +
:In thy radiance we see light,<br>
 +
Torch thy children's lamps to kindle,
 +
:Beacon-star to cheer and guide,<br>
 +
Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater
 +
:Through the storms of Time abide!<br>
 +
Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater
 +
:Through the storms of Time abide!
 +
|width="50"|
 +
|
 +
2.
 +
Honor, love, and veneration
 +
:Crown forevermore thy brow!<br>
 +
Many a grateful generation
 +
:Hail thee as we hail thee now!<br>
 +
Till the lordly Hudson seaward
 +
:Cease to roll his heaving tide,<br>
 +
Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater
 +
:Through the storms of Time abide!<br>
 +
Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater
 +
:Through the storms of Time abide!
 +
|}
 +
</blockquote>
 +
 
 +
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=t7MQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA16#v=onepage&q&f=false Music Score] (Columbia University Songs, 1904)
 +
 
 +
* Listen here: [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/HaydnGottErhalteFranzDenKaiserQuartetVersionPianoReduction.ogg Haydn's "Emperor" Quartet, II] (ogg format)
 +
 
 +
* Watch here:
 +
<videoflash>6MhhVGzOhEM</videoflash>
 +
<videoflash>G0ZFAoK1Zf0</videoflash>
  
 
=== Sans Souci ===
 
=== Sans Souci ===
''Sans Souci'' (french for "without cares" or "carefree") is the [[Columbia College]] Alma Mater, composed by Percy Fridenberg in 1886. It is often performed at the conclusion of various alumni functions, among them the [[Alexander Hamilton Medal]] dinner and the [[John Jay Awards for Distinguished Professional Achievement]]. The [[CUMB]] can be seen performing the song at the conclusion of each football game, with the team gathered in front of them. Additionally, [[Orgo Night]] traditionally ends with the underclassmen members of the band singing Sans Souci to the seniors, who stand together on the steps of [[Furnald|Furnald Hall]]. It is also performed [[a cappella]] at CC's [[Class Day]].
+
''Sans Souci'' (french for "without cares" or "carefree") is the [[Columbia College]] Alma Mater, composed by Percy Fridenberg [[Columbia College|CC]] [[1886]]. Fridenburg composed the song around [[1888]] while studying medicine in Germany, basing it on a drinking song (the first two verse's are Fridenburg translation of the german, and the third his original contribution to the song).<ref>[http://news.columbia.edu/files_columbianews/imce_shared/vol3808.pdf Ask the Owl: Don't Worry; Be Happy Circa 1888], Columbia Record, Vol. 38, No. 8, March 2013]; [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19481005-01.2.4 Probable Alma Mater], Columbia Spectator, 5 October 1948.</ref> The song was first published in the "Columbia College Song Book" in [[1896]] (giving it its original copyright date), and by accounts it became quite popular, serving as the de facto school song of the College as far as students were concerned. In January of [[1948]], noting crowds at basketball games seemed to lack a go-to college song to express their school pride (and noting that the semi-official "Alma Mater" - possibly a reference to the song composed for the Glee Club by its director Walter Henry Hall in 1922<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=wM_mAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA322&lpg=PA322#v=onepage&q&f=false A Glee Club Innovation], Columbia Alumni News, Vol. 13, No. 23, pg. 322, 24 March 1922</ref> - had failed to catch on with students), the Spectator recommended that "those who decide such matters" should enshrine "Sans Souci" as the official school song, as it was popular among students and was effectively "the" Columbia song in all but name.<ref>[http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19480107-01.2.11 STAFF EDITORIAL: Sans Souci], Columbia Spectator, 7 January 1948.</ref> Spec would go on to note that Sans Souci was a "far warmer" and "far more pleasing to hear" song than the "un-singable" "Stand, Columbia." The following fall, [[Student Board]] took up the call, approving "Sans Souci" as the official school song, and calling on the [[Alumni Association of Columbia College]] and the College's [[Committee on Instruction]] to ratify the selection.<ref>[http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19480923-01.2.4]; [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19480927-01.2.2]; [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19480928-01.2.2]; [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19481004-01.2.8]; [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19481005-01.2.4]; [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19481029-01.2.9]; [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19481029-01.2.11]; [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19481217-01.2.7]</ref> Apparently, sometime between the end of [[1948]] and [[Class Day]] [[1949]] they did, and Class Day was graced with a performance of "Sans Souci" instead of "Stand, Columbia" for the first time.<ref>[http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19490512-01.2.9]</ref> Coincidentally, [[1949]] also marked the adoption of another Columbia symbol, the [[University Shield]].
 +
 
 +
Today "Sans Souci" is performed at Columbia College associated events, e.g., [[Class Day]], alumni functions, the [[Alexander Hamilton Medal]] dinner, and the [[John Jay Awards for Distinguished Professional Achievement]]. The [[CUMB]] can be seen performing the song at the conclusion of each football game, with the football team gathered in front of them, and on [[Orgo Night]], the performance traditionally ends with the underclassmen members of the band singing "Sans Souci" to the seniors, who stand together on the steps of [[Furnald|Furnald Hall]].
  
 
<blockquote style="border: 0px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); padding: 1em;">
 
<blockquote style="border: 0px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); padding: 1em;">
Line 50: Line 95:
 
</blockquote>
 
</blockquote>
  
<videoflash>h6uBGsqkv3A#t=32s</videoflash>
+
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=ArQQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q&f=false Music score] (Arr. by L. M. Bingham CC 1900) (Columbia Songs, 1916)
 
 
=== Stand, Columbia ===
 
''Stand, Columbia'' is the official University alma mater. Written by Gilbert Oakley Ward (CC 1902) in 1904 to the tune of Haydn's Emperor Quartet, which also serves as the melody for the German national anthem (both with the old lyrics of "Deutschland über alles" and the present less jingoistic version beginning "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit"), the song possibly fell out of favor along with most other vestiges of germanophilia following World War I. The song is, however, traditionally performed at the [[Baccalaureate Ceremony]] and [[University Commencement]], as well as at various alumni functions.
 
  
<blockquote style="border: 0px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); padding: 1em;">
+
* Listen here: [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/kingsmen/albums/D%20-%20Sans%20Souci.mp3 Sans Souci (First and Third Verse) (The Kingsmen - 2011 Demo)]
{|
 
|
 
1.
 
Mother, stay'd on rock eternal,
 
:Crown'd and set upon a height,<br>
 
Glorified by Light supernal
 
:In thy radiance we see light,<br>
 
Torch thy children's lamps to kindle,
 
:Beacon-star to cheer and guide,<br>
 
Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater
 
:Through the storms of Time abide!<br>
 
Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater
 
:Through the storms of Time abide!
 
|width="50"|
 
|
 
2.
 
Honor, love, and veneration
 
:Crown forevermore thy brow!<br>
 
Many a grateful generation
 
:Hail thee as we hail thee now!<br>
 
Till the lordly Hudson seaward
 
:Cease to roll his heaving tide,<br>
 
Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater
 
:Through the storms of Time abide!<br>
 
Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater
 
:Through the storms of Time abide!
 
|}
 
</blockquote>
 
  
<videoflash>6MhhVGzOhEM</videoflash>
+
* Watch here:
<videoflash>G0ZFAoK1Zf0</videoflash>
 
  
Listen here to the melody (ogg format): [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/HaydnGottErhalteFranzDenKaiserQuartetVersionPianoReduction.ogg Haydn's "Emperor" Quartet, II]
+
<videoflash>h6uBGsqkv3A#t=32s</videoflash>
  
 
== Fight Songs ==
 
== Fight Songs ==
  
 
=== Roar, Lion, Roar ===
 
=== Roar, Lion, Roar ===
''Roar'' is Columbia's fight song and is the song that's most often associated with the school. The lyrics were written by [[Corey Ford]] CC '23 in 1923 to the melody of a song titled "Bold, Buccaneers!"  from the 1923 [[Varsity Show]] "Half Moon Inn."<ref>[http://www.thevarsityshow.com/morningside Sing a Song of Morningside]</ref> The song is rarely, if ever, performed with both stanzas. Usually only the second is performed.
+
''Roar'' is Columbia's fight song and over time has become the song most closely associated with the school. When the [[Columbia University Alumni Federation]] offered up a prize for a new football song in [[1923]], [[Corey Ford]] [[Columbia College|CC]] '23 re-purposed a song from that years [[Varsity Show]] (which he co-wrote), and "concocted new words for the final chorus of the show and sent the entry in." Thus did "Bold, Buccaneers!" become "Roar, Lion Roar!"<ref>[http://www.thevarsityshow.com/about/ Sing a Song of Morningside] - A history of the Varsity Show</ref><ref>[https://exhibitions.cul.columbia.edu/exhibits/show/varsity-show/song/roar The Varsity Show: A Columbia Tradition | Roar, Lion, Roar (Columbia Archives Online Exhibit)]</ref> In addition to crediting Ford for the lyrics, songbooks credit Roy Webb CC 1910 and Morris Watkins CC 1924 for the melody.  
 +
 
 +
Today the song is almost always performed without the first stanza. Note that while the song refers to a "Lion" in the singular, it has become fashionable for certain administrators (notably [[Dean of Columbia College|Dean]] [[James Valentini]]) to quote the opening lyrics in the plural ("Roar, Lions, Roar") when signing off to the Columbia community.<ref>[http://bwog.com/2012/01/28/roar-lions-roar-a-bwog-investigation/]</ref>
  
 
<blockquote style="border: 0px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); padding: 1em;">
 
<blockquote style="border: 0px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); padding: 1em;">
Line 121: Line 136:
 
|}
 
|}
 
</blockquote>
 
</blockquote>
Listen here: [[Media:roar.mp3|"Roar, Lion Roar"]] • [[Media:roar2.mp3|Instrumental Only Version]]
 
  
 +
* [http://library.columbia.edu/content/dam/libraryweb/libraries/music/roar_lion_roar.pdf Music Score] (Columbia University Songs, 3rd edition, 1924)
 +
 +
* Listen here: [[Media:roar.mp3|"Roar, Lion Roar" (Unknown)]] • [[Media:roar2.mp3|Instrumental Only Version]] • [http://www.myspace.com/music/player?sid=87033753&ac=now Jazz Version]
  
Alternate verse popularized by the [[CUMB|marching band]] after an 0-9 [[football]] record in November 2011:
+
* Watch here:
<blockquote style="border: 0px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); padding: 1em;">
+
<videoflash>hJHrlryrfPs</videoflash>
We always lose, lose, lose<br>
+
<videoflash>C1_xccF8PZ0</videoflash>
by a lot and sometimes by a little!<br>
+
<videoflash>--zv6V8OfKg</videoflash>
We all were winners at the start,<br>
 
but four years has taught us all the value of just giving up, 'cause we really suck.<br>
 
Why are we even trying?<br>
 
We always lose, lose, lose,<br>
 
but we take solace in our booze!
 
</blockquote>
 
  
 
=== Who Owns New York? ===
 
=== Who Owns New York? ===
''Who Owns'' is a self-aggrandizing cheer referencing Columbia's historic position as one of New York City's largest landlords.
+
''Who Owns'' is a popular self-aggrandizing cheer. The cheer is actually derived from a song titled ''We are the Stuff'' which appears to have made its first appearance in print form in the [[1904]] "Columbia University Songs" book.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=t7MQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA94#v=onepage&q&f=false We are the Stuff], Columbia University Song, 1904.</ref> "We are the Stuff" has three verses in the question and response format familiar to those who know "Who Owns", asking (and responding) in turn: "Oh, who are the stuff?" ("Why, we are the stuff!"); "Oh, who's going to win?" ("Why, we're going to win!"); and "Oh, who'll own New York" ("Why we'll own New York!"). While the lyrics of the current shortened version of the song are interpreted as a reference to Columbia's historic position as one of New York City's largest land owners, the original verses suggest that "owning New York" was possibly intended as another reference to who will win the game (and securing bragging rights), as opposed to a boastful promise to engage in a real estate buying spree at some undetermined point in the near future.
 +
 
 +
In addition to serving as a cheer, the [[CUMB]] uses "Who Owns'" five-note opening as a musical [[w:fanfare|fanfare]].
 +
 
  
 
<blockquote style="border: 0px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); padding: 1em;">
 
<blockquote style="border: 0px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); padding: 1em;">
Line 146: Line 160:
 
C-O-L-U-M-B-I-A!
 
C-O-L-U-M-B-I-A!
 
</blockquote>
 
</blockquote>
 +
 +
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=t7MQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA94#v=onepage&q&f=false Music Score] (Columbia University Songs, 1904)
 +
 +
* Listen here: [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/kingsmen/albums/LB-Who_Owns_New_York_.mp3 "Who Owns New York" (The Kingsmen, "Lunchbox" album version, 1995)]
 +
 +
* Watch here:
 +
 +
<videoflash>tP6yBRxlfcY</videoflash>
  
 
=== Stand Up and Cheer ===
 
=== Stand Up and Cheer ===
Line 162: Line 184:
 
</blockquote>
 
</blockquote>
  
[[Media:standup.mp3|"Stand Up and Cheer" from Ohio Unversity]]
+
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=ArQQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q&f=false Music Score] (Arr. by E. Breitenfeld CC 1909) (Columbia Songs, 1916)
 +
 
 +
* Listen here: [[Media:standup.mp3|"Stand Up and Cheer" from Ohio Unversity]]
 +
 
 +
== Alternate Lyrics ==
 +
Many songs have amusing and/or lewd alternate lyrics, often created and perpetuated by the [[CUMB|Columbia University Marching Band]]. These lyrics poke fun of other schools, as well as Columbia (and of course Barnard.) In accordance with band tradition, allegedly, alternative lyrics are never written down, but rather passed on as oral tradition. Of course from time to time some get printed anyway.<ref>[http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19791005-01.2.7 Alternate Lyrics (inset)], Columbia Spectator, 5 October 1979.</ref> They're typically reserved for the band bus and get busted out at the end of [[Orgo Night]]. Hang around bandies if you want to learn them.
  
==Defunct Songs of a Bygone Era==
+
Sometimes singing alternative lyrics can get you in a lot of trouble. In [[2011]] Columbia made national sports news when the [[Athletics Director]] banned the band from football games after they sang the alternative lyrics "We always lose, lose, lose; by a lot, and sometimes by a little" to the tune of "Roar" at the end of a game where the team fell to 0-9 on the season.<ref>[[Columbia University Marching Band#Controversies|Columbia University Marching Band - Controversies]]</ref>
There are other Columbia songs that have faded into the mists of time.  
 
 
=== Columbia Marching Song ===
 
In Fall of 1909, the Columbia Alumni Club of Illinois offered a prize of $100 for the composition of a new Columbia song. The April issue of Columbia Alumni News announced that the winner of $50 for the lyrics was Professor [[John Erskine]] CC 1900. In September, Frank Ward, organist of [[St Paul's Chapel]], was awarded the other $50 for composing the winning melody to Erskine's song. The song has not been performed in recent memory.
 
  
<blockquote style="border: 0px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); padding: 1em;">
+
==Songs of a Bygone Era==
{|
+
Casual recreational singing was probably a lot more popular in the early twentieth century than the twenty-first. While knowledge of school songs today barely extends past "Roar", early twentieth century Columbians sang a lot more. While some popular songs remain with us (Roar, Sans Souci, Stand Columbia, Who Owns, and Stand Up), many which apparently enjoyed great popularity back in the day remain unsung today. Examples include the [http://books.google.com/books?id=ArQQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA42#v=onepage&q&f=false Columbia Marching Song],<ref>Like "Roar", the Marching Song was the result of an alumni sponsored prize contest. In Fall of 1909, the Columbia Alumni Club of Illinois offered a prize of $100 for the composition of a new Columbia song. The April issue of Columbia Alumni News announced that the winner of $50 for the lyrics was Professor [[John Erskine]] CC 1900. (See also [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60A11F73C5417738DDDAC0894DA405B808DF1D3 The New York Times].) In September, Frank Ward, organist of [[St Paul's Chapel]], was awarded the other $50 for composing the winning melody to Erskine's song.</ref> the [http://books.google.com/books?id=ArQQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false Columbia Drinking Song],<ref>Not to be confused with the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7fY2FH2Uz0 "Columbia Drinking Song"] recorded by the [[Kingsmen]] for their 1995 CD, Lunchbox, which seems to be all over the internet.</ref> the [http://books.google.com/books?id=ArQQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA2#v=onepage&q&f=false Columbia Quadrangle Song], [http://books.google.com/books?id=ArQQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA46#v=onepage&q&f=false Evening on the Campus], [http://books.google.com/books?id=ArQQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA12#v=onepage&q&f=false Van Am], and the [http://books.google.com/books?id=ArQQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA34#v=onepage&q&f=false Columbia Medley].<ref>Consider this ad for a player piano roll of Columbia Songs in a [http://books.google.com/books?id=2EnOAAAAMAAJ&lpg=PA39&ots=N0Iosmg3us&pg=PA39#v=onepage&q&f=false 1911 issue of Columbia Alumni News], or the songs mentioned in the [http://archive.org/stream/historyofcolumbi012462mbp#page/n199/mode/2up student life chapter] of the Bicentennial History of Columbia volume on Columbia College, or [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19480506-01.2.10 this list of songs] recorded by Phi Gamma Delta in 1948.</ref> The college song books are also filled favorite tunes from the Varsity Show.<ref>The Kingsmen have recorded, and still occasionally perform, Lorenz Hart's "A College on Broadway" from the 1920 Varsity Show, Fly With Me.</ref> Not only did the era prove fertile for composing new songs, but the singing culture gave birth to competitions like the inter-class [[Notes and Keys Cup]], and later on, the inter-fraternity Francis Wayland Shepardson trophy.<ref>[http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19380505-01.2.10]; [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19420414-01.2.12]; [http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19570408-01.2.10]</ref>  
|
+
 
I.
+
Unfortunately it's not all fun and games, as some of the pieces collected in the songbooks, especially some of the non-columbia-specific 'general campus songs', feature racial caricatures and slurs.
When you're marching for Columbia, you had better march
+
 
::like men!<br>
+
== Song Books ==
And every mile you march for her you will wish were
+
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=e7MQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false Songs of Columbia (1877)], 19th century college songbook, some original, some not, all predating the current classics.
::eight or ten;<br>
+
* Columbia College Song Book, compiled and edited by William Ballou Donnell, and John Tempest Walker, Jr. (1896) [[http://books.google.com/books?id=qbMQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q&f=false (Google eBook)] (missing pgs 7-8)
When you're marching for Columbia, your four years
+
* Columbia University Songs, compiled by William Ballou Donnell; Russell Pratt Hoyt; Leonard Gordon McAneny and Gilbert Oakley Ward, Boston: Oliver Ditson Co. (1904) [[http://books.google.com/books?id=t7MQAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false  (Google eBook)] (missing pgs. 1-2)
::won't seem long,<br>
+
* Columbia Songs, compiled by a Committee Appointed by the Alumni Council, New York: Alumni Federation of Columbia University (1916) [http://books.google.com/books?id=ArQQAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PR6&pg=PR1#v=onepage&q&f=false (Google eBook)] (2nd ed.; 1st ed. printed in 1913)
And then you'll wish you were back again to sing her marching
+
* Columbia University Songs, New York: Alumni Federation of Columbia University (1924) ([http://library.columbia.edu/indiv/music/columbia_songs.html scans of selected songs] by the [[Music Library]])
::song--<br>
+
* [http://www.cugcalums.com/images/SATBColumbiaSongs.pdf Columbia Songs Arranged for SATB Chorus and Piano (Source: Glee Club Alumni)]
Chorus:
+
 
::Marching for Columbia, a royal road we tread!
+
== Recordings ==
::The heart is beating high, and the blood runs red,
+
Columbia musical groups have occasionally recorded their work, and sometimes they include Columbia songs. The following Columbia records are known to have school songs:
::We're all young together, the best of life's ahead.
+
* [[Phi Gamma Delta]], private recording (1948) (not known to be distributed publicly)<ref>http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19480506-01.2.10</ref>
::::When you march for Columbia!
+
* [[Columbia University Glee Club]], 10" LP (1952)<ref>http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19520507-01.2.9</ref>
|width="50"|
+
* Columbia University Glee Club, Reunion 2010 Concert, CD (2010)<ref>http://www.cugcalums.com/reunion2010.html</ref>
|
+
* Columbia Alumni Singers, Reunion 2011 Concert, CD (2011)<ref>http://www.columbiaalumnisingers.org/reunion2011report.html</ref>
II.
+
* [[The Kingsmen]], Contemporary Cyncopation (1984)<ref>http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19840411-01.2.14</ref><ref>The Kingsmen have also recorded "College on Broadway", a 1920 Varsity Show song by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. You can find it on their 1993 album "Hat Trick"</ref>
Now the thunder of the city sets Columbia's heart athrill.<br>
+
 
Our home is on the battle-field--the battle's with us still!<br>
+
There are definitely some interesting recordings of Columbia songs floating around, though they don't seem to have been formally cataloged anywhere. For example, WKCR has a [[w:Dixieland|Dixieland]] jazz style recording of the "Roar" melody it uses after broadcasting games.<ref>It may or may not be "The Empire City Six" recording on [http://www.discogs.com/Empire-City-Six-The-Empire-City-Six-Salute-The-Colleges/release/3213128 "The Empire City Six Salutes The Colleges"], an ABC-Paramount Vinyl LP.</ref> Similarly, whoever coordinated the [[Last School Standing]] competition in [[2004]] during [[Columbia 250]] got their hands on some old  recordings of songs to play over the [[Roone Arledge Auditorium]] sound system before the show.
We keep the city's honor, we build the city's walls,<br>
 
And when she calls for fighting men, it's Columbia men
 
::she calls.<br>
 
Chorus:
 
::Marching for Columbia, a royal road we tread!
 
::The heart is beating high, and blood runs red,
 
::We're all young together, the best of life's ahead.
 
::::When you march for Columbia!
 
|width="50"|
 
|
 
III.
 
They are sitting down and dreaming, are some folk we
 
::needn't name,<br>
 
Of their dead and gone forefathers, who gave them all
 
::their fame;<br>
 
But we've more and better fellows than we've ever had
 
::before,<br>
 
And we're marching toward to-morrow, that will give us
 
::plenty more.<br>
 
Chorus:
 
::Marching for Columbia, a royal road we tread!
 
::The heart is beating high, and the blood runs red,
 
::We're all young together, the best of life's ahead.
 
::::When you march for Columbia!
 
|}
 
</blockquote>
 
  
 
==Pop Songs==
 
==Pop Songs==
Line 233: Line 230:
  
 
"Campus" is a song written by alternative band and Columbia alumni [[Vampire Weekend]].  It is somewhat of a love song, but mostly describes day-to-day life on campus for a [[hipster]], with ironic lines like "spilled kefir on my keffiyeh".
 
"Campus" is a song written by alternative band and Columbia alumni [[Vampire Weekend]].  It is somewhat of a love song, but mostly describes day-to-day life on campus for a [[hipster]], with ironic lines like "spilled kefir on my keffiyeh".
 
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
 
* [[Barnard College songs]]
 
* [[Barnard College songs]]
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
* [http://cumb.org/ Columbia University Marching Band]
+
* [http://cuband.org/ Columbia University Marching Band]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=e7MQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false Songs of Columbia 1877], 19th century college songbook, some original, some not, all predating the current classics.
+
* [http://library.columbia.edu/indiv/music/columbia_songs.html Columbia Music & Arts Library | Roar, Lion, Roar: Columbia University Songs]
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
Line 246: Line 242:
 
[[Category:Traditions]]
 
[[Category:Traditions]]
 
[[Category:Songs]]
 
[[Category:Songs]]
 +
[[Category:Symbols]]

Latest revision as of 14:01, 7 November 2013

Imagine yourself looking like this as you sing these songs.

Columbia has a number of School songs. You probably don't know the words to most (or all) of them. That's OK. You have this page.

Alma Mater

In the United States "Alma Mater" is the term for a school song or hymn (it is also colloquially used as a general term for the school from which one graduated.) Columbia University's official Alma Mater is "Stand, Columbia." Some individual schools have their own songs, most notably Columbia College ("Sans Souci.")

The term "Alma Mater" literally means "nourishing mother". The motto (and original name) of the University of Bologna (the oldest continually operating university in the world) is Alma Mater Studiorum ("Nourishing Mother of Studies"). Of course, in the Columbia context, Alma Mater almost always refers to the Daniel Chester French sculpture that graces the steps to Low Library,

Stand, Columbia

Stand, Columbia is the official University alma mater. Written by Gilbert Oakley Ward (CC 1902) as the Class Ode for the Class Day ceremonies in 1902 to the tune of the "Austrian Hymn" (Haydn's Emperor Quartet, which also serves as the melody for the German national anthem, both with the old lyrics of "Deutschland über alles" and the present less jingoistic version beginning "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit").[1] It became at some point thereafter the official song of the University.

Note that the song actually has three verses in the original, but the middle verse about "mighty patriots" and "warriors" is largely absent from performances. Today the song is traditionally performed at University events such as the Baccalaureate Ceremony and University Commencement, as well as various alumni functions.

1. Mother, stay'd on rock eternal,

Crown'd and set upon a height,

Glorified by Light supernal

In thy radiance we see light,

Torch thy children's lamps to kindle,

Beacon-star to cheer and guide,

Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater

Through the storms of Time abide!

Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater

Through the storms of Time abide!

2. Honor, love, and veneration

Crown forevermore thy brow!

Many a grateful generation

Hail thee as we hail thee now!

Till the lordly Hudson seaward

Cease to roll his heaving tide,

Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater

Through the storms of Time abide!

Stand, Columbia! Alma Mater

Through the storms of Time abide!
  • Watch here:

<videoflash>6MhhVGzOhEM</videoflash> <videoflash>G0ZFAoK1Zf0</videoflash>

Sans Souci

Sans Souci (french for "without cares" or "carefree") is the Columbia College Alma Mater, composed by Percy Fridenberg CC 1886. Fridenburg composed the song around 1888 while studying medicine in Germany, basing it on a drinking song (the first two verse's are Fridenburg translation of the german, and the third his original contribution to the song).[2] The song was first published in the "Columbia College Song Book" in 1896 (giving it its original copyright date), and by accounts it became quite popular, serving as the de facto school song of the College as far as students were concerned. In January of 1948, noting crowds at basketball games seemed to lack a go-to college song to express their school pride (and noting that the semi-official "Alma Mater" - possibly a reference to the song composed for the Glee Club by its director Walter Henry Hall in 1922[3] - had failed to catch on with students), the Spectator recommended that "those who decide such matters" should enshrine "Sans Souci" as the official school song, as it was popular among students and was effectively "the" Columbia song in all but name.[4] Spec would go on to note that Sans Souci was a "far warmer" and "far more pleasing to hear" song than the "un-singable" "Stand, Columbia." The following fall, Student Board took up the call, approving "Sans Souci" as the official school song, and calling on the Alumni Association of Columbia College and the College's Committee on Instruction to ratify the selection.[5] Apparently, sometime between the end of 1948 and Class Day 1949 they did, and Class Day was graced with a performance of "Sans Souci" instead of "Stand, Columbia" for the first time.[6] Coincidentally, 1949 also marked the adoption of another Columbia symbol, the University Shield.

Today "Sans Souci" is performed at Columbia College associated events, e.g., Class Day, alumni functions, the Alexander Hamilton Medal dinner, and the John Jay Awards for Distinguished Professional Achievement. The CUMB can be seen performing the song at the conclusion of each football game, with the football team gathered in front of them, and on Orgo Night, the performance traditionally ends with the underclassmen members of the band singing "Sans Souci" to the seniors, who stand together on the steps of Furnald Hall.

1. What if tomorrow bring
Sorrow or anything

Other than joy?

What if't be wintry chill
Rain, storm or summer's thrill?
Tomorrow's the future still;

This is today!

Tomorrow's the future still;

This is today.

2. Out on life's stormy seas
All of us soon may be,

Far, far away.

Still hold your glasses high,
Here's to youth while it's nigh;
Though we tomorrow die,

This is today!

Though we tomorrow die,

This is today.

3. One last toast e'er we part,
Written on ev'ry heart,

This motto stay

Long may Columbia stand,
Honored throughout the land,
Our Alma Mater grand,

Now and for ay!

Our Alma Mater grand,

Now and for ay.
  • Music score (Arr. by L. M. Bingham CC 1900) (Columbia Songs, 1916)
  • Watch here:

<videoflash>h6uBGsqkv3A#t=32s</videoflash>

Fight Songs

Roar, Lion, Roar

Roar is Columbia's fight song and over time has become the song most closely associated with the school. When the Columbia University Alumni Federation offered up a prize for a new football song in 1923, Corey Ford CC '23 re-purposed a song from that years Varsity Show (which he co-wrote), and "concocted new words for the final chorus of the show and sent the entry in." Thus did "Bold, Buccaneers!" become "Roar, Lion Roar!"[7][8] In addition to crediting Ford for the lyrics, songbooks credit Roy Webb CC 1910 and Morris Watkins CC 1924 for the melody.

Today the song is almost always performed without the first stanza. Note that while the song refers to a "Lion" in the singular, it has become fashionable for certain administrators (notably Dean James Valentini) to quote the opening lyrics in the plural ("Roar, Lions, Roar") when signing off to the Columbia community.[9]

1. When the bold, teams of old
Wore the Blue and White,
Deeds of fame, made their name,
Here at old Columbia.
Nowadays we can praise
Fighting teams again.
Hear the lion roar in pride,
While the men of Morningside
Follow the Blue and White to Vict'ry...

2. Roar, Lion, Roar
And wake the echoes of the Hudson Valley!
Fight on to victory evermore,
While the sons of Knickerbocker rally round
Columbia! Columbia!
Shouting her name forever!
Roar, Lion, Roar
For Alma Mater on the Hudson Shore!

  • Music Score (Columbia University Songs, 3rd edition, 1924)
  • Watch here:

<videoflash>hJHrlryrfPs</videoflash> <videoflash>C1_xccF8PZ0</videoflash> <videoflash>--zv6V8OfKg</videoflash>

Who Owns New York?

Who Owns is a popular self-aggrandizing cheer. The cheer is actually derived from a song titled We are the Stuff which appears to have made its first appearance in print form in the 1904 "Columbia University Songs" book.[10] "We are the Stuff" has three verses in the question and response format familiar to those who know "Who Owns", asking (and responding) in turn: "Oh, who are the stuff?" ("Why, we are the stuff!"); "Oh, who's going to win?" ("Why, we're going to win!"); and "Oh, who'll own New York" ("Why we'll own New York!"). While the lyrics of the current shortened version of the song are interpreted as a reference to Columbia's historic position as one of New York City's largest land owners, the original verses suggest that "owning New York" was possibly intended as another reference to who will win the game (and securing bragging rights), as opposed to a boastful promise to engage in a real estate buying spree at some undetermined point in the near future.

In addition to serving as a cheer, the CUMB uses "Who Owns'" five-note opening as a musical fanfare.


Oh, who owns New York?
Oh, who owns New York?
Oh, who owns New York the people say.
Why, we own New York!
Why, we own New York!
C-O-L-U-M-B-I-A!

  • Watch here:

<videoflash>tP6yBRxlfcY</videoflash>

Stand Up and Cheer

Stand up is a short cheer/song that the band will often play during breaks in action. The song was originally written for the University of Kansas in 1909, but has since been adapted as a fight song by a number of schools.[11]

Stand up and cheer!
Stand up and cheer for old Columbia!
For today we raise
The Blue and White above the rest.
Our boys are fighting
And they are bound to win the fray.
We've got the team!
We've got the steam!
For this is old Columbia's day!

  • Music Score (Arr. by E. Breitenfeld CC 1909) (Columbia Songs, 1916)

Alternate Lyrics

Many songs have amusing and/or lewd alternate lyrics, often created and perpetuated by the Columbia University Marching Band. These lyrics poke fun of other schools, as well as Columbia (and of course Barnard.) In accordance with band tradition, allegedly, alternative lyrics are never written down, but rather passed on as oral tradition. Of course from time to time some get printed anyway.[12] They're typically reserved for the band bus and get busted out at the end of Orgo Night. Hang around bandies if you want to learn them.

Sometimes singing alternative lyrics can get you in a lot of trouble. In 2011 Columbia made national sports news when the Athletics Director banned the band from football games after they sang the alternative lyrics "We always lose, lose, lose; by a lot, and sometimes by a little" to the tune of "Roar" at the end of a game where the team fell to 0-9 on the season.[13]

Songs of a Bygone Era

Casual recreational singing was probably a lot more popular in the early twentieth century than the twenty-first. While knowledge of school songs today barely extends past "Roar", early twentieth century Columbians sang a lot more. While some popular songs remain with us (Roar, Sans Souci, Stand Columbia, Who Owns, and Stand Up), many which apparently enjoyed great popularity back in the day remain unsung today. Examples include the Columbia Marching Song,[14] the Columbia Drinking Song,[15] the Columbia Quadrangle Song, Evening on the Campus, Van Am, and the Columbia Medley.[16] The college song books are also filled favorite tunes from the Varsity Show.[17] Not only did the era prove fertile for composing new songs, but the singing culture gave birth to competitions like the inter-class Notes and Keys Cup, and later on, the inter-fraternity Francis Wayland Shepardson trophy.[18]

Unfortunately it's not all fun and games, as some of the pieces collected in the songbooks, especially some of the non-columbia-specific 'general campus songs', feature racial caricatures and slurs.

Song Books

Recordings

Columbia musical groups have occasionally recorded their work, and sometimes they include Columbia songs. The following Columbia records are known to have school songs:

There are definitely some interesting recordings of Columbia songs floating around, though they don't seem to have been formally cataloged anywhere. For example, WKCR has a Dixieland jazz style recording of the "Roar" melody it uses after broadcasting games.[25] Similarly, whoever coordinated the Last School Standing competition in 2004 during Columbia 250 got their hands on some old recordings of songs to play over the Roone Arledge Auditorium sound system before the show.

Pop Songs

These aren't really "Columbia" songs, but they do feature Columbia in some way or form.

Tom's Diner

Tom's Diner is an a cappella song written in 1982 by Suzanne Vega. It captures a dreary morning scene inside Tom's Restaurant.

Hey There Delilah

Hey There Delilah is a love song written for Columbia alum Delilah DiCrescenzo.

Campus

"Campus" is a song written by alternative band and Columbia alumni Vampire Weekend. It is somewhat of a love song, but mostly describes day-to-day life on campus for a hipster, with ironic lines like "spilled kefir on my keffiyeh".

See also

External links

References

  1. Columbia University Quarterly, Vol. IV, No. 4, pgs. 405-406, September 1902.
  2. Ask the Owl: Don't Worry; Be Happy Circa 1888, Columbia Record, Vol. 38, No. 8, March 2013]; Probable Alma Mater, Columbia Spectator, 5 October 1948.
  3. A Glee Club Innovation, Columbia Alumni News, Vol. 13, No. 23, pg. 322, 24 March 1922
  4. STAFF EDITORIAL: Sans Souci, Columbia Spectator, 7 January 1948.
  5. [1]; [2]; [3]; [4]; [5]; [6]; [7]; [8]
  6. [9]
  7. Sing a Song of Morningside - A history of the Varsity Show
  8. The Varsity Show: A Columbia Tradition | Roar, Lion, Roar (Columbia Archives Online Exhibit)
  9. [10]
  10. We are the Stuff, Columbia University Song, 1904.
  11. See, e.g. Wikipedia, "College fight songs II: a supplementary anthology" (pgs. ii, and 2) [11]
  12. Alternate Lyrics (inset), Columbia Spectator, 5 October 1979.
  13. Columbia University Marching Band - Controversies
  14. Like "Roar", the Marching Song was the result of an alumni sponsored prize contest. In Fall of 1909, the Columbia Alumni Club of Illinois offered a prize of $100 for the composition of a new Columbia song. The April issue of Columbia Alumni News announced that the winner of $50 for the lyrics was Professor John Erskine CC 1900. (See also The New York Times.) In September, Frank Ward, organist of St Paul's Chapel, was awarded the other $50 for composing the winning melody to Erskine's song.
  15. Not to be confused with the "Columbia Drinking Song" recorded by the Kingsmen for their 1995 CD, Lunchbox, which seems to be all over the internet.
  16. Consider this ad for a player piano roll of Columbia Songs in a 1911 issue of Columbia Alumni News, or the songs mentioned in the student life chapter of the Bicentennial History of Columbia volume on Columbia College, or this list of songs recorded by Phi Gamma Delta in 1948.
  17. The Kingsmen have recorded, and still occasionally perform, Lorenz Hart's "A College on Broadway" from the 1920 Varsity Show, Fly With Me.
  18. [12]; [13]; [14]
  19. http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19480506-01.2.10
  20. http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19520507-01.2.9
  21. http://www.cugcalums.com/reunion2010.html
  22. http://www.columbiaalumnisingers.org/reunion2011report.html
  23. http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19840411-01.2.14
  24. The Kingsmen have also recorded "College on Broadway", a 1920 Varsity Show song by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. You can find it on their 1993 album "Hat Trick"
  25. It may or may not be "The Empire City Six" recording on "The Empire City Six Salutes The Colleges", an ABC-Paramount Vinyl LP.