Tag Archives: Song

“Ten Thousand Men of Harvard” (Zack Bair)

  1. General Info
    1. Verbal Lore
    2. Place of Origin: Cambridge, Massachusetts
    3. Informant: Nasir Darnell
  2. Informant Data
    1. Nasir is currently a 22-year-old graduate senior on the Harvard University football team. Nasir is originally from Matawan, New Jersey and attended Red Bank Catholic High School.
  3. Contextual Data
    1. The song “Ten Thousand Men of Harvard” originated at Harvard in the year 1918. Composed by Charrles Putnam. The song is generally sung by the Harvard Glee Club at its annual joint concert with the Yale Glee Club prior to the famous Harvard-Yale rivalry game.  
  4. Item
    1. Just as the Harvard Glee Club sings “ten Thousand Men of Harvard” before games, the Harvard football team also sings the famous song following wins. The lyrics go:

Ten Thousand Men of Harvard want victory today

For they know that ov’r old Eli

Fair Harvard holds sway.

So then we’ll conquer all old Eli’s men,

And when the game ends we’ll sing again:

Ten thousand men of Harvard gained vict’ry today.

  1. Informants comments 
    1. “‘ Ten Thousand Men of Harvard’ holds an important place with not just the football team singing it in the locker room after wins, but with the entirety of the Harvard community. I remember when the band performed the song in Harvard Yard my freshman year, that was my first exposure to it.” 
  2. Collector’s Name: Zack Bair

Fight, Raiders, Fight (Cameron Baller)

Title: Fight, Raiders, Fight

General Information About Item:

  • Verbal Lore, Fight Song
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Texas Tech University
  • Informant: D.N.
  • Date Collected: 10-28-21

Informant Data:

  • D.N. is a 33-year-old male. He was born and raised in Highland Village, Texas. He currently lives in Corinth, Texas. He has been a high school strength coach for four years and was a strength coach at the collegiate level before that. He played college football at the University of Texas Tech and was a defensive lineman from 2007-2011.

Contextual Data:

  • D.N. attended the University of Texas Tech which was established in 1923 and has deep roots in football especially being in Texas. Their fight song was written in 1930 as part of a contest sponsored by the school newspaper. The song represents the passion and pride that the player, coaches, and fans have for their school. Singing the song in the locker room is a way for the team to take ownership of the locker room and field and that it meant something to play for the university in front of their fans at home.

Item:

  • After games, the team would enter the locker room and sing the school fight song titled “Fight, Raiders, Fight” as seen below. The song is also known as “The Matador Song”. As the team finishes singing the song, the whole team would chant: “In the home of the…” and then give a big yell saying “Raiders!”.

Fight, matadors, for Tech,

Songs of love we sing to thee,

Bear our banners far and wide,

Ever will be our pride,

Fearless champions ever be,

Stand on heights of victory,

Strive for honor evermore,

Long live the Matadors!

“In the home of the…Raiders!”

Transcript:

  • “Post-game we would sing our school fight song as a team and then everybody would finish with the line “In the home of the…” and then everybody would yell “Raiders” really loud.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “I think it was just a way to take ownership of our locker room and our field and that it meant something to play for the university and win football games at home in front of our home crowd.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • I found this fight song to also be a song of unity and togetherness for the team. It honors the university and allows those who sing it remind themselves of the commitment of those before them.

Collector’s Name: Cameron Baller

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Football
  • Locker Room Traditions
  • Song
  • Texas Tech University

Hail Purdue (Cameron Baller)

Title: Hail Purdue

General Information About Item:

  • Verbal Lore, Fight Song
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Purdue University
  • Informant: C.W.
  • Date Collected: 11-1-21

Informant Data:

  • C.W. is a 31-year-old male. He was born in Arlington, Texas and raised in Grand Prairie, Texas. He currently lives Flower Mound, Texas and works in real estate development. He attended Purdue University and was a kicker on the football team for four years. After his time at Purdue, he had a three-year stint in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts.  

Contextual Data:

  • C.W. attended Purdue University which was established in 1869 and has a rich tradition especially surrounding football. Their fight song was written in 1912 by a student by the name of James R. Morrison. The song represents school pride and is a tradition on the football team that has lasted for a while.

Item:

  • After every win, the football team enters the locker room and sings the Purdue fight song titled “Hail Purdue!” and is seen below. The song is sung differently in the locker room compared to when it is sung elsewhere. When the football team sings it in the locker room, it is done so more quickly and with a clapping cadence which differs from other times it is sung. At the end of the song, the team then gives a shout saying: “Boiler Up!”.

To your call once more we rally;

Alma mater hear our praise;

Where the Wabash spreads it valley,

Filled with joy our voices raise.

From the skies of swelling echoes

Come the cheers that tell the tale

Of your vict’ries and your heroes,

Hail Purdue! We sing all hail!

Hail, hail to old Purdue!

All hail to our old gold and black!

Hail, hail to old Purdue!

Our friendship may she never lack.

Every grateful, ever true,

Thus we raise our song anew

Of the days we’ve spent with you,

All hail our own Purdue!

When in after years we’re turning,

Alma mater, back to you,

May our hearts with love be yearning

For the scenes of old Purdue.

Back among your pathways winding

Let us seek what lies before,

Fondest hopes and aims e’er finding,

While we sing of day of yore.

Hail, hail to old Purdue!

All hail to our old gold and black!

Hail, hail to old Purdue!

Our friendship may she never lack.

Every grateful, ever true,

Thus we raise our song anew

Of the days we’ve spent with you,

All hail our own Purdue!

Transcript:

  • “After the victories, which there weren’t many, we would sing the fight song. And this might be a little bit different than somewhere else because for whatever reason we sang it much faster and with a clapping cadence. So you sing the fight song our in the studnet section or during it game it would be slower but in the locker room it would be really fast with a hand clap throughout the entire process and then a big “Boiler Up!” at the end.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “The fight song itself probably has to do with school pride because it is literally the fight song to fight and win against the opponent. Not too sure why its faster. Maybe that’s just the way that the football team has always done it.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • I found this fight song to be particularly interesting because of its length. Most fight songs that I have seen are not this long but a committed student at Purdue Univesity would happily know the whole song word for word.

Collector’s Name: Cameron Baller

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Purdue University
  • Locker Room Traditions
  • Song
  • Football

Indiana, Our Indiana (Cameron Baller)

Title: Indiana, Our Indiana

General Information About Item:

  • Verbal Lore, fight song
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Indiana University
  • Informant: A.B.
  • Date Collected: 10-23-21

Informant Data:

  • A.B. is a 19-year-old male. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia but moved to Dallas, Texas when he was four years old and was raised there. He currently lives in Bloomington, India as he attends Indiana University. He is a student athlete at Indiana University who plays football and majors in media.

Contextual Data:

  • A.B. attends Indiana University which was established in 1820 and has rich tradition especially surrounding football. Their fight song was written by Russell P. Harker and first played during a football game in November of 1912. The song represents the passion and pride that the players, coaches, and fans have for their school. They want to first honor God through the Lord’s prayer and then honor and show loyalty to their school by singing the fight song.

Item:

  • Immediately after every game, they enter into the locker and perform the Lord’s prayer. Also, if they won, they would sing their fight song “Indiana, Our Indiana” as seen below. The song is sung three times. The first time it is sung loud and proud, the second time it is sung quietly with snapping, and the third time it is sung loud again with a lot of energy. This tradition has been going for at least 60 years as one of Andy’s coaches who was a former player over 60 years ago used to do the same thing.

Indiana, Our Indiana

Indiana, we’re all for you

We will fight for

The Cream and Crimson

For the glory of old IU

Never daunted, we cannot falter

In the battle, we’re tried and true

Indiana, our Indiana Indiana, we’re all for you!

Transcript:

  • “For one, immediately after the game we come into the locker room and say the Lord’s prayer and give honor to Him first and foremost. And then after a win, we will sing our fight song which is a very cool tradition that we have. We enjoy those wins and like to give glory to the school, each other, and God. We sing our fight song three times. The first time we sing it out loud, and then we do really softly and snap our fingers, and then lastly we sing it really loud and hype.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “I’m not too sure when the tradition started. It has definitely been there for a long time, like at least 60 years. I’m not sure of the meaning behind the fight song at first but to us, its defintely something we look forward to and really enjoy a lot.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • I thought it was interesting that the team will sing the song once softly while snapping thier finger and then sing it loudly at the end. It’s almost like a way to crescendo the energy from the song.

Collector’s Name: Cameron Baller

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Football
  • Locker Room Traditions
  • Indiana University
  • Song

All I Want For Christmas Is You (Evan Fu)

General Information About Item:

  • Verbal Lore, Song
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Joseph Kramer
  • Date Collected: 10-22-2021

Informant Data:

  • Joseph (Joe) Kramer is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2022. Joe and his family live in Westwood, New Jersey. Joe has a currently undeclared major at Dartmouth but plans to graduate with degrees in Economics and Psychology. He plays the tight-end role for Dartmouth’s NCAA Division I varsity football team and is involved in various finance student organizations around campus. He plans to play a fifth year of football and will graduate after Fall 2022.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” was released in 1994 and became an immediate icon of American Christmas. Practically every year since its release, the song has climbed the charts of every United States music streaming platform to become the most played song during the holiday season.
  • Social Context: This account was mentioned when the interviewee was asked about their favorite Christmas traditions. Joe was extremely excited to talk about his experiences with Mariah Carey’s song and even began singing the song during our interview.

Item:

  • Joe’s favorite memory of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” stems from a party called GDXmas that his fraternity Gamma Delta Chi (GDX) organizes every fall. He recalls being on the dance floor within the GDX house’s basement – approximately 100 people, dressed in extravagant Christmas-themed clothing, had been dancing to various Christmas songs with mild enthusiasm. When Mariah Carey’s famous song played on the speakers, every person in the basement sang the lyrics with ardent vigor. It was a very emotional moment – when the song finished playing, people cheered and demanded a replay of the song. Joe recalls this experience as one of his fondest at Dartmouth.

Transcript:

  • “My favorite memory of that song was during the GDXmas party two years ago. There were like 100 of us in the basement, and everyone had ridiculous Christmas outfits on. “All I want for Christmas” came on, and literally every person in the basement began belching the lyrics. A bunch of us put our arms around each other, and some of the girls were crying to the song. It was insane and super emotional. When it ended, everyone was clapping, cheering, and screamed for an Encore, and the whole 3-minute experience relived itself. Definitely one of my favorite memories at Dartmouth.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “If I could hear it 100 times on Christmas, I would. You literally don’t need another Christmas song.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • Personally, the song I associate the most with the Christmas holiday is certainly Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”. I found Joe’s account of his experience with the song to be fascinating, and I could envision myself on that dance floor – the song is an American icon and truly invokes the joy-filled emotions of Christmas. The song itself is certainly folkloric – since its release, the song has been shared and transmitted in modern American culture. Most Americans heavily associate the song Christmas and revisit the track every year to bring about the celebratory emotions of the holiday.

Collected By:

Evan Fu, 21

Palo Alto, CA

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

RUSS013

Fall 2021

Fraternity House Song

 

General Information about Item:

  • Verbal folklore
  • Informant R.C.
  • Date Collected: 05/18/2020

Informant Data:

  • The informant is a current Dartmouth student. He is a member of the class of 2022 and is affiliated.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: When rushing a fraternity, there is a sense of pride and community associated with the house and its members. Members are seen as “brothers” and the house is the “home” of its members. The singing of a song honors these two traditions.
  • Social Context: The collective act of singing together has always been associated with the idea of community. The singing of a house song is a social activity new and old members participate in to foster this principle.

Item:

  • There is a song made up by the fraternity members, that is sung to honor the house and its members. This is meant to help new members feel welcomed during the rush process (or directly after).

 

Collector’s Comments:

  • The use of a song to help new members feel part of a new community is not uncommon. I thought it was interesting to see the same type of welcoming folklore displayed in this process.

Collector’s Name: Charlie Wade

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Folklore
  • Fraternity Rush
  • New Members

Ssa-ga (unofficial chant)

General Information about Item:
  • Genre and Sub Genre –  Verbal Folklore (song) with connotations of Cutomary Folklore: Rituals / Rites of Passage
  • Language – English (interview), song itself (Korean)
  • Country where Item is from – South Korea

Informant Data:

DongHyun Lee is a 23-year old male from South Korea. He is currently a sophomore at University of Hong Kong. He has served in the Republic of Korea (ROK) Marine Corps from June 23rd 2014 to March 22nd 2016. He was stationed in a battalion in Yeong Pyeong Island, one of the northern most islands closer to North Korea than South Korea. His job was a machine gun marksmen for the first half of his service time and a cook for the second half.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context – DongHyun Lee was interviewed over Skype because he is currently located in Hong Kong. He went on his first regular leave after 3 months of service. It was the first time he returned to society since he started his service. His parents were in Shanghai, China so he stayed with his grandparents. He recalls it was one of the happiest few days in his life.
  • Cultural Context – In the South Korean military, not just in the marine corps, the first regular leave of a soldier has a special meaning, not just in military culture but also in society in general (because most Korean males serve due to conscription). The first leave means returning home and meeting family and friends for the first time since enlisting. The nature of conscription makes this a very special time for not just the soldier for those around him.

Item:

  • Ssa-ga (translated as unofficial chant). It is a tradition among ROK marines. The song’s origins are unclear but different variations are very much alive and well-transmitted in different ROK marine units. Ssa-ga is actually a collection of different songs sung in different occasions. The informant’s recollection and recitation was the first-leave ssa-ga, which had to be sung to a marine’s parents right in the place and the time the soldier meets his parents on the first day of the first leave. The informant was a special case in that he had to sing it through Skype since his parents were in Shanghai, China (his comrades most usually sang it in public places e.g. bus terminal).

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Korean original version (English translation each line below)

신병위로휴가가 – The New Soldier First Leave Ssaga

어두운 밤하늘에 팔각모쓰고, 골목길을 걸어갈 때에

Under the dark night with my 8-pointer on, when I’m walking in the alley

저 멀리 어머니 나와계신다 못난 아들 마중하려고

I see my mama standing in the dark, waiting to greet this ingrateful son

어머니 어머니 울지마세요 울지말고 들어가세요

Mother, Mother, please don’t cry. Please go back inside.

다음에 이 다음에 전역하거든 못한 효도 다 할게요

Next time, next time when I get discharged, I will do my best to make up for the lost time

Informant’s Comments:

Informant was a little embarassed to sing this and thought it was a little funny that he had to sing it over skype. In fact, he was the only one in his company at the time to have sung the Ssa-ga this way. One of his comrades sang it in front of his parents the Incheon Freight terminal packed with people.

Collector’s Comments:

The texture of the song is lost in translation, but the original audio is attached for those interested. It is an interesting combination of a verbal folklore that also serves as a customary folklore that has meanings as a rites of passage: for the first time the marine presents himself with his military identity to those who have known him only as his civilian self.

Collector’s Name:

Jeong Tae Bang

Hymn/Song

Title: Hymn/Song

Informant info: Michael Rodriguez. Informant attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Informant enlisted in the Army in 2003 and was a member of the 1st Battalion 8th Marines Bravo Company, which is an infantry military unit. He was stationed out of camp Lejeune North Carolina. Informant served in Iraq from June 2004 to December 2004. He was awarded a Purple Heart. He was from a military family, as well. Informant is 31 years old.

Type of lore: Verbal Lore, Oaths, Traditions

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Informant was asked if there were any traditions that he remembered and reported that these two were very traditional oaths to learn. The Marine Corps Hymn and the Rifleman’s Creed.

Associated file:

Traditional Songs/Oaths

Transcript:

“When you’re like in the marine corps like. I don’t know, I cant, I cant recall any songs that were passed around, but there is the marine corps hymn. Which is like the marine corps song. Um, we call it the marine corps hymn. It’s like you know it starts out like ‘The halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli’ like these great things that the marine corps has done over the years. It sort of glorifies it. Um, there’s that, and there’s also this thing called the rifleman’s creed, which might be interesting to look up. Its sort of a, ah, like an oath that you say to yourself. You learn in bootcamp but you kind of carries on into infantry cause were just you do a lot more obviously with, uh, rifles and stuff. But uh sort like this, uh, creed to emphasize like the bond between a person and their weaponry.”

Collector’s comments: They are separate oaths. The rifleman’s creed is for more specific positions.

Informant’s comments: He claimed that the rifleman’s creed got more prevalent in infantry.

Tags/Keywords: Creed, Hymn, Song, Verbal Lore

 

Sorority Welcome Song

Welcome Song Initiation/Ritual

  • Informant Info
    • Sophomore Year of Dartmouth College
  • Type of Lore
    • Verbal
  • Language
    • English
  • Country of Origin
    • United States
  • Social / Cultural Context
    • Dartmouth Sorority
  • Informant’s Comments
    • Taken very light-hearted. The sorority and those who wish to partake sing a welcome song to new members that replaces the lyrics of notorious “Sweet Home Alabama” with lyrics that are unique to the sorority. Only members of the sorority sing the song.
  • Collector’s Comments
    • Anonymity in order to not reveal identity of fraternity and informant. The seriousness with which the songs are treated varied greatly between southern houses and Dartmouth. The amount of time and material coordination was directionally proportional to seriousness/geographic location.
    • See “Bid Chant” post for example videos of sorority welcome songs

The First Infantry Song

Title: The First Infantry Song

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. The locations in which he has served are Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Verbal Folklore, Songs, Lyrics

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. Jason was asked if he remembered any songs that they would sing during his training or time in the Army. He was asked to sing these songs out loud, but was too shy and sent the lyrics to me via email instead.

Associated File: There is no recorded video as Jason has sent me these lyrics via email.

Transcript:  [I have recorded the item exactly how it was sent to me in the email]:

Below are a few running/marching cadences. Also listed are the army song and the first infantry doctors song, which we sang every morning. Let me know if you need more.

The first infantry division song:

Toast of the Army,

Favorite Son! Hail to the brave Big Red One!

Always the first to thirst for a fight.

No foe shall challenge our right to victory.

We take the field, A grand sight to see.

Pride of the Infantry.

Men of a great division,

Courage is our tradition,

Forward the Big Red One!

Informant’s comments: Jason mentioned that he would sing this song every morning before they would begin their day. He also stated that each infantry had their own specific song.

Collector’s comments: Although Jason was hesitant to sing the songs out loud, he was more than willing to provide the lyrics and share this song with me.