# Schools with Alma Maters sung to the same tune? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 8, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658 "2003-12-08T00:31:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TXdore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@TXdore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TXdore)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/1 "2003-12-08T00:31:36Z")
Why do so many colleges and high schools have alma maters sung to two or three of the same tunes. I didn’t notice it until my girlfriend visited me in college and said “that’s my high schools’ song!” geez. ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/2 "2003-12-08T03:49:42Z")
I know that my high school (in West Virginia) and the University of Cincinnati have the same fight song, just with different words. I can understand the borrowing of college songs for high schools, but it would seem most unusual for two colleges to share a song. (Fight song, alma mater, whatever) ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/3 "2003-12-08T05:03:09Z")
The University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Los Angeles share a fight song that’s the same tune but with different words, “Big C”/“Sons of Westwood”. These days, it’s not the _main_ fight song for Cal (though it’s still played, their main song is “All Hail Gold and Blue”), though it is for UCLA. > [@](#): > > “Big C” is unquestionably the most famous and controversial Cal song. “Big C” was composed in 1913 by Harold P. Williams, with words by Norman Loyall McLaren. It was written to commemorate the creation of the large cement “C” built on the “rugged Eastern foothills” of the Berkeley campus in 1905, and the song was later entered in the Daily Californian’s then annual school song competition. From [http://www.calband.berkeley.edu/calband/multimedia/calsongs/bigc.html](http://www.calband.berkeley.edu/calband/multimedia/calsongs/bigc.html) > [@](#): > > Sons of Westwood is UCLA’s main fight song. It began life as a fight song for the Cal-Berkeley Band known as “Big C”, and was adopted as a UCLA fight song in the early 60’s. From [http://www.uclaband.com/sub/fight.htm](http://www.uclaband.com/sub/fight.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/4 "2003-12-08T05:08:10Z")
Oh, and my high school’s fight song was USC’s “Fight On.” My dad, who went to Berkeley and UCLA, was horrified. As far as I know, there weren’t any lyrics to go with it, and we couldn’t have used the USC lyrics, as they are pretty specific. FTR, since my high school mascot was the Trojans, I’m pretty sure the song was picked by some lazy administrator. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/5 "2003-12-08T05:14:17Z")
Actually, the _Alma Mater_ is usually a sort of hymn. For example, Cornell University’s starts: Far above Cayuga’s Waters, There’s an awful smell. Some say it’s Cayuga’s waters, I say it’s Cornell. Oh no! Come to think of it that’s the version given to me by a Princeton alum. What is described so far is the sports “fight song.” And stealing of them is quite common. Before the Iowa State Teachers College went big-time and became the University of Northern Iowa, the school used USC’s fight song. My high school used “On Wisconsin.” ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/6 "2003-12-08T05:20:43Z")
Y’know what my high school’s Alma Mater was? _Hail, Alma Mater dear Fellowship ever near Friendships created here Bide through the years Praises to thee we sing Honor to thee we bring Hail, Alma Mater dear Ichabod Crane!_ That’s, like, the CLIP-ART of Alma Maters. And they made us sing it. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/7 "2003-12-08T06:05:01Z")
University of Oklahoma’s is the same as Yale’s fight song. Although I don’t think’s Yaleys are running around singing “Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner” over and over. E3 ---
**Author:** ![CrazyMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee59a6/32.png) [@CrazyMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/8 "2003-12-08T19:16:57Z")
I went to Northern Michigan University. I never learned the words to our Alma Mater, but the tune sounded just like the Oscar Meyer Weiner song. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/9 "2003-12-08T22:16:39Z")
My high school and the high school from the movie **Grease** both had school songs set to the same tune. And both had utterly crappy lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/10 "2003-12-09T00:54:38Z")
Fight song tunes are taken from other songs (or is it the other way around?). As a Playstation2 NCAA 2004 addict, I often recognize Texas’s tune of “I’ve been working on the railroad” and Virginia’s “Auld Lang Syne”. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/11 "2003-12-09T02:11:58Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Kyla** _ > These days, it’s not the main fight song for Cal (though it’s still played, their main song is “All Hail Gold and Blue”), though it is for UCLA. Perhaps you confused the name (although you did say ‘main song’), but “All Hail Gold and Blue” is the alma mater of Cal. Arguably their main _fight_ song is “[Lights Out](http://www.calband.berkeley.edu/calband/multimedia/calsongs/lightsout.html)/[Fight for California](http://www.calband.berkeley.edu/calband/multimedia/calsongs/fight.html)”. “Sons of California” is another fight song used by more than one UC school (primarily Berkeley & Davis). The UC system also has a system-wide Alma Mater, [“Hail to California”](http://www.calband.berkeley.edu/calband/multimedia/calsongs/hailtocal.html). Contrary to what that page says, UCLA does have its own campus Alma Mater, [“Hail to the Hills of Westwood”](http://www.commencement.ucla.edu/commencement/history.htm#almamater). ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/12 "2003-12-09T03:44:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by David Simmons \* > \*\*My high school used “On Wisconsin.” \*\* And not only is “On, Wisconsin!” probably the most covered school fight song, Wisconsin boasts more “official” fight songs than any other university! See [http://www.badgerband.com/music/music.html](http://www.badgerband.com/music/music.html) ---
**Author:** ![hermann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b487fb/32.png) [@hermann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hermann)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/13 "2003-12-10T00:57:03Z")
I’ve heard quite a few high schools use Notre Dame’s song. ---
**Author:** ![Contrabass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Contrabass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrabass)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/14 "2003-12-10T01:55:26Z")
Lehigh University’s Alma Mater has the same melody as Cornell’s, but with different words. I have no idea which was first, though I suspect Cornell was. [Lehigh’s](http://www2.lehigh.edu/page.asp?page=almamater) [Cornell’s](http://www.info.cornell.edu/CUHomePage/FAQ/ColorsMascot.html) It’s a pretty melody, anyway! ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_the\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Mojo\_the\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_the_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/15 "2003-12-10T03:34:57Z")
The school song of my alma mater, Macalester College, is apparently sung to the same tune as the old Imperial Russian Anthem. I always thought that _The Internationale_ would have been more appropriate for Mac, though… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/16 "2003-12-10T06:18:05Z")
Columbia’s alma mater took its melody from a Haydn string quartet. The same melody was used by the German anthem “Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles.” I can’t name them, but I know there are many other schools (both colleges and high schools) that use that same melody. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/17 "2003-12-10T15:03:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Contrabass \* > **Lehigh University’s Alma Mater has the same melody as Cornell’s, but with different words. I have no idea which was first, though I suspect Cornell was.** I went to Cornell. It was always my understanding that Cornell’s was the original Alma Mater sung to this melody, and other schools derived theirs from it. I have not been able to find an actual cite for this, though. And **David Simmons** , we sang those same words at Cornell, too. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/18 "2003-12-10T15:53:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dignan \* > \*\*Fight song tunes are taken from other songs (or is it the other way around?). As a Playstation2 NCAA 2004 addict, I often recognize Texas’s tune of “I’ve been working on the railroad” and Virginia’s “Auld Lang Syne”. \*\* The Eyes of Texas, to the tune of “…railroad” is the alma mater. There was a previous alma mater with a different tune but i’ve never heard it. EOT was introduced in a skit and was partially intended to make fun of the current president of the University (“the eyes of Texas are upon you” was the line he ended every speech with), so the choice of “…railroad” was certainly on purpose- it’s an easy-to-sing children’s song that. The Texas Fight song (which EA seems incapable of putting in their games, even though it is the song played after touchdowns), is “Texas Fight”, also called “Texas Taps”. It is based on the tune of “Taps”, sped up. Back to the topic: My High School had an alma mater that was written and composed by faculty members, and was a nice catchy easy to sing tune. It replaced a difficulty to sing, hymn-y alma mater in the 1940s. My High School fight song was the same tune as Notre Dame’s fight song, but band members told me there was a subtle difference in the last few notes. There were no official lyrics to the fight song, although the students sang lyrics about beer and whiskey. My Jr High/ Middle School had an alma mater that we only sang once in 6th grade, then never again. It was preachy and slightly religous so I figured they decided it was inappropriate – the words were even removed from the gym wall. The fight song in Jr High was “On Wisconsin”, with the word “Wisconsin” changed to “O. Henry” and the word “badgers” changed to “mustangs”. A cross-town Jr High also used “On Wisconsin”, but changed “Wisconsin” to “you falcons” and “badgers” to “falcons”. Football games between the two were mildly amusing. As to why schools borrow from others: [ul] [li]Composing a catchy, quality fight-song or alma mater that will be accepted is difficult[/li][li]The borrowed songs are usually easy to play – great for students who are just learning instruments[/li][li]Familiar songs are easier to learn to play and sing, and lend a bit of “tradition”[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/19 "2003-12-10T18:50:07Z")
U of Texas uses another song as well, which is based on a Lizst Hungarian Rhapsody. The lyrics are (pretty simply) “T…E…X…A…S…Texas…Fight!”. Which we always sung as “Texas T…Ez E…S-E-X…Fuckin’ A…Kiss my S…Texas…Fight.” Is it just me or does the beginning of the A&M fight song (before the “I Want My Mommy” bit) sound like the theme from Yogi Bear? ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/20 "2003-12-10T19:21:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by edwino \* > \*\*U of Texas uses another song as well, which is based on a Lizst Hungarian Rhapsody. The lyrics are (pretty simply) “T…E…X…A…S…Texas…Fight!”. Which we always sung as “Texas T…Ez E…S-E-X…Fuckin’ A…Kiss my S…Texas…Fight.” > > Is it just me or does the beginning of the A&M fight song (before the “I Want My Mommy” bit) sound like the theme from Yogi Bear? \*\* “March Grandioso”, which seems to be a common chant song all over (with different letters used). In HS, we used to play it, chanting A-U-S-T-I-N-Fight! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658.md?page=2)