# Schools with Alma Maters sung to the same tune?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658>\
**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:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**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, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/21 "2003-12-10T19:44:57Z")

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Yeah, based on Hungarian Rhapsody No. 1 in F minor. Today is a sick day, and that post made me want to listen to my CD. It is pretty funny to hear it in a minor key.

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**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/22 "2003-12-11T06:40:41Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by panamajack \*  
> \*\*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). \*\*

Okay, whatever, I went to Santa Cruz. We don’t have _fight_ songs, man. We have _peace_ songs. Hey, you wanna come to drum circle tonight?

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**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/23 "2003-12-11T14:51:14Z")

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I’m with Colibri, in that I was indoctrinated into the same institutional propaganda at Cornell that it originated the tune that has been adopted for so many alma maters.  
Also originated the tune for “Give my regards to Broadway”, with the original lyrics essentially being “I’m leaving town because I got suspended for a semester over too much drinking instead of studying. Say hi to all the guys at the bars for me.”  
Maybe that would be a better alma mater…

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**Author:** ![MinniePurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@MinniePurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MinniePurl)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-with-alma-maters-sung-to-the-same-tune/217658/24 "2003-12-11T16:11:29Z")

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The Colorado School of Mines and Georgia Tech have the exact same fight song, except that the CSM song has the rather lame “Golden Tech” instead of “Georgia Tech”.

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