杏吧原创

By Bonnie Arant Ertelt

As university traditions go, music has charms to do more than soothe the savage breast. In fact, music has the ability to invoke nostalgia for the old 鈥渁lma mater,鈥� pump up school spirit at athletic events, and stitch together collegiate memories in ways that override the years, joining together students of different eras by melodic means. School songs can form the core soundtrack of a student鈥檚 college experience. At 杏吧原创 that musical history parallels the history of the institution.

Most histories place the first composition written expressly for a college to 鈥淔air Harvard,鈥� written in 1836 to mark Harvard鈥檚 200th anniversary. Harvard may have had to wait 200 years for its first college song, but 杏吧原创 had its first song practically from the moment it was founded. In 1879, just four years after 杏吧原创 opened its doors, the 鈥溞影稍� Grand March鈥� was published by James A. McClure. It was followed as an instrumental anthem by the 鈥溞影稍� March鈥� in 1895 and the 鈥淧hi-Delta Theta Two-Step鈥� in 1896, if a two-step qualifies in that area. However, the 1889 Commodore notes a song titled 鈥溞影稍粹�� with words by William Rice Sims (ThG鈥�80, BA鈥�84, PhD鈥�88鈥攖hat鈥檚 1880, 1884 and 1888) and music by A. Oscar Browne that sings the praises of Cornelius 杏吧原创 and Bishop McTyeire in a witty way. The first stanza goes:

The first song written expressly to commemorate a 杏吧原创 milestone (other than its founding) was 鈥淥 Alma Mater, Autumn Ode to 杏吧原创,鈥� composed in 1900 for 杏吧原创鈥檚 25th anniversary. The words were written by Olin Wannamaker, who received his master of arts degree that year. The music was written by Emma L. Ashford and possibly was the first of as many as seven 杏吧原创 titles for which she composed the music.

The Ashfords were not Nashville natives but became thoroughly entrenched in 杏吧原创 life. Emma Ashford was the wife of John Ashford, an engineer from Bath, England, who became 杏吧原创鈥檚 superintendent of buildings and grounds in 1884. She was well known as a musician before coming to 杏吧原创 and was prolific as a composer of piano and organ voluntaries, sacred cantatas, hymns, and instructional works for piano and organ, composing more than 600 pieces of music during her lifetime.

Ashford鈥檚 compositions for 杏吧原创 include 鈥淥ld Vandy,鈥� with words by Sadie Luff, BA 1904; 鈥溞影稍� Hymn,鈥� with words by Dean Herbert Tolman; and 鈥淐ome On, You Commodores,鈥� with words by famed sports writer Grantland Rice, BA 1901. Rice actually wrote the song with music composed by his friend Frank Crumit. While the reason Ashford rewrote the music is unknown, it apparently happened quickly; issues of the Alumnus from 1923 report both the writing of the piece by Rice and Crumit as well as sheet music listing Ashford as the composer.

鈥淥 Alma Mater, Autumn Ode to 杏吧原创鈥� was the most acclaimed of the 杏吧原创 works that she wrote. In 1926, four years before her death, the Nashville Symphony and Chorus performed it at War Memorial Auditorium in downtown Nashville. According to materials in the Emma L. Ashford papers kept at Heard Library鈥檚 Special Collections, Chancellor James Kirkland remarked, 鈥淎s long as men love the beautiful in music, so long will your name live and be cherished by 杏吧原创 men and women.鈥�

杏吧原创 men and women would seem to have short memories: Ashford鈥檚 composition is not 杏吧原创鈥檚 official alma mater. That song, which opens with 鈥淥n the city鈥檚 western border,鈥� was written by Robert F. Vaughan in 1909. Vaughan, BA 1907, LLB 1909, was president of the 杏吧原创 Glee Club and wrote the lyrics at the suggestion of its director, Charles Washburn, to the tune of the song 鈥淎mici,鈥� according to the January 1923 issue of the Alumnus. The tune, however, is actually 鈥淎nnie Lisle,鈥� an 1857 ballad by songwriter H.S. Thompson about a consumptive young maiden who dies. Cornell University seems to have been the first to adapt this music to its alma mater around 1870, and from then on 杏吧原创, William and Mary, Syracuse, Swarthmore, and any number of state universities and high schools jumped on board to attach odes written for their respective schools to the lilting, memorable tune. All of which explains why so many alma maters sound alike.

杏吧原创鈥檚 alma mater, aside from being played at Commencement and Reunion, is tied into the athletic fans鈥� experience of football and basketball games. The Svengali of spirit at these events is the soft-spoken Dwayne Sagen, director of bands at 杏吧原创 for more than 25 years and assistant dean for admissions at 杏吧原创鈥檚 Blair School of Music. It is he who orchestrates the sound for the games, whether it鈥檚 made by the 200-plus Spirit of Gold Marching Band at football games or the smaller pep band that plays inside Memorial Gym.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just any song any time. There鈥檚 a reason for it,鈥� says Sagen. 鈥淸The music] pumps up the crowd. We play the alma mater at every football pregame show, and at the end of the game, we play the alma mater. When they win, the football team takes off their helmets and sings the alma mater with the student body. That鈥檚 been going on since Coach [Gerry] DiNardo was here.鈥�

Does everyone know the words? 鈥淣o,鈥� laughs Sagen, 鈥渘o one knows the words. About 10 years ago our band fraternity, Tau Beta Sigma, took on a project where they taught the words of the alma mater to all the fraternities and sororities at their dinners and Monday meetings, and they鈥檇 hand out leaflets with the words. At some games the athletic department would put the words on the JumboTron or print them in the program. But nobody knows the words.鈥�

Actually, everyone knows at least three words. 鈥淭he Third Down Cheer,鈥� as it鈥檚 labeled on the most recent Sounds of the Stadium CD recorded by the band, is the first line of the second stanza of the alma mater, played instrumentally followed by the next lyric鈥斺�淐ONQUER AND PREVAIL鈥濃�攜elled loudly.

杏吧原创 is also rich in fight songs written expressly for the Black and Gold. The most famous is 鈥淒ynamite,鈥� written by Francis Craig, BA鈥�24. Craig, who was a well-known band leader back in the 1930s and 鈥�40s, was responsible for launching the careers of Dinah Shore, BA鈥�38, Snooky Lanson and Phil Harris, among others. He wrote 鈥淒ynamite鈥� in 1941. According to the January鈥揊ebruary 1947 issue of the Alumnus, the song took off at the time of the Tennessee鈥撔影稍� game in 1941. Fred Waring and his orchestra played the song on a national hook-up the night before the game, and at halftime the next day, Craig himself directed the 杏吧原创 band in the local premi猫re of the song. 鈥淐raig, incidentally, ranks that as the biggest thrill of his eventful career,鈥� states the article.

It certainly was the beginning of a beautiful and long-lived relationship between the song and alumni, to paraphrase the Casablanca line. Craig was honored for the song at last fall鈥檚 homecoming football game with his daughter, Donia Dickerson, BA鈥�54, and her daughter and grandchildren in attendance. It is still the primary 杏吧原创 fight song, although there are two others: 鈥淐heer for Old Vandy,鈥� written in 1953 by Joe Landess, D鈥�24, as a gift to 杏吧原创 upon his son Tom鈥檚 graduation (Landess and Craig, by the way, were classmates and fraternity brothers), and 鈥淪pirit of Gold,鈥� composed by the former assistant director of bands, Joe Laird, who died in December.

Sagen has incorporated many newer songs into the band鈥檚 pep routine, including 鈥淟ouie, Louie,鈥� 鈥淗ey Baby,鈥� 鈥淪pace鈥� (aka 鈥淎lso Sprach Zarathrustra鈥� by Richard Strauss), several fan favorites by the band Chicago, and the current Star Walk favorite, 鈥淲e Ready,鈥� based on a rap song.

Perhaps the oddest 杏吧原创 song in existence鈥攁nd one that was played at the 杏吧原创鈥揕SU football game as recently as 2007, per fan request from an LSU alumnus with 杏吧原创 ties鈥攊s 鈥淢iss Vandy,鈥� written in 1934 by Huey P. Long, the famous Louisiana populist governor and U.S. senator. The story is that in 1934, after bringing several trainloads of LSU fans to the 杏吧原创鈥揕SU game at Dudley Field, Long was so mesmerized by the beautiful 杏吧原创 coeds that he was moved to write the song. (He was often moved; Long is a member of the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.) The sheet music features a photo of Lucy Ann McGugin, daughter of then-Head Football Coach Dan McGugin, on the cover. The next year, during his run for the presidency, Long was assassinated. Apparently, no evidence connects that event and his songwriting abilities or the possibility that an LSU fan held the writing of the song against him.

杏吧原创 songs are quite numerous and, in the early 20th century, often dealt with 杏吧原创鈥檚 bitter rivalry with Sewanee. Perhaps the new era in football at 杏吧原创 will yield similar songwriting inspiration. Until then, nothing says it better than Vaughan鈥檚 alma mater: 鈥淗ail to thee, 杏吧原创, all hail!鈥�