Fightin' Texas Aggie War Hymn

The Fightin' Texas Aggie War Hymn (usually shortened to simply the "Aggie War Hymn") is the official fight song of Texas A&M University.

History

It was written by J.V. "Pinky" Wilson, one of many Aggies who fought in World War I. Wilson combined several Aggie yells then in use at the time into a song called "Good-bye to Texas University." It was originally written as a ballad set to the music of an old ragtime song, "Hello, My Coney Island Baby," and was sung frequently by a quartet Wilson organized after returning to Texas A&M after the war.

One night in 1920, several of the Aggie Yell Leaders heard Wilson's quartet singing the song, and asked him to let them submit it in a contest for a new fight song to be held that fall (after Wilson graduated). Wilson agreed, and the song, considerably jazzed up, was officially adopted that fall under its current title.

In 1997, the song was rated as the No. 1 college fight song by "USA Today". It was also used by NASA Flight Director Terry Griffin to wake up astronauts in space from 1983 to 1995. [cite news|url=http://media.www.thebatt.com/media/storage/paper657/news/2005/03/21/Opinion/War-Hymn.Is.Fine.The.Way.It.Is.The.Spirit.Is.With.The.Students-898386-page2.shtml|title=War Hymn is fine the way it is, the spirit is with the students|publisher="The Battalion"|accessdate=2007-08-09|date=2005-03-21|author=Foreman, Jim]

The song is noted for beginning with "Recall," an old bugle call, in two different keys. This is a nod to Texas A&M's past as a military school. Indeed, for many years, the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band's halftime show has begun with the drum major shouting "Recall! Step off on 'Hullabaloo!'" When the song is sung during a game at Kyle Field, after the second verse, everyone links arms and sways, causing the upper deck (including the press box) to sway. This is called "sawing Varsity's horns off" and usually unnerves football writers who are covering their first Aggie game.

The song was also used as a wakeup call on Day 11 of space mission STS-121 for Texas A&M alumnus and mission specialist Mike Fossum.

Lyrics

The starting phrase of the song, "Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck!" came from an Old Army Aggie yell written in 1907. [cite web|url=http://traditions.tamu.edu/?q=node/15|title=Traditions Trivia|publisher=Texas A&M University Student Government Association|accessdate=2008-08-04] Texas A&M University president Jack K. Williams jokingly defined it as Chickasaw Indian for "Beat the hell out of the University of Texas" [cite web|url=http://theeagle.com/aandmnews/anniversary/1williamsbio.htm|title=Williams' drive, humor spearheaded growth at A&M|publisher=The Bryan-College Station Eagle|last=Ferrell|first=Christopher|accessdate=2008-08-05]

In 1928, Wilson wrote another verse at the request of several Aggie students who thought the original was too focused on the Aggies' rivalry with the University of Texas. This verse is now the first verse of the song but never caught on, in part because many felt it sounded too much like an Ivy League song. To this day, the second (original) verse is usually sung twice. [cite web|url=http://www.tamu.edu/singing_cadets/schoolsongs.htm|title=School Songs|publisher=Texas A&M Singing Cadets|accessdate=2007-08-09]

The second verse opens with "Good-bye to texas university". These words were chosen since Aggies traditionally refer to their principal athletic rival, the University of Texas, as "texas university", or "t.u."

Full Lyrics

Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck!Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck!

First Verse

All hail to dear old Texas A&M,
Rally around Maroon and White,
Good luck to the dear old Texas Aggies,
They are the boys who show the fight.
That good old Aggie spirit thrills us.
And makes us yell and yell and yell; --
So let's fight for dear old Texas A&M,
We're goin' to beat you all to --
Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem!
Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem!
Rough! Tough!
Real stuff! Texas A&M!
Second Verse
Good-bye to Texas University.
So long to the Orange and White.
Good luck to the dear old Texas Aggies,
They are the boys who show
the real old fight.
The eyes of Texas are upon you.
That is the song they sing so well, (sounds like hell) [cite web|url=http://yell.tamu.edu/yells/#songs|title=Texas A&M Yell Leaders » Aggie Yells|publisher=Texas A&M University|year=2007|accessdate=2008-08-04]
So, good-bye to Texas University,
We're goin' to beat you all to --
Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem!
Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem!
Rough! Tough!
Real stuff! Texas A&M!
Saw Varsity's Horns Off (normally follows War Hymn)
Saw Varsity's Horns Off!
Saw Varsity's Horns Off!
Saw Varsity's Horns Off!
Short! A!
Varsity's Horns are Sawed Off!
Varsity's Horns are Sawed Off!
Varsity's Horns are Sawed Off!
Short! A!
[ [http://www.aggieathletics.com/index2.php?&pageID=219 Texas A&M Athletics Aggie War Hymn ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.foxnews.com/video/?maven_playerId=videolandingpage&maven_referralPlaylistId=search&maven_referralObject=3663eb4d-0d3d-4c50-bb10-7f8789c8b496 Aggie War Hymn] sung on "Studio B"
* [http://media.www.thebatt.com/media/storage/paper657/news/2005/03/21/Opinion/War-Hymn.Is.Fine.The.Way.It.Is.The.Spirit.Is.With.The.Students-898386.shtml Editorial on War Hymn in "The Battalion," the school newspaper]
* [http://www.aggieband.org/music/war_hymn.mp3 Sound file] (from Aggie Band web site)