Bright College Years

Bright College Years is one of the traditional songs of Yale University, and often cited as the university's (unofficial but undisputed) alma mater. It was written to the tune of "Die Wacht am Rhein" by Henry Durand in 1881.

Durand was a member of the Yale Class of 1881 and figured in the founding of Wolf's Head Society.

In some old songbooks and publications, the song can be found under the name "Dear Old Yale," possibly a reference to the closing words of another popular Yale song, "'Neath the Elms": "Jolly, jolly are the days neath the elms of dear old Yale!"

During World War I, "Bright College Years" was nearly banned for its German heritage, and Yale men stationed in Paris sang it to the tune of "La Marseillaise". [cite web | title=Old Yale: The Birth, Near-Demise, and Comeback of "Bright College Years" | url=http://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/99_12/old_yale.html | accessdate=2007-12-29]

Lyrics

:Bright College years, with pleasure rife,:The shortest, gladdest years of life;:How swiftly are ye gliding by!:Oh, why doth time so quickly fly?:The seasons come, the seasons go,:The earth is green or white with snow,:But time and change shall naught avail:To break the friendships formed at Yale.

:We all must leave this college home,:About the stormy world to roam;:But though the mighty ocean's tide:Should us from dear old Yale divide,:As round the oak the ivy twines:The clinging tendrils of its vines,:So are our hearts close bound to Yale:By ties of love that ne'er shall fail.

:In after years, should troubles rise:To cloud the blue of sunny skies,:How bright will seem, through mem'ry's haze:Those happy, golden, bygone days!:Oh, let us strive that ever we:May let these words our watch-cry be,:Where'er upon life's sea we sail::"For God, for Country and for Yale!"

Performance

Most traditional Yale songs are rarely heard around campus today, and "Bright College Years" is no exception. The Yale Glee Club, official custodians of the Yale song tradition through publication of "Songs of Yale", traditionally closes every concert with the alma mater. White handkerchiefs are raised in the air and waved on the last line.

Traditionally, only the first and third verses are sung, and the latest publication of "Songs of Yale""Songs of Yale." New Haven, CT: Yale Glee Club, 2006. includes the lyrics of the second verse only in the appendix. In the spring of 2008, at the Commencement concert, the graduating seniors of the Glee Club added the second verse into the song while the rest of the choir hummed their parts, a tradition the club expects to continue in years to come.

In Popular Culture

*"Bright College Years: Inside the American Campus Today" is a book by Anne Matthews published in 1997 describing modern day academia.
*"Bright College Years" is a 1971 documentary filmed by Peter Rosen describing the reactions of people at Yale to President Nixon's bombing of Cambodia and the arrest of several Black Panther leaders in New Haven.
*"Bright Party Years" is a parody of "Bright College Years" written and sung by the Party of the Right in the Yale Political Union.

Notes and References

External links

* [http://research.yale.edu/gleeclub/yalesongs.html Traditional Yale Songs] lyrics at Yale Glee Club's website