May 4, 2015

"Hail to the Victors Valiant"... is the fight song to beat...

... in this version by some University of Michigan musical theater students at their graduation party:


Posted by Scott Orr on Sunday, May 3, 2015


Wisconsin? Anybody?

ADDED: I'm looking for musical-theater-type presentations of the Wisconsin song (and other schools' songs), not just the usual marching band things, but something different. Also, I just want to say that my mother grew up in Ann Arbor, and here I am as a little kid visiting my grandparents on South Division Street:

scrapbook 5_0034

I'm the one I would want to be if I didn't already know which one I am. (Photo, from 1956, previously blogged in 2013.)

29 comments:

Magson said...

I think this "generic" one is pretty good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq4K1N9XttY

MadisonMan said...

Didn't listen, but did they use these, the correct words?

Hail to those masturbators
Hail to those fornicators
Hail, hail to Michigan
The Cesspool of the World!!!

Hail to those motherf*ckers
hail to those Dumb C*ck-suckers
Hail, hail to Michigan
The Cesspit of the world.

Big Mike said...

I think "On Wisconsin" is right up near the top, along with the fight songs from Michigan and USC. But no university tops Notre Dame's Victory March.

T J Sawyer said...

Alas that the original "On Wisconsin" was withdrawn from the Minnesota competition. Had we been able to select it, no one here would have to explain Ski-U-Mah to the rest of the world.

Ann Althouse said...

It's the WAY they sing it here that's significant.

Ann Althouse said...

Note: I went to Michigan undergrad. My mother also went to Michigan... and she grew up in Ann Arbor.

tim in vermont said...

Not invested in this, but Michigan and Notre Dame are in a class by themselves.

Wisconsin is in the second rank, Tennessee's "Rocky Top" is an example of a third rank fight song.

gadfly said...

Ah. but wait . . . they conquer no one anymore. Indiana, Purdue, Directional Michigans and Miami of Ohio, yeah but watch out for Ball State and Appalachian State. And the winning song names no school.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04854XqcfCY

Wilbur said...

I've been irritated by this subject since the Left got rid of Chief Illiniwek at Illinois, thereby ruining halftimes there forever.

The University of Illinois will never get another cent from me.

Curious George said...

I don't know about the theatre students, but Ohio State's football students kicked the livin' shit of Michigan's (and Wisconsin and the rest). I'm guessing they're good with that.

They also have the Best Damn Band in the Land.

GO Bucks!


Edmund said...

My alma mater, Rice, has "Louie, Louie" as it's unofficial fight song. Here is a clip showing the MOB (Marching Owl Band) performing it in the stands. You can see the keyboards and part of the string section. (Yes, they have a string section, as well as keyboards and electric guitars. The amps are on carts.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acsQW8g9RRM

Here is the studio version, as used in the "Police Squad!" film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmBeWxNGSIw&list=PLEdJHRhFpf7fOTAuKbJY0KuKAGcoxzTT7

campy said...

Speaking of the Dropkick Murphys, they've recorded my alma mater's fight song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ArP3D_LX5w

Curious George said...

But awesome rendition. Now I wonder how they will sing "Do you want any fries with that?"

Curious George said...

Ohio State's Glee Club
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUFlaapy_2U

Curious George said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg928Cmg7iE

Big Mike said...

@Wilbur, besides, what sort of fight song is "Oskee-Wow-Wow"?

CWJ said...

Althouse,

Point of trivia but I'm given to understand that U W no longer owns the rights to "On Wisconsin." Indeed, Sir Paul McCartney does, and that Sir Paul declined to forego the royalties thereto.

Perhaps this has changed, but my understanding is that for years the band would play the Budweiser song far more often than they would play On Wisconsin. Budweiser foregoing their royalties in a cheap way to stick it to Miller on their home turf.

Titus said...

Waunakee High School's school song was Go U Northwestern.

I knew all the cheerleaders moves to every chant-I was so much better than them. My arms really "stuck" to the positions.

tits.

Malesch Morocco said...

What years did your mother attend U of M? Inquiring minds want to know.

Bob R said...

Washington and Lee has a great fight song. No musical theater version, but here is Rudy Vallee
and Louis Armstrong.


Stephen A. Meigs said...

My current best theory is the youngest girl if quite young tends to want to always be just the right contrast to whichever older girl the guy she wants is about or at the point of being about. If he likes a diverse sort of older females, that can cause her to switch emotions often, which may be mistaken for a desire to be whatever he wants to fantasize about. Not that you weren't probably too young for that sort of thing in reality, but there might have been some practicing going on in case the opportunity later arose.

Nowadays I suppose a girl like what you looked to be in 1956 would be called sassy, a word I am hesistant to embrace because it seems like it had bad connotations when I was young.

All speculation, of course. You didn't seem too entirely keen to be just like the cool brainy-looking girl on our far right.

~ Gordon Pasha said...

Here is Bing Crosby singing the University of Idaho fight song in 1947

http://youtu.be/qz6SqSUcisw

Ann Althouse said...

The truth is, there was a storm that brought dowm a lot of tree branches, and we found the changed environment really exciting.

khesanh0802 said...
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khesanh0802 said...

For all you savages in the midwest:
Ten Thousand Men of Harvard

We may no longer play top-of-the-heap football we have history of great fight songs based on our early dominance of American football. (look it up!)

Wayne said...

Fight Fiercely Harvard

khesanh0802 said...

Wayne; I was hoping someone would counter with Tom Lehrer. Good going!!

Etienne said...
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Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.