Editor’s Note: Presented here for your consideration and enjoyment are songs of which few current undergraduates are aware but which were sung by generations of Dartmouth students. These songs recall a different expression of College spirit, and we have included them as means of reflecting on Dartmouth’s past.
The Original Alma Mater (Men of Dartmouth)
Men of Dartmouth, give a rouse
For the College on the hill
For the Lone Pine above her
And the loyal sons who love her
Give a rouse, give a rouse, with a will
For the sons of old Dartmouth
The sturdy sons of Dartmouth
Tho’ ‘round the girdled earth they roam
Her spell on them remains
They have the still North in their hearts
The hill winds in their veins
And the granite of New Hampshire
In their muscles and their brains
And the granite of New Hampshire
In their muscles and their brains
They were mighty men of old
That she nurtured at her side
Till like Vikings they went forth
From the lone and silent North
And they strove and wrought and they died
But the sons of old Dartmouth
The laurelled sons of Dartmouth
The Mother keeps them in her heart
And guides their altar flame
The still North remembers them
The hill winds know their name
And the granite of New Hampshire
Keeps the record of their fame
And the granite of New Hampshire
Keeps the record of their fame
Men of Dartmouth, set a watch
Lest the old traditions fail
Stand as brother stands by brother
Dare a deed for the old Mother
Greet the world, from the hills, with a hail
For the sons of Old Dartmouth
The loyal sons of Dartmouth
Around the world they keep for her
Their old chivalric faith
They have the still North in their souls
The hill winds in their breath
And the granite of New Hampshire
Is made part of them till death
And the granite of New Hampshire
Is made part of them till death
Eleazar Wheelock
Oh, Eleazar Wheelock was a
very pious man; He went into the
wilderness to teach the Indian,
With a gradus ad Parnassum, a Bible, and a drum,
And five hundred gallons of New England rum.
Fill the bowl up!
Fill the bowl up! Drink to Eleazar
And his primitive Alcazar
Where he mixed drinks for the heathen,
In the goodness of his soul.
The big chief that met him was the
sachem of the Wah-hoo-wahs.
If he was not the big chief,
there was never one you saw who was;
He had tobacco by the cord,
ten squaws, and more to come,
But he never yet had tasted
of New England rum.
Eleazar and the chief harangued and gesticulated;
They founded Dartmouth College
and the big chief matriculated.
Eleazar was the faculty
and the whole curriculum
Was five hundred gallons of New England rum.
Dear Old Dartmouth
We will shout Wah-hoo-wah
We will shout for old Dartmouth
Once again at her feet
We another vict’ry lay
We will shout Wah-hoo-wah
Strong her fame we are building
For it’s Dartmouth’s Day
Dear old Dartmouth
Dear old Dartmouth
Bless her name
Whether in defeat or vict’ry
We are loyal just the same
Then we’ll sing to dear old Dartmouth
‘Tis for her we fight for fame
And we’ll shout her praises loud in ev’ry land
Dear old Dartmouth bless her name
Pea-Green Freshmen
Where, O where are the
pea-green freshmen? (3 times)
Safe at last in the soph’more class.
They’ve gone out from
Pollard’s smut class. (3 times)
Safe at last in the soph’more class.
Where, O where are the
gay young soph’mores? (3 times)
Safe at last in the junior class.
They’ve gone out from
Fergies’s physics. (3 times)
Safe at last in the junior class.
Where, O where are the
drunken juniors? (3 times)
Safe at last in the senior class.
They’ve gone out from
Foley’s hist’ry. (3 times)
Safe at last in the senior class.
Where, O where are
the Grand Old Seniors? (3 times)
Safe at last in the wide, wide world.
They’ve gone out from
their Alma Mater. (3 times)
Safe at last in the wide, wide world.
Where, O where are
the funny, funny faculty? (3 times)
Safe at last in their trundle beds.
They’ve come back from
Leb and the Junction. (3 times)
Safe at last in their trundle beds.
A Son of a Gun
I wish I had a barrel of rum and
sugar, three hundred pound;
I’d put it in the College bell
and stir it ‘round and ‘round,
Let ev’ry honest fellow drink
his glass of hearty cheer,
For I’m a student of old
Dartmouth and a son of a gun for beer.
(Chorus)
I’m a son of a, son
of a, son of a, son of a,
son of a gun for beer.
I’m a son of a, son of a,
son of a, son of a, son of a gun
for beer.
Like ev’ry honest fellow I
like my whiskey clear,
For I’m a student of old
Dartmouth and a son of a gun for beer.
And if I had a daughter, sir,
I’d dress her up in green;
And put her on the campus to
coach the freshman team.
And if I had a son, sir, I’ll
tell you what he’d do.
He would yell “to Hell with Harvard”
like his daddy used to do.
(Chorus)
As the Backs Go Tearing By
As the backs go tearing by
On their way to do or die
Many sighs and many cheers
Mingle with the Harvard tears
As the backs go tearing by
Making gain on steady gain
Echo swells the sweet refrain
Dartmouth’s going to win today
Dartmouth’s sure to win today
As the backs go tearing by.
Dartmouth’s in Town Again
Dartmouth’s in town again,
Team, Team, Team,
Echo the old refrain,
Team, Team, Team.
Dartmouth for you we sing,
Dartmouth the echoes ring,
Dartmouth we cheer you.
Wah Who Wah Who Wah!
Down where the men in Green,
Play on play,
Are fighting like Dartmouth men;
We have the Dartmouth team,
And say, Dartmouth’s in town again.
Eleazar Wheelock Must Be Turning In His Grave
Eleazar Wheelock must be turning in his grave
Oh, Eleazar Wheelock must be turning in his grave
Oh, Eleazar Wheelock must be turning in his grave
As we go marching on
Glory, glory to old Dartmouth
Glory, glory to old Dartmouth
Glory, glory to old Dartmouth
For this is Dartmouth’s day
Dartmouth Undying
Dartmouth, there is no music for our singing
No words to bear the burden of our praise
Yet how can we be silent and remember
The splendor and fullness of her days
Who can forget her soft September sunsets
Who can forget those hours that passed like dreams?
The long cool shadows floating on the campus
The drifting beauty where the twilight streams?
