😂 This was so fun to read - it reminds me of your advice for writing good valentines and love letters, Dr. Rogers. The alma mater for my own much-loved Grove City College is very similar to the ones you mentioned; it uses some concrete images of pines, columns, towers, and campus, but a lot of abstract, emotional language of "memories glowing" and "pledges of love and honor." Rewriting your school's alma mater would be a fun exercise for a writing seminar sometime. :)
I enjoyed reading this, and I learned something new about you, Dr. Rogers. I did not know you were an alumnus of Furman University. My mother, sister, and brother-in-law are all proud Paladins. I, apparently, am the black sheep (or, rather, Blue Devil) of the family. Upon reflection, my alma mater's alma mater is remarkably vapid, but we did enjoy singing it with gusto. Thanks for this trip down memory lane.
The University of Texas’ Alma Mater has one simple message: “The eyes of Texas are upon you.” ‘They are on you all-day long; you can’t escape them until Gabriel blows his horn. Your grandmother couldn’t have said it better. It also has troubling deep southern roots, which shouldn’t surprise anyone, considering the deep southern roots of the University.
Written by students, perhaps over a few beers at the student union, to mock the words often spoken by the University President, William Lambdin Prather, and performed at a minstrel show (of all things) in 1903. Prather loved the song. The performance at Prather’s funeral in 1905 was the first official recognition of it as the Alma Mater.
It is beloved by most all Texans and sung all over the world where Texans have wandered.
😂 This was so fun to read - it reminds me of your advice for writing good valentines and love letters, Dr. Rogers. The alma mater for my own much-loved Grove City College is very similar to the ones you mentioned; it uses some concrete images of pines, columns, towers, and campus, but a lot of abstract, emotional language of "memories glowing" and "pledges of love and honor." Rewriting your school's alma mater would be a fun exercise for a writing seminar sometime. :)
I enjoyed reading this, and I learned something new about you, Dr. Rogers. I did not know you were an alumnus of Furman University. My mother, sister, and brother-in-law are all proud Paladins. I, apparently, am the black sheep (or, rather, Blue Devil) of the family. Upon reflection, my alma mater's alma mater is remarkably vapid, but we did enjoy singing it with gusto. Thanks for this trip down memory lane.
The University of Texas’ Alma Mater has one simple message: “The eyes of Texas are upon you.” ‘They are on you all-day long; you can’t escape them until Gabriel blows his horn. Your grandmother couldn’t have said it better. It also has troubling deep southern roots, which shouldn’t surprise anyone, considering the deep southern roots of the University.
Written by students, perhaps over a few beers at the student union, to mock the words often spoken by the University President, William Lambdin Prather, and performed at a minstrel show (of all things) in 1903. Prather loved the song. The performance at Prather’s funeral in 1905 was the first official recognition of it as the Alma Mater.
It is beloved by most all Texans and sung all over the world where Texans have wandered.