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The Boston College "Screaming Eagles" marching band performs before the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Alumni Stadium in 2017. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
The college football season is officially underway. Every Saturday, fans gather in stadiums across America to cheer on their favorite teams, and music is a big part of the celebration. Fight songs have long been an anchor for games, with the marching band playing a signature melody that fosters school pride.
“Fight songs fire up and rally a team’s fans, unifying the cheering effort around a common tune everyone knows and sings together. They are the best kind of sing-alongs,” noted Trey Luerssen, lead writer for Longhorns Wire, a USA Today sports media outlet.
One of the most popular fight songs is sung at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, where the University of Tennessee Volunteers take the field for home games and listen to the crowd sing along to the classic country and bluegrass hit, “Rocky Top.” Though technically the 1904 tune “Down the Field” is the school’s original fight song (it is also one of Yale’s early fight songs), “Rocky Top” has become the crowd favorite.
“The Victors,” one of the nation’s most popular fight songs, is a rousing tune played by the University of Michigan band celebrating a hero’s journey. It was inspired by a win over one of their storied rivals, the University of Chicago.
One fight song in particular set the tone for the school anthems that would follow. Its melody can still be heard today in Chestnut Hill, a neighborhood in Newton, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston, though it was written more than a century ago.
Wisdom and Unity
Boston College football squad, photographed in November 1911, from "Sub Turri: The Yearbook of Boston College" (Vol. 1), published by the senior class in June 1913. Internet Archive. Public Domain
The Boston College class of 1885 had a spirited leader. T.J. Hurley was not only chosen to head up a committee that would select school colors—maroon and gold— he was also the songwriter for the institution’s alma mater, “Hail Alma Mater.” But his most significant contribution to the school was his original song, “For Boston,” which eventually became synonymous with the football team.
Hurley “was one of the foremost leaders of the student body,” and “one of the most ardent of Boston College alumni,” according to a 1926 article in the Boston College student newspaper, The Heights.
His school spirit is most evident in the lyrics he composed for the Boston College fight song.
For Boston, for Boston,We sing our proud refrain!For Boston, for Boston,‘Tis Wisdom’s earthly fane.
Sung along to a driving drumbeat and lively brass section, the lyrics speak to the college being a temple of wisdom. Other lines like “For Boston, for Boston,/ ‘Tis here that Truth is known” represent the institution’s dedication to education. “For here all are one/ And their hearts are true” touches on the unity of the student body.
A History-Making Song
Cover for the 1958 album "College Songs" by Fontanna His Orchestra And Chorus, featuring the famous college football fight song "For Boston." Internet Archive. Public Domain
After its debut in 1885, “For Boston” set the fight song trend. Now, 134 compositions are recognized as official fight songs for schools across the country. The spectacle of the fight song is so ingrained in the college football experience, that 134 numbers were included in the popular video game, College Football 25, released by the Madden NFL video game company, EA Sports.
Though many fight songs have followed Hurley’s, like the Georgia Bulldog’s “Glory, Glory” (another unofficial anthem more well-known than the university’s original song, “Hail to Georgia”), and the Florida Gator’s nod to their school colors, “The Orange and Blue,” it all began with Hurley’s dashing composition.
The Heights regarded “For Boston” as a song that “will live as long as the college itself,” and it certainly has staying power. It is recognized as the oldest official fight song in the history of American collegiate sports.
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Rebecca Day is a freelance writer and independent musician. For more information on her music and writing, visit her Substack, Classically Cultured, at ClassicallyCultured.substack.com
