"Bright College Years" is one of the traditional songs of
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...
, and the university's unofficial but undisputed
alma mater. It was written in 1881 by
Henry Durand and set to the tune of "
Die Wacht am Rhein
"" (, ''The Watch on the Rhine'') is a German patriotic anthem. The song's origins are rooted in the historical French–German enmity, and it was particularly popular in Germany during the Franco-Prussian War and the First World War. The origi ...
".
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 and shortly afterward, "Bright College Years" was nearly banned for its German origins. Yale men stationed in Paris sang it to the tune of "
La Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du ...
".
Lyrics
Performance
The
Yale Glee Club
The Yale Glee Club is a mixed chorus of men and women, consisting of students of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1861, it is the third oldest collegiate chorus in the United States after the Harvard Glee Club, founded i ...
, custodians of the Yale song tradition through publication of ''Songs of Yale'', traditionally closes every concert with the alma mater. At the end of
The Game the
Yale Precision Marching Band
The Yale Precision Marching Band (affectionately known as the YPMB, or more simply The Band, for short) is the official marching band of Yale University. It is a scatter band (what some peers might call a "scramble band"), as distinct from univer ...
performs the song while the senior members of the band sing along. Various member parties in the Yale Political Union include "Bright College Years" in their toasting sessions and celebrations. In addition, the song is sung at the end of Class Day (held the day before University Commencement annually). White handkerchiefs are raised in the air and waved on the last line.
Traditionally, only the first and third verses are sung. The latest publication of ''Songs of Yale'' includes the lyrics of the second verse only in the appendix.
[''Songs of Yale.'' New Haven, Connecticut: Yale Glee Club, 2006.]
In popular culture
*The 1946-49 radio adaptation of ''
Frank Merriwell
Frank Merriwell is a fictional character appearing in a series of novels and short stories by Gilbert Patten, who wrote under the pseudonym Burt L. Standish. The character appeared in over 300 dime novels between 1896 and 1930 (some between 1927 ...
'' used "Bright College Years" as its theme tune.
*''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
A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been do ...
leaders in
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
.
*"Bright College Days" is the name of a satirical alma mater written by Harvard's
Tom Lehrer
Thomas Andrew Lehrer (; born April 9, 1928) is an American former musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, having lectured on mathematics and musical theater. He is best known for the pithy and humorous songs that he recorded in ...
. It contains several Yale references.
Notes and references
External links
Traditional Yale Songslyrics at
Yale Glee Club
The Yale Glee Club is a mixed chorus of men and women, consisting of students of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1861, it is the third oldest collegiate chorus in the United States after the Harvard Glee Club, founded i ...
's website
{{Ivy League alma mater navbox
Yale University
American college songs
Alma mater songs
Songs about Connecticut