Go, Vandals, Go is the official

fight song A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...

of the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. The song was composed in 1930 by John Morris "Morey" O'Donnell (1912–1977), the freshman class vice president from Granite (between Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint). He graduated from

Coeur d'Alene High School Coeur d’Alene High School is a four-year public secondary school in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, one of two traditional high schools in the Coeur d'Alene School District #271. It serves the northeastern half of the district, with students from the ci ...

, the UI law school, and became a prominent attorney in the state at Moscow. A member of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

, O'Donnell was a talented

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and had played internationally before college. The title is similar to cross-state rival

Idaho State Bengals The Idaho State Bengals are the varsity intercollegiate athletic teams representing Idaho State University, located in Pocatello, Idaho. The university sponsors thirteen teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, tennis, and tra ...

song Growl, Bengals, Growl. The song was the freshman class' winning entry in the university's annual song and stunt fest in and was soon played by the UI pep band at

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

games at

MacLean Field MacLean Field was an outdoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. The venue opened in 1914 and closed in 1966; its uses included football, baseball, track, and mil ...

. Previously, the Vandals had used a variation of "

On, Wisconsin "On, Wisconsin!" is the fight song of the Wisconsin Badgers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. A version with modified lyrics is the official state song of Wisconsin. "On, Wisconsin!" was also the cry that Arthur MacArthur Jr. used in the ...

" as its fight song. Most fight songs are hard to sing because of the fast beat used to make them sound spirited. However, O'Donnell wrote the song almost entirely with

whole note A whole note (American) or semibreve (British) in musical notation is a single note equivalent to or lasting as long as two half notes or four quarter notes. Description The whole note or semibreve has a note head in the shape of a hollow ov ...

s and

half note ''Half Note'' is a live album by saxophonist Clifford Jordan which was recorded in 1974 and first released on the SteepleChase label in 1985.United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. For example, 2002, Norm Maves, Jr. of ''

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'' in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

described it as "the once and future king of college fight songs, with a fanfare lead-in that could motivate a successful infantry charge."

Lyrics

Came a tribe from the North, brave and bold,
Bearing banners of Silver and Gold;
Tried and true to subdue all their foes
Go Vandals, go mighty Vandals! Go, Vandals, go,
Fight on with hearts true and bold,
Foes will fall before your Silver and your Gold. The victory cannot be withheld from thee,
So all bear down for Idaho,
Come on old Vandals, go! I-D-A-H-O
Idaho, Idaho, Go! Go! Go! Source:

Bing Crosby fight song

Singer

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

, raised in

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

, recorded an unrelated Idaho fight song in 1947; "You're the Gem State Wonder, Idaho" was set to the melody of "Buckle Down, Winsocki" from the

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

'' Best Foot Forward'' (and 1941

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

). A few months later, Crosby was an absentee judge for a campus beauty contest, documented in the UI

References

External links

YouTube
– Go, Vandals, Go (with lyrics)
Arrangement for flute
{{authority control American college songs College fight songs in the United States Big Sky Conference fight songs Idaho Vandals Year of song missing 1930 songs