"Mighty Oregon" is the

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 ...

for the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. It is played by the

Oregon Marching Band The Oregon Marching Band (OMB) is the marching band of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. With over 250 members, it is the largest student organization on campus, and its members come from nearly every department and maj ...

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

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 ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

games. Director of Bands, Albert Perfect, along with journalism student DeWitt Gilbert, wrote the fight song, "The Mighty Oregon March", which was first performed on March 4, 1916. For the song's most popular section, Perfect fashioned a new melody to fit into the harmony from "

It's a Long Way to Tipperary "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" (or "It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary") is an English music hall song first performed in 1912 by Jack Judge, and written by Judge and Harry Williams, though authorship of the song has long been disputed. It ...

", a hit 1912

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

march. The catchy popularity of the harmony was not lost on Perfect, a man well-educated in music theory, who originally subtitled the song "The Tipperary of the West." Over the years there have been several changes to the lyrics and, today, the middle

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

is generally the only one sung and it is done so using more modern lyrics than the original. The song was first performed on January 7, 1916 at the Eugene Municipal Band's inaugural performance and is today played during all home football and basketball games as well as from speakers atop the

Erb Memorial Union The Erb Memorial Union (EMU) is the student union building of the University of Oregon (UO) in Eugene, Oregon, United States. History The building was constructed in 1950. It was named for Donald M. Erb. Two subsequent additions were built in ...

(the school's

student union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

) weekdays at noon and 6 p.m. In addition, it is played from atop the EMU on Commencement Day. "Mighty Oregon" is also the fight song of

Canyon View High School Canyon View High School may refer to: * Canyon View High School (Arizona) in Waddell, Arizona * Canyon View High School (Ontario, California) * Canyon View High School (Cedar City, Utah) * Canyon View Preparatory Academy Canyon View Preparatory ...

North Canyon High School North Canyon High School (NCHS) is a nationally recognized public high school located in north central Phoenix, Arizona. It features an International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Construction started in 1989, the campus was designed by Hickman, S ...

Okeechobee High School Okeechobee High School is a public high school for grades 9–12 in Okeechobee County, Florida, United States. The school belongs to the Okeechobee County School District. Notable alumni * Gene Harris, former MLB player (Montreal Expos, Seattle ...

, and Cleveland High School "Mighty Oregon" was also the fight song of

Elkhart Memorial High School Elkhart Memorial High School (EMHS) was a public high school located in Elkhart, Indiana. It was formerly part of Elkhart Community Schools Elkhart Community Schools is a school district headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana. The district serves mo ...

, which closed when it merged with

Elkhart Central High School Elkhart Central High School (ECHS) was a public secondary school in Elkhart, Indiana, Elkhart, Indiana. It was a part of Elkhart Community Schools. History In the fall of 1972 when Elkhart High School (est. 1872) was split into Elkhart Memoria ...

, and was the fight song for

Frankfurt American High School Frankfurt American High School (FAHS) was a DoDDS, Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) system school located on what was once known as I.G. Farben Building, the Abrams Complex in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany. One of DoDDS or ...

which closed in 1995 when US forces left Frankfurt, Germany.

References

{{authority control University of Oregon American college songs Pac-12 Conference fight songs 1916 establishments in Oregon 1916 songs Songs about Oregon

See also

References