"Ten Thousand Men of Harvard" is the most frequently performed of
Harvard University's
fight songs.
Composed by A. Putnam of
Harvard College's class of 1918, it is among the fight songs performed by the
Harvard Glee Club at its annual joint concert with the
Yale Glee Club the night before the annual
Harvard-Yale football game, as well as at the game itself. It is also played or sung at other athletic meets or other intercollegiate contests, usually by the
Harvard University Band.
To acquaint incoming freshmen with the song, early each academic year the band performs it in
Harvard Yard, where most freshmen live. The football team sings it after wins, and new players are required to memorize it in both English and Latin.
In 1991, this song was one of the songs played by Mission Control to awaken the
STS-37 crew.
In the 2018 film ''
On the Basis of Sex'', which portrays the life and early cases of United States Supreme Court Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, "Ten Thousand Men" plays as Ginsburg begins the first day of classes as one of only nine women among five hundred incoming
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
students.
Lyrics
The original lyrics are:
In 1953 a verse in
dog Latin was composed by Allan R. Robinson (Harvard College class of 1954), Edward Upton (class of 1953), and Charles Lipson (class of 1954), consisting of a nonsensical sequence of Latin clichés:
(''
Illegitimum non carborundum
''Illegitimi non carborundum'' is a mock-Latin aphorism, often translated as "Don't let the bastards grind you down". The phrase itself has no meaning in Latin and can only be mock-translated.
History
The phrase originated during World War II. ...
'' is the Harvard Band's motto.)
Other verses have lewd dog Latin lyrics (obscured by loud drumming), or just the syllable ''la'' repeated over and over.
See also
*
Fight Fiercely, Harvard
*
Harvardiana
''Harvardiana'' refers to things associated with the Harvard University. These include:
* Harvardiana, a literary magazine published from 1835 to 1838.
* ''Harvardiana'', a fight song
A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sp ...
References
{{Ivy League fight song navbox
External links
A video of the Harvard University band performing the songaudio and lyrics to Harvard fight songs
Harvard University Band
Ivy League fight songs
American college songs
Harvard University