"The Red and Blue" is a popular song of the University of Pennsylvania.
"The Red and Blue", while not the official
alma mater of the University of Pennsylvania, is so popular that it is often played in place of it at official university functions. (The alma mater of the university is ''
Hail, Pennsylvania!
"Hail, Pennsylvania!" is a song written by Edgar M. Dilley (Class of 1897) as a submission to a University of Pennsylvania alumni committee-sponsored contest to write a song to the tune of "God Save the Tsar!", the national anthem of Imperial Russi ...
.'') The song dates from the end of the 19th century. Traditionally men would remove their hats for this song and wave them in time to the refrain. One still sees remnants of this custom when students wave their arms while singing the song's chorus.
The words were written by Harry E. Westervelt (Class of 1898), and the music was composed by William John Goeckel (
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
1895,
LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
1896). Goeckel was known among his classmates as a musician and composer and was both a member and leader of the
Penn Glee Club
Founded in 1862, the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club (Penn Glee Club) is one of the oldest continually running glee clubs in the United States and the oldest performing arts group at the University of Pennsylvania. The Club draws its singing ...
during his time at Penn.
[
] The song's copyright was originally held by W. H. Boner & Company.
Notes
References
*Cheney, Edward Potts. ''History of the University of Pennsylvania, 1740-1940''. (1940.)
External links
University of Pennsylvania ArchivesThe Practical PennsylvanianListen to "The Red and Blue" as performed by the Penn Band
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Penn Quakers
University of Pennsylvania