"The Fight Song" 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 ...

of the

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

(WSU) in

Pullman, Washington Pullman () is the largest city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 29,799 at the 2010 census, and estimated to be 34,506 in 2019. Originally founded as Thr ...

. The music to the tune was composed in 1919 by WSU student Phyllis Sayles with fellow student Zella Melcher penning the lyrics. Sayles, who had transferred to WSU from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

two years before composing "The Fight Song", is also responsible for arranging the 1917 edition of the ''Northwestern University Songbook''. A non-scientific, 1997 survey undertaken by the '' Spokesman-Review'' found few students, employees, and supporters of WSU knew the lyrics to the song, noting that "when it comes to the acid test of Cougar spirit – the ability to sing the fight song on a moment’s notice – almost everyone flunks." Nonetheless, the 1985 film ''

Volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

'' features a lyrically correct rendition of "The Fight Song" by John Candy, whose character, Tommy Tuttle, is an alumnus of the university. In the plotline of that film, "The Fight Song" is subsequently adopted by a group of

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

partisans as a battle cry. In 2013, new uniforms for the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic program co ...

men's

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

were debuted which featured the lyrics to "The Fight Song" on the backs of both home and away jerseys. Some supporters of Washington State University's athletic teams have been known to construct

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

s out of used tins of Cougar Gold cheese (a cheddar produced by the Washington State University Creamery) which they then use to perform "The Fight Song." These instruments are colloquially known as "canjos."

References

Washington State University American college songs College fight songs in the United States Pac-12 Conference fight songs 1919 songs {{DEFAULTSORT:Fight Song (Washington State University)