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"Carmen Ohio" (Latin: Song of Ohio) is the oldest school song still used by 
Band director Jack Evans and arranger Richard Heine adapted the song to the brass band for which Ohio State is famous. The sound of chimes from the Orton Hall bell tower (which themselves are based on the
Carmen Ohio Centennial Speech
{{Ohio State Buckeyes football navbox Ohio State University Ohio State University Spirit and Traditions Music of Ohio Institutional songs
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
. The song was composed by freshman athlete and Men's Glee Club member Fred Cornell in 1902 or 1903. According to some accounts, he composed it on the train ride home from Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
after Ohio State suffered an 86-0 loss to the Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...
.
The song was set to the tune of "Spanish Hymn", or "Spanish Chant", and the Men's Glee Club first performed it in 1903; however, it did not gain popularity until after its publication in ''The Lantern
''The Lantern'' is an independent daily newspaper in Columbus, Ohio, by students at Ohio State University. It is one of the largest campus newspapers in the United States, reaching a circulation of 15,000.
Copies of the paper are free and avail ...
'' on October 10, 1906. At the following Ohio State-Michigan football game on October 20, 1906, "Carmen Ohio" was published in the program. In 1915, Cornell recalled that he wrote the song in 1903 at the request of the Men's Glee Club, and other family members later stated that the train story might be an exaggeration or outright fabrication.
Currently, after every home football game in Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium is an American football stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio State University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is also the site for the university's Spring Commencement c ...
, win or lose, the football team and the crowd sing the first verse of Carmen Ohio, accompanied by The Ohio State University Marching Band
The Ohio State University Marching Band (OSUMB) is a university marching band named for and a part of the Ohio State University. The band, popularly nicknamed The Best Damn Band in the Land (TBDBITL), performs at football games and other events d ...
. It is also sung by new graduates at the end of the university's commencement ceremonies, after diplomas are distributed.
Band director Jack Evans and arranger Richard Heine adapted the song to the brass band for which Ohio State is famous. The sound of chimes from the Orton Hall bell tower (which themselves are based on the Westminster Quarters
The Westminster Quarters, from its use at the Palace of Westminster, is a melody used by a set of four quarter bells to mark each quarter-hour. It is also known as the Westminster Chimes, Cambridge Quarters or Cambridge Chimes from its place of ...
) were added as an introduction to the song.
Small selections of the lyrics, arranged at random, may be found on campus in the Ohio Union
The Ohio Union serves as a student activity center for students of The Ohio State University. When the Union was established in 1910, it was the first student union at a public university. The Ohio Union provides facilities for student activities ...
building.
The tune may also be recognized as the same in the hymn "Come Christians, Join To Sing", Text: 1843 by Christian H. Bateman (1813–1889).
Music: Spanish melody; arr. by David Evans in 1927, (1874–1948), Words originally written for "Sacred Melodies for Children" published in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1843. With slight variations, the tune is used for a variety of other hymn texts, including "When This Passing World Is Done." Praise for the Lord hymnbook at #758 (Praise Press); hymnary.org (search "Spanish Hymn").
See also
* "Bright College Years
"Bright College Years" is one of the traditional songs of Yale University, and the university's unofficial but undisputed alma mater. It was written in 1881 by Henry Durand and set to the tune of "Die Wacht am Rhein".
In some old songbooks and ...
," the unofficial Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
''alma mater'' from whose lyrics those of "Carmen Ohio" are largely adapted
References
External links
Carmen Ohio Centennial Speech
{{Ohio State Buckeyes football navbox Ohio State University Ohio State University Spirit and Traditions Music of Ohio Institutional songs