If you were at Senior Pub Night at the Aquarium bar on Wednesday, you couldn't help but notice that people were dancing to a techno version of the Tufts fight song. E.W. Hayes, class of 1916, and the composer of the famous "Tuftonia's Day," would quake in his boots if he were alive today. He shouldn't complain too much - at least his song is still being played!
Homecoming is the ultimate display of school spirit, yet most students don't even know the words of any of the plethora of University songs. They might be familiar with Hayes' "Tuftonia's Day," and Lewis' "Dear Alma Mater" from convocation, but sadly, that is about as far as their knowledge goes. And the only people who know the words to any of the songs are members of the collegiate a cappella groups.
Things are about to change. The following is some basic trivia factoids on the history of Tufts songs. This way, at Homecoming, you can impress your friends with your knowledge of Tufts music.
The first Tufts song, "A Commencement Ode," was composed in 1876 by Frederick W. Eddy. This was just the beginning of a long tradition of Tufts songs. "Rally Cry," written by Charles W. Gevould (LA, 1882) with lyrics by Oscar H. Perry (LA, 1883), was the very first song to coin the famous cheer, T-U-F-T-S.
Leo Rich Lewis (LA, 1887), professor and chair of the Tufts department of music for fifty years, was influential in making Tufts known as a "singing college." He composed the famous "Alma Mater" in 1898 following the first Tufts Night on the Hill on Sept. 26, 1898. D.L. Maulsby (LA, 1887) wrote the lyrics. Significantly, "Dear Alma Mater," did not make a stir when it was first performed. Lewis wrote in the Tufts College Graduate in Oct. 1910, "When it was sung at the Reunion concert of May 12, 1899, it made practically no impression on either singers or auditors.... On May 29, 1901, at the Tufts Night in Symphony Hall, when the organ came to give climax to the enthusiasm which had obviously been growing during the first two stanzas, it seemed clear that the song had found its place in the life of the college."
Few students know that a plethora of Tufts songs were written in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Luckily, these songs have been anthologized in the publication of four editions of the Tufts College Song Book, the earliest compiled in 1899 with a total of 96 pages and the last compiled in 1922 with a total of 384 pages. The edition published in 1915 was a total of 544 pages. Who knew we had so many tunes?
Sadly, not all of these songs have found a lasting place in the life of the University. Certain songs were great hits in their day. "The Barnum Song," written by Lewis, was a popular Tufts tune. Kenneth S. Clark wrote in the Saturday Evening Post in 1934, "In some ways, the Tufts college 'Barnum Song' is the most flavorsome of the lot." This song was recorded by Columbia Studios in 1914. Another popular ditty was "The Brown and Blue," one of the most popular Tufts songs of its day. Professor Lewis called it the first "general song of Tufts" in his article in the Tufts College Graduate, Vol. XX, No. 3
Other gems of the Tufts song collection include "Aren't You Glad You're a Tufts Man?"; "For Tufts Hurrah"; "Forward Tufts!"; "Hymn to College Hill"; and "Victory Song." You can check out some of these songs in a CD of Tufts music that is available in the the University archives.
Tufts certainly is not lacking for any spirit songs! "To sum up," Lewis wrote in the Graduate in 1921, "Tufts had not merely all necessary songs, but an over-plus of song-material for every imaginable occasion."
Lyrics to "Rally Cry," the song Leo Rich Lewis called the "first Tufts song."
Then let us make those old walls ring, To every heart so dear. And let us give while still we sing, our own brave college cheer. The sweetest song that we can sing, our own brave college cheer. T-U-F-T-S. Rah, rah, rah, rah, rah! St! Boom! Yah!
