The Stanford Jonah
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"The Stanford Jonah" is a fight song of the
Controversy and explanation
There is a small controversy about the chorus of this song. In 1914, the
Lyrics
When the training days are done,
And the Big Game's just begun,
And there's music in the air;
When our team runs on the field,
Stanford knows her fate is sealed,
For the Golden Bear has left his lair.
When the yells of lusty throats
Start to getting Stanford's goats,
And the rooting section seems a howling mob,
Then you grab your hat and shout,
You let folks know you're about,
For you know that Stanford Jonah's on the job.
Chorus:
So then it's up with the Blue and Gold,
Down with the Red; red, red, red
California's out for a victory,
We'll drop our battle axe on Stanford's head; chop!
When we meet her, our team will surely beat her.
Down on the Stanford farm, there'll be no sound,
When our Oski rips through the air.
Like our friend Mister Jonah, Stanford's team will be found,
In the tummy of the Golden Bear.
Chorus
Lyric references
- The battle axe referred to is the Stanford Axe which is a perpetual football trophy with a history of being stolen.
- The Big Game referred to is the Big Game (football) which pits the California Golden Bears against the Stanford Cardinalin one of the most celebrated college rivalries.
- The Oski that rips through the air refers to an old cheer used by the Golden Bears at football games called "Oskiis now the university mascot.
- "We'll drop our battle axe on Stanford's head, chop!" refers to Stanford's previous mascot the Indians, which was later deemed culturally insensitive in 1972, and changed to the Stanford Tree in subsequent years.
External links
References
- ^ The Montanan - University of Montana Magazine
- ^ http://www.usna.edu/USNABand/groups/marchingband.htm US Naval Academy Marching Band