A 'Fight Song'
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Morris 1 “We are CC”: A ‘Fight Song’ for Colorado College by Daniel F. Morris A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Bachelor of Arts (Music) The Colorado College 2/17/16 Morris 2 “We are CC”: A ‘Fight Song’ for Colorado College Sections: 1. Music History at CC a. Provides a timeline of music history at Colorado College. Introduces the idea of communal singing and its diminishing presence on campus over time. 2. Fight Songs across the U.S. a. Defines three categories of fight songs across the U.S. and highlights a few examples of these categories. Relates aspects of these songs back to a fight song at CC. 3. “We Are CC” a. The fight song lyrics, chords, and description. Highlighted in the lyrics are all the keywords or phrases that can be supported by research in the “CC as it is” subsection. 4. The CC Community a. Identifies and analyzes key ideals, symbols, and commonalities within the CC community. Addresses the fact that there are different micro-communities within the larger CC community that would all have varying perspectives on the fight song. Acknowledgements: Thank you to those people who helped in the completion of this capstone project, including those who were interviewed, responded to surveys, or assisted in the research in any way. Furthermore, thank you to my advisors, Ryan Bañagale and Ofer Ben-Amots, for their advice and support. Morris 3 Introduction Pasadena, California’s year-round climate made for a sunny New Year’s Day when the University of Wisconsin Badgers faced off against the Stanford Cardinals for the 99th annual Rose Bowl. It was a clash of two giants in the college football world: The Big-Ten Conference champions versus the PAC-12 Conference champions, respectively--two number one teams, each from a highly competitive conference. With an attendance of over 93,000 fans and a viewership of over seventeen million, the atmosphere was ecstatic. Suspense of knowing who will come out on top filled the air of the stadium as fans found their seats—although these are not very important because they will be standing for most of the game—and took in the sounds of the stadium in anticipation of the first kick-off. When in attendance at a game like this, or any game in college football, the energy around the stadium is overwhelming. The Rose Bowl can be likened to a modern-day Colosseum; bringing the fiercest competition to the field for the entertainment of the masses. The fans are divided between the two competitors, singing and chanting in support of their side. Depending on the events of the game, you and everyone around you might chant in support of your team’s defensive line or grimace at the sight of the opposing team scoring a touchdown. Throughout the game there is a sense of community engagement for what is happening on the field. Team mascots, logos, and school colors all worn by supporting fans create this sense of community. However, one of the hallmarks of college football that ties in all of these elements, one of the key unifying elements that create this community engagement, is the fight song. Imagining the scene at the 2013 Rose Bowl, you probably did not specifically hear the tunes for “On, Wisconsin” or Stanford’s adaptation of the hit single “All Right Now” by the English rock band Free—unless, of course, you have some familiarity with the traditions around Morris 4 Wisconsin or Stanford athletics. What you most likely did imagine, however, is the presence of a marching band, or two, playing from opposite sides of the stadium, producing powerful, brassy, and percussive music that seems to take control over everyone around you as they begin belting lyrics in support of their team. To an outsider, this may seem a bit intimidating. It is as if someone flips a switch and everyone begins chanting the same ritualistic words in devotion to something larger than themselves. Or, they begin to sing in unison, the same song, repeatedly, entranced by the music. This is the effect fight songs can have at colleges and universities all across the United States. Most colleges and universities across the United States have an official fight song, but this not the case for Colorado College (henceforth also referred to as “CC”). Although, this may not be all that surprising given that CC does not have a football team, is only 2,000 students strong, and is a privately funded liberal arts college. None of these attributes come comparatively close to either of the teams in the 2013 Rose Bowl or any school that has a Division I football team. The current CC community simply does not embody the ‘Rah-Rah’ mentality around sports.1 However, from 1885 until 2009 there was a Division III football team at CC and, even more, the school still boasts having two Division I sports (Men’s Ice Hockey and Women’s soccer). As expected, the football tradition at CC was accompanied by a fight song for many years, titled “Colorado C Men.” There are records of the song being sung at football games, reunions, and homecoming going back to the 1940s, but it fell out of use during the 1970s.2 The song existed and was sung within the community going back to at least 1924 when it was 1 2014 Knowledge Development Team Research. Personal Communication with Colorado College Office of Communications. https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/communications/ (last accessed February 17, 2016) 2 Special Collections at Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO: CC Publications folder. Morris 5 mentioned in this first-hand account that describes a “serenade” (campus gathering for singing as a group) outside of Bemis Hall: The first all college serenade in the history of the college was given Friday night. The serenade took place in the quadrangle, and was well received by the C.C. coeds… Art Gow's orchestra furnished the music for the affair. A few of the latest jazz numbers were given by the orchestra. This was followed by 'Colorado C. Men'…3 Interestingly enough, the song belonged to another institution, Washington and Lee University. The tune of “Washington and Lee Swing” received words that were altered to fit CC (see section 2: Fight Songs across the United States). No official fight song currently exists at Colorado College. The goal of this project is to produce a fight song that represents CC in the present day, while incorporating research from the musical history of CC as well as the origins and use of fight songs at other institutions. In recent years (2013-present), CC president Jill Tiefenthaler developed and began the implementation of the new Colorado College Plan: Building on the Block. One aspect of this plan includes a master communications plan designed to present CC in a way that “reflect[s] the nuances of our distinctive curricula and programs and our special place, signifying who we are as an academic community.”4 The goal of the communications plan is to build a stronger identity for CC that can then be presented and branded to extend beyond the immediate campus community. The current capstone project is an extension of this plan as it attempts to capture qualities of CC, including its history and ideals of the current community, and translate this research into a fight song that can both be enjoyed by the on-campus community as well as branded and presented beyond the immediate campus community. The research included in this project, incidentally, includes some of the same research that is being used by the Knowledge Development Team responsible for the 3 https://www.coloradocollege.edu/aapps/tours/walkingtour/bemis.php (last accessed February 17, 2016). 4 https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/strategicplan/progress/implementing.dot (last accessed February 17, 2016). Morris 6 redesign of the CC logo (part of the master communications plan). In this way, surveys and interviews of members of the CC community are used to identify the themes and symbols that are incorporated into the lyrics of the new Colorado College fight song. Given that CC does not have a football team and is a small liberal arts college, does it even need a fight song? As will be shown in this paper, a fight song is based in the tradition of athletics and serves as a rallying point when large groups of the school community are together to support one another. The CC community gets together for formal college affairs (commencement, baccalaureate, and convocation) as well as annual campus events such as Blues and Shoes and Llamapalooza. None of these events are typical venues for which a traditional fight song would be used. Again, imagine the 2013 Rose Bowl as a setting for a traditional fight song. At face-value, it may seem that CC does not need a fight song because we do not have sporting events on any scale comparable to the epic clash between Wisconsin and Stanford. However, a fight song would fill such a role perfectly in a CC hockey game at the World Arena before 7,000 dedicated fans.5 How can a single song balance these opposing needs? We need a song that can be adapted and arranged for both a campus community setting-- Blues and Shoes or Llamapalooza--and an arrangement that can be played over the loud speakers at sporting events: one arrangement for the campus, and the other for sporting events and school advertising. This would balance the values and practicality of a fight song on-campus while still recognizing the athletics department’s desire for a traditional fight song, as might fit better with the presence music had on campus early on in CC history.