University of Alabama traditions
Encyclopedia
The University of Alabama
is a school with many rich and spirited traditions. This article describes several of these traditions.
, football
was first introduced at the University of Alabama in 1892 by W. G. Little of Livingston, Alabama
, who had been a student at Andover, Massachusetts
and "went to the University carrying his uniform and a great bag of enthusiasm for the game."
Alabama's first football game was played in Birmingham
on Friday afternoon, November 11, 1892, at the old Lakeview Park. Alabama defeated a team composed mostly of high schoolers 56-0. That Saturday, November 12, Alabama played the Birmingham Athletic Club, losing 5-4 when Ross, of B.A.C., kicked a 65-yard field goal
. This field goal was a collegiate record at the time.
In 1896 the University's board of trustees passed a rule forbidding athletic teams from traveling off-campus. The following season only one game was played and in 1898 football was abandoned at Alabama. Student opposition to the ruling forced trustees to lift the travel ban and football was resumed in 1899. The 1918 season was cancelled on account of World War I
but the game was resumed the following year.
Alabama first gained national recognition for football in 1922 when it defeated the University of Pennsylvania
9-7 in Philadelphia. The following season Wallace Wade became head coach and in 1925 led the Crimson Tide to its first undefeated and untied season and its first trip to Pasadena, California with a Rose Bowl
invitation. On January 1, 1926 in the Rose Bowl, Alabama came from behind to upset the University of Washington
20-19.
, is credited with coining the phrase "Crimson Tide" in an article describing the 1907 Iron Bowl
played in Birmingham. The game was played in a sea of red mud with Auburn
, a heavy favorite to win. Alabama held Auburn to a 6-6 tie, thus graduating to their newfound nickname.
, both dating to the coaching tenure of Wallace Wade (1923–1930).
The earliest account attributes the Rosenberger's Birmingham Trunk Company for the elephant association. Owner J. D. Rosenberger, whose son was a student at the University, outfitted the undefeated 1926 team with "good luck" luggage tags for the trip to the 1927 Rose Bowl
. The company's trademark, displayed on the tags, was a red elephant standing on a trunk. When the football team arrived in Pasadena
, the reporters greeting them, including syndicated columnist Grantland Rice
, associated their large size with the elephants on their luggage. When the 1930 team returned to the Rose Bowl
, the company furnished leather suitcases, paid for by the Alumni Association, to each team member.
Another story dates to 1930. Following the October 4 game against Ole Miss
, Atlanta Journal sports writer Everett Strupper
wrote:
Sports writers continued to refer to Alabama as the "Red Elephants" afterwards, referring to their crimson jerseys. The 1930 team shut out eight of ten opponents, allowing a total of only 13 points all season. The "Red Elephants" rolled up 217 points that season, including a 24-0 victory over Washington State
in the Rose Bowl.
Despite these early associations of the elephant to the University of Alabama
, the university did not officially accept the elephant as university mascot until 1979.
Alabama's elephant mascot is known as "Big Al
."
The Million Dollar Band
, the University of Alabama's marching band
, was founded in 1913 with 14 members under the direction of Dr. Gustav Wittig. In 1917, the band became a military band
and was led by students until 1927.
The Million Dollar Band is the largest performing organization on campus, with around 400 members. The September 1992 issue of Southern Living
selected the Million Dollar Band as one of the top ten most outstanding bands in the South
. In 2003 it became the twenty-second band to be honored with the Sudler Trophy, given by the Sousa Foundation to recognize "collegiate marching bands of particular excellence that have made outstanding contributions to the American way of life." Additionally, the Million Dollar Band has been nationally televised more than any other college marching band in the country.
W. C. "Champ" Pickens bestowed the name "Million Dollar Band" after the 1922 football game against Georgia Tech
. Though accounts vary, it is reported that in order for the band to attend the game they had to solicit funds from local businesses. They were able to collect enough funds to ride in a tourist sleeper to the game. After the game, which Alabama lost 33-7, an Atlanta sportswriter commented to Pickens, "You don't have much of a team; what do you have at Alabama?" Pickens replied, "A Million Dollar Band."
songs written around the turn of the 20th century, the Alabama Alma Mater is set to the tune of "Annie Lisle
", a ballad written in the 1850s. The words are usually credited as, "Helen Vickers, 1908", although it is not clear whether that was when it was written or if that was her graduating class:
Alabama, listen, Mother,
To our vows of love,
To thyself and to each other,
Faithful friends we'll prove.
Faithful, loyal, firm and true,
Heart bound to heart will beat.
Year by year, the ages through
Until in Heaven we meet.
College days are swiftly fleeting,
Soon we'll leave their halls
Ne'er to join another meeting
'Neath their hallowed walls.
Faithful, loyal, firm and true
Heart bound to heart will beat
Year by year, the ages through
Until in Heaven we meet.
So, farewell, dear Alma Mater
May thy name, we pray,
Be rev'renced ever, pure and stainless
As it is today.
Faithful, loyal, firm and true
Heart bound to heart will beat
Year by year, the ages through
Until in Heaven we meet.
victory over Washington, a contest was held by The Rammer-Jammer, a student newspaper, for the composition of a fight song
. Several entries were submitted to a panel overseen by the Music Department, and the winning entry, "Yea Alabama", was adopted. The composer, Ethelred Lundy (Epp) Sykes, a student in the School of Engineering, was the editor of The Rammer-Jammer, and played piano in a jazz ensemble, The Capstone Five. He won the University's Pan-Hellenic Cup in 1926 for overall achievement, both academically, athletically, and in student affairs. The song achieved considerable popularity during the 20s and 30s. Sykes went on to become a Brigadier General in the U.S Air Force, and donated the copyright and future royalties to the University in 1947. The opening of the song is heard during pre-game right after the "Bammy Bound cheer". The Million Dollar Band plays only the chorus at football games such as after touchdowns and field goals.
A Dixieland jazz
version of the song appeared on the 1950 Percy Faith
album Football Songs (later re-releasd as Touchdown!) and was played extensively across the state in the 1960s and 1970s as the music bed of radio commercials for sporting goods stores. It was also used as the theme music for The Bear Bryant
Show.
The last words of the song, "Roll Tide!", have become the standard cheer, greeting, and farewell among Alabama fans.
The fight song, as played today, has been shortened to begin with the words "Yea, Alabama", however the original version had a verse that went at the beginning. The original lyrics are:
Let the Swanee Tiger scratch; Let the Yellow Jacket sting;
Let the Georgia Bulldog bite; Alabama still is right;
And whether win or lose we smile, for that's Bama's fighting style:
You're Dixie's football pride, Crimson Tide!
Yea, Alabama! Drown 'em Tide!
Every Bama Man's behind you, hit your stride!
Go teach the Bulldogs to behave!
Send the Yellow Jackets to a Watery Grave!
And if a man starts to weaken, that's his shame:
For Bama's pluck and grit have writ her name in Crimson Flame.
Fight on! Fight on! Fight on, men!
Remember the Rose Bowl, we'll win then.
Go, roll to vict'ry! Hit your stride!
You're Dixie's football pride, Crimson Tide!
The original version did not have "Roll Tide, Roll Tide!" at the end, but was added as a chant immediately following the last line of the song.
Amusingly, the song refers to several "traditional" opponents, but two of them are no longer part of Alabama's opponent roster. Georgia Tech ("Yellow Jackets") left the SEC in the early 1960s, and has only infrequently filled one of the nonconference game slots. The University of the South Tigers (also called Sewanee, and misspelled "Swanee" above) withdrew from the SEC in 1940, de-emphasized athletics, and no longer competes at the Division I level.
Before the university's attempt to remove the cheer, it was played before kickoff and at the end of the game. The cheer is now only played in the closing minutes when victory is certain, and is traditionally chanted twice. On at least one occasion (during Alabama's victory over Auburn in the 2008 Iron Bowl, Alabama's first in the series since 2001), it was repeated an additional three times. After Alabama's victory over the Florida Gators in the 2009 SEC Championship Game, as well as after Alabama's victory over the Texas Longhorns in the 2010 Citi BCS National Championship Game, the cheer was played nine times.
Depending on what team Alabama is playing, the Million Dollar Band and fans will call out to the opposing team by chanting the team's name; for example, a victory over Auburn University would have this cheer chanted as written below.
In other instances, the nickname
of the opposing team is substituted; for instance, a victory over the University of Tennessee would change the opening lyrics to "Hey Vols!" (short for Volunteers, the nickname/mascot for the University of Tennessee
) Also, when the cheer was played before kickoff, fans would replace the lyrics "We just" with "We're gonna." The cheer is no longer played before kickoff; however, there are a few special occasions where the cheer is played before a football game. One such instance includes when Alabama plays Tennessee in Knoxville
. The night before the football game, the Alabama Alumni Association hosts a riverboat cruise in which Alabama alumni from all around reunite for a night. During the two trips the riverboat cruise takes over the course of the night, the Million Dollar Band members that are a part of the cruises' pep band will play the Rammer Jammer cheer in the direction of other boats on the river flying a Volunteers' flag.
The lyrics originate from "The Rammer-Jammer," a student newspaper in the 1920s, and the yellowhammer, Alabama
's state bird. Author Warren St. John
titled his 2004 bestseller about obsessive sports fans Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer (http://www.rammerjammeryellowhammer.com/book.htm) after the cheer. The cheer was most noted during the years of Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his head cheerleader Mickey Grigsby.
Opposing teams, especially Auburn, frequently use the cheer in mocking Alabama following a win. The Auburn band plays it following an Auburn win in the Iron Bowl. The lyrics are typically changed to "Hey Bama! We just beat the hell out of you! Rammer Jammer, Yellowhammer, go to Hell, Alabama!"
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
is a school with many rich and spirited traditions. This article describes several of these traditions.
Beginnings of football at Alabama
According to a November 25, 1926 article in The Crimson WhiteThe Crimson White
The Crimson White, known colloquially as "The CW," is the student-run newspaper of the University of Alabama. It is published four times a week -- every weekday except Friday -- throughout the fall and spring semesters and weekly during the summer semester...
, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
was first introduced at the University of Alabama in 1892 by W. G. Little of Livingston, Alabama
Livingston, Alabama
Livingston is a city in Sumter County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 3,297. The city is the county seat of Sumter County.-Geography:Livingston is located at .According to the U.S...
, who had been a student at Andover, Massachusetts
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
and "went to the University carrying his uniform and a great bag of enthusiasm for the game."
Alabama's first football game was played in Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
on Friday afternoon, November 11, 1892, at the old Lakeview Park. Alabama defeated a team composed mostly of high schoolers 56-0. That Saturday, November 12, Alabama played the Birmingham Athletic Club, losing 5-4 when Ross, of B.A.C., kicked a 65-yard field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
. This field goal was a collegiate record at the time.
In 1896 the University's board of trustees passed a rule forbidding athletic teams from traveling off-campus. The following season only one game was played and in 1898 football was abandoned at Alabama. Student opposition to the ruling forced trustees to lift the travel ban and football was resumed in 1899. The 1918 season was cancelled on account of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
but the game was resumed the following year.
Alabama first gained national recognition for football in 1922 when it defeated the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
9-7 in Philadelphia. The following season Wallace Wade became head coach and in 1925 led the Crimson Tide to its first undefeated and untied season and its first trip to Pasadena, California with a Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
invitation. On January 1, 1926 in the Rose Bowl, Alabama came from behind to upset the University of Washington
Washington Huskies football
College football has a long history at the University of Washington. The Washington Huskies have won 15 Pacific-10 Conference championships, seven Rose Bowl titles, and three national championships. Washington's all-time record of 653-398-50 ranks 20th by all-time winning percentage and 21st by...
20-19.
The Crimson Tide
Early newspaper accounts of the University's football squad simply referred to them as the "varsity" or the "Crimson White." The first nickname popular with the media was the "Thin Red Line," which was used until 1906. Hugh Roberts, former sports editor of the Birmingham Age-HeraldBirmingham Post-Herald
The Birmingham Post-Herald was a daily newspaper in Birmingham, Alabama with roots dating back to 1850, before the founding of Birmingham. The final edition was published on September 23, 2005...
, is credited with coining the phrase "Crimson Tide" in an article describing the 1907 Iron Bowl
Iron Bowl
The Iron Bowl is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the University of Alabama and the Auburn Tigers football team of Auburn University. The series is considered one of the best and most hard-fought rivalries in all of sports...
played in Birmingham. The game was played in a sea of red mud with Auburn
Auburn Tigers football
Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the...
, a heavy favorite to win. Alabama held Auburn to a 6-6 tie, thus graduating to their newfound nickname.
The Elephant
There are two stories, perhaps both true, about how Alabama's football squad became associated with the elephantElephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
, both dating to the coaching tenure of Wallace Wade (1923–1930).
The earliest account attributes the Rosenberger's Birmingham Trunk Company for the elephant association. Owner J. D. Rosenberger, whose son was a student at the University, outfitted the undefeated 1926 team with "good luck" luggage tags for the trip to the 1927 Rose Bowl
1927 Rose Bowl
The 1927 Rose Bowl Game was a college football bowl game held on January 1, 1927 in Pasadena, California. The game featured the Alabama Crimson Tide, of the Southern Conference, and Stanford, of the Pacific Coast Conference, now the Pacific-10 Conference. It was Stanford's second Rose Bowl game in...
. The company's trademark, displayed on the tags, was a red elephant standing on a trunk. When the football team arrived in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, the reporters greeting them, including syndicated columnist Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice was an early 20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio.-Biography:...
, associated their large size with the elephants on their luggage. When the 1930 team returned to the Rose Bowl
1931 Rose Bowl
The 1931 Rose Bowl was the 17th Rose Bowl game, an American post-season college football game that was played on New Year's Day 1931 in Pasadena, California. It featured two undefeated teams, the Alabama Crimson Tide against the...
, the company furnished leather suitcases, paid for by the Alumni Association, to each team member.
Another story dates to 1930. Following the October 4 game against Ole Miss
Ole Miss Rebels football
The football history of the University of Mississippi , includes the formation of the first football team in the state and is 26th on the list of college football's all-time winning programs...
, Atlanta Journal sports writer Everett Strupper
Everett Strupper
George Everett "Stroop" Strupper was an All-American football player. He played halfback for Georgia Tech from 1915 to 1917. Strupper overcame deafness resulting from a childhood illness and was selected as an All-American in 1917...
wrote:
"At the end of the quarter, the earth started to tremble, there was a distant rumble that continued to grow. Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stamped this Alabama varsity. It was the first time that I had seen it and the size of the entire eleven nearly knocked me cold, men that I had seen play last year looking like they had nearly doubled in size."
Sports writers continued to refer to Alabama as the "Red Elephants" afterwards, referring to their crimson jerseys. The 1930 team shut out eight of ten opponents, allowing a total of only 13 points all season. The "Red Elephants" rolled up 217 points that season, including a 24-0 victory over Washington State
Washington State Cougars football
The Washington State Cougars football team is the intercollegiate football team of Washington State University. The team is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference...
in the Rose Bowl.
Despite these early associations of the elephant to the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
, the university did not officially accept the elephant as university mascot until 1979.
Alabama's elephant mascot is known as "Big Al
Big Al (mascot)
Big Al is the costumed mascot of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.The origin of the mascot dates back to 1930. On October 8, a sportswriter wrote about the previous weekend's Alabama-Ole Miss football game...
."
The Million Dollar Band
Million Dollar Band (marching band)
The Million Dollar Band is the official name for the marching band for the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The entire band performs at all home games, while varying in size for away games or games in neutral sites...
, the University of Alabama's marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
, was founded in 1913 with 14 members under the direction of Dr. Gustav Wittig. In 1917, the band became a military band
Military band
A military band originally was a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music...
and was led by students until 1927.
The Million Dollar Band is the largest performing organization on campus, with around 400 members. The September 1992 issue of Southern Living
Southern Living
Southern Living is a widely read lifestyle magazine aimed at readers in the Southern United States featuring recipes, house plans, and information about Southern culture and travel...
selected the Million Dollar Band as one of the top ten most outstanding bands in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. In 2003 it became the twenty-second band to be honored with the Sudler Trophy, given by the Sousa Foundation to recognize "collegiate marching bands of particular excellence that have made outstanding contributions to the American way of life." Additionally, the Million Dollar Band has been nationally televised more than any other college marching band in the country.
Naming of the Million Dollar Band
There are two stories to the naming of the Million Dollar Band. The main one is when Alabama's football wasn't doing so well. They were playing Georgia Tech and the coach of Georgia Tech stated, "Your football team isn't worth a nickel, but you have a million dollar band." And so the name stuck.W. C. "Champ" Pickens bestowed the name "Million Dollar Band" after the 1922 football game against Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
. Though accounts vary, it is reported that in order for the band to attend the game they had to solicit funds from local businesses. They were able to collect enough funds to ride in a tourist sleeper to the game. After the game, which Alabama lost 33-7, an Atlanta sportswriter commented to Pickens, "You don't have much of a team; what do you have at Alabama?" Pickens replied, "A Million Dollar Band."
Directors of the Million Dollar Band
- 1913–1917: Gustav Wittig
- 1917–1927: Student-led
- 1927–1934: Captain H. H. Turner
- 1935–1968: Colonel Carleton K. Butler
- 1969–1970: Earl Dunn
- 1971–1983: James Ferguson
- 1984–2002: Kathryn B. Scott
- 2003 – present: Kenneth Ozzello
Alma Mater
Like many college alma materAlma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
songs written around the turn of the 20th century, the Alabama Alma Mater is set to the tune of "Annie Lisle
Annie Lisle
"Annie Lisle" is the name of an 1857 ballad by Boston, Massachusetts songwriter H. S. Thompson first published by Moulton & Clark of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and later by Oliver Ditson & Co. It is about the death of a young maiden, by what some have speculated to be tuberculosis, although the...
", a ballad written in the 1850s. The words are usually credited as, "Helen Vickers, 1908", although it is not clear whether that was when it was written or if that was her graduating class:
Alabama, listen, Mother,
To our vows of love,
To thyself and to each other,
Faithful friends we'll prove.
Faithful, loyal, firm and true,
Heart bound to heart will beat.
Year by year, the ages through
Until in Heaven we meet.
College days are swiftly fleeting,
Soon we'll leave their halls
Ne'er to join another meeting
'Neath their hallowed walls.
Faithful, loyal, firm and true
Heart bound to heart will beat
Year by year, the ages through
Until in Heaven we meet.
So, farewell, dear Alma Mater
May thy name, we pray,
Be rev'renced ever, pure and stainless
As it is today.
Faithful, loyal, firm and true
Heart bound to heart will beat
Year by year, the ages through
Until in Heaven we meet.
"Yea Alabama"
Following Alabama's 1926 Rose Bowl1926 Rose Bowl
The 1926 Rose Bowl Game was held on January 1, 1926 in Pasadena, California. The game is commonly referred to as "the game that changed the south." The game featured the Alabama Crimson Tide, making their first bowl appearance, and the Washington Huskies....
victory over Washington, a contest was held by The Rammer-Jammer, a student newspaper, for the composition of a fight song
Fight song
A fight song is primarily an American and Canadian sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. In both professional and amateur sports, fight songs are a popular way for fans to cheer for their team...
. Several entries were submitted to a panel overseen by the Music Department, and the winning entry, "Yea Alabama", was adopted. The composer, Ethelred Lundy (Epp) Sykes, a student in the School of Engineering, was the editor of The Rammer-Jammer, and played piano in a jazz ensemble, The Capstone Five. He won the University's Pan-Hellenic Cup in 1926 for overall achievement, both academically, athletically, and in student affairs. The song achieved considerable popularity during the 20s and 30s. Sykes went on to become a Brigadier General in the U.S Air Force, and donated the copyright and future royalties to the University in 1947. The opening of the song is heard during pre-game right after the "Bammy Bound cheer". The Million Dollar Band plays only the chorus at football games such as after touchdowns and field goals.
A Dixieland jazz
Dixieland Jazz
Dixieland Jazz was a Canadian music television series which aired on CBC Television in 1954.-Premise:The series host was Trump Davidson, a cornet player. He also hosted a radio music series on CBC's Trans-Canada Network.-Scheduling:...
version of the song appeared on the 1950 Percy Faith
Percy Faith
Percy Faith was a Canadian-born American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with creating the "easy listening" or "mood music" format which became staples of American popular music in the 1950s and...
album Football Songs (later re-releasd as Touchdown!) and was played extensively across the state in the 1960s and 1970s as the music bed of radio commercials for sporting goods stores. It was also used as the theme music for The Bear Bryant
Bear Bryant
Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an American college football player and coach. He was best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships...
Show.
The last words of the song, "Roll Tide!", have become the standard cheer, greeting, and farewell among Alabama fans.
The fight song, as played today, has been shortened to begin with the words "Yea, Alabama", however the original version had a verse that went at the beginning. The original lyrics are:
Let the Swanee Tiger scratch; Let the Yellow Jacket sting;
Let the Georgia Bulldog bite; Alabama still is right;
And whether win or lose we smile, for that's Bama's fighting style:
You're Dixie's football pride, Crimson Tide!
Yea, Alabama! Drown 'em Tide!
Every Bama Man's behind you, hit your stride!
Go teach the Bulldogs to behave!
Send the Yellow Jackets to a Watery Grave!
And if a man starts to weaken, that's his shame:
For Bama's pluck and grit have writ her name in Crimson Flame.
Fight on! Fight on! Fight on, men!
Remember the Rose Bowl, we'll win then.
Go, roll to vict'ry! Hit your stride!
You're Dixie's football pride, Crimson Tide!
The original version did not have "Roll Tide, Roll Tide!" at the end, but was added as a chant immediately following the last line of the song.
Amusingly, the song refers to several "traditional" opponents, but two of them are no longer part of Alabama's opponent roster. Georgia Tech ("Yellow Jackets") left the SEC in the early 1960s, and has only infrequently filled one of the nonconference game slots. The University of the South Tigers (also called Sewanee, and misspelled "Swanee" above) withdrew from the SEC in 1940, de-emphasized athletics, and no longer competes at the Division I level.
Rammer Jammer Cheer
The "Rammer Jammer Cheer" is a traditional cheer. The cheer was a pregame ritual until the early 2000s, chanting "We're gonna' beat the hell out of you!", but this was considered unsportsmanlike and banned. The university also briefly forbade the Million Dollar Band from playing it after games, because of its taunting nature. The move was met with a significant amount of criticism. In a vote at Homecoming 2005, the question was posed to students of whether the cheer should be banned. 98% of students voted in favor of keeping the cheer.Before the university's attempt to remove the cheer, it was played before kickoff and at the end of the game. The cheer is now only played in the closing minutes when victory is certain, and is traditionally chanted twice. On at least one occasion (during Alabama's victory over Auburn in the 2008 Iron Bowl, Alabama's first in the series since 2001), it was repeated an additional three times. After Alabama's victory over the Florida Gators in the 2009 SEC Championship Game, as well as after Alabama's victory over the Texas Longhorns in the 2010 Citi BCS National Championship Game, the cheer was played nine times.
Depending on what team Alabama is playing, the Million Dollar Band and fans will call out to the opposing team by chanting the team's name; for example, a victory over Auburn University would have this cheer chanted as written below.
Hey Auburn!
Hey Auburn!
Hey Auburn!
We just beat the hell out of you!
Rammer Jammer, Yellowhammer, gave 'em hell, Alabama!
In other instances, the nickname
Athletic nickname
The athletic nickname, or equivalently athletic moniker, of a university or college within the United States is the name officially adopted by that institution for at least the members of its athletic teams...
of the opposing team is substituted; for instance, a victory over the University of Tennessee would change the opening lyrics to "Hey Vols!" (short for Volunteers, the nickname/mascot for the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
) Also, when the cheer was played before kickoff, fans would replace the lyrics "We just" with "We're gonna." The cheer is no longer played before kickoff; however, there are a few special occasions where the cheer is played before a football game. One such instance includes when Alabama plays Tennessee in Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
. The night before the football game, the Alabama Alumni Association hosts a riverboat cruise in which Alabama alumni from all around reunite for a night. During the two trips the riverboat cruise takes over the course of the night, the Million Dollar Band members that are a part of the cruises' pep band will play the Rammer Jammer cheer in the direction of other boats on the river flying a Volunteers' flag.
The lyrics originate from "The Rammer-Jammer," a student newspaper in the 1920s, and the yellowhammer, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
's state bird. Author Warren St. John
Warren St. John
Warren St. John is an American author and journalist.St. John is the author of the National Bestseller Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania. The book explores the phenomenon of sports fandom and chronicles the Alabama Crimson Tide's 1999 season by following the team...
titled his 2004 bestseller about obsessive sports fans Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer (http://www.rammerjammeryellowhammer.com/book.htm) after the cheer. The cheer was most noted during the years of Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his head cheerleader Mickey Grigsby.
Opposing teams, especially Auburn, frequently use the cheer in mocking Alabama following a win. The Auburn band plays it following an Auburn win in the Iron Bowl. The lyrics are typically changed to "Hey Bama! We just beat the hell out of you! Rammer Jammer, Yellowhammer, go to Hell, Alabama!"