HIGH SCHOOL CHEERS and SPORTS SONGS of the FIFTIES
There was nothing like the thrill and excitement of high school football in small towns across America
—player, cheerleader, pep squad, band member, or participant in the pep rallies
—elementary, junior high, senior high school student, or an alumnus/a,
then you knew the cheers and the football songs and likely participated as the cheerleaders led.
Because I remember the football cheers and songs I thought everyone remembered the ones used in their own schools. Also because I attended high school football in my home town from the time I can remember and for thirty years in the public school where I taught and later served as principal and assistant superintendent, I thought compiling a comprehensive list of cheers would be fairly easy to research. I was wrong.
I wrote to the most widely known cheerleading association in America
I gathered the cheers I remember, along with high school football cheers found in a booklet that was distributed in my elementary school (perhaps with the purchase of a season pass?) and the few I found in the half dozen books I purchased on cheerleading.
It does appear that cheers used mid-century are not likely being used today and it is that which led me to believe that cheers are time specific. I still would like to know, however, if the cheers used in Michigan are the same as those yelled in Mississippi and chanted in New Mexico
Will the readers of this book be willing to reminisce to recall cheers used in your own schools and to send me your cheers and sports songs? Contact me at jtwitmer@aol.com or yesteryearpublishing@gmail.com and I will acknowledged your contribution in my blog, http://shalimar-yesteryear.blogspot.com.
An single asterisk notes that others in a neighboring school recognized the song or cheer. A double asterisk notes that recent graduates recognized the song or cheer as being used today
.
SONGS
Down the Field
March, march on Down the Field,
Fighting for Zwirek;
Break through that crimson line,
Their strength to defy;
We’ll give a long cheer to Zwirek’s men,
We’re here to win again.
(Opponent’s name) team can fight to the end,
But Tide will win.
(Shout) Rah! Rah! Rah!
Sing for Golden Tide!
Come on and sing for dear old Golden Tide
It’s up to us to stick right by her side,
For Victory today cannot be won
Without our songs, our cheers, our faith—yes, everyone!
Come on and fight for dear old C.H.S.
With all your might, fight hard for her success.
To you—our team, we pledge ourselves to be—always be, loyal and true.
On, Oh, Curwensville! (1)
On, oh, Curwensville, On, oh, Curwensville
Fight right through that line.
Take the ball around the end boys
For a touchdown sure this time.
On, Oh, Curwensville, On, oh, Curwensville
Fight hard for your fame.
Fight fellows, fight, and we will win this game.
Our Boys Will Shine!
Our boys will shine tonight,
Our boys will shine.
Our boys will shine tonight,
All down the line.
They’ve washed their faces, too.
Out for a time—
When the sun goes down and the moon comes up,
Our boys will shine.
Loyal and True
We’ll always be, loyal and true,
All through our schools days
And when we are through.
Curwensville High – three cheers for you.
We pledge our hearts
And ourselves to you.
Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah!
Golden Tide Swing!
Come on and push that ball across, boys.
Drive right down there and score.
We have a victory to gain, team.
Prove we can win once more.
Come on for our old high school’s glory.
Let honor be your guide.
If you will fight for Alma Mater,
Then you can win for Golden Tide.
Untitled[1]
Beer, beer for Curwensville High
You bring the whiskey, I’ll bring the rye
Send the sophomores out for gin,
Don’t let a sober freshman in.
We never stagger, we never fall
We sober up on wood alcohol
When we win this game you’ll see
It’s onward to victory
Football Song
Oh, you can’t win a game
Against Curwensville
Cause Curwensville
Has a golden will.
Our Golden Tide
Is on the ball
We’ll take the Mountaineers
Right for a fall.
Now our Coach Brown
Is very tough
He tells our boys
To be ready and rough!
(written by the author at age 15 who, while lacking in musical composition skills, held strong devotion to CJHS)
CHEERS
One of the earliest cheers used at Curwensville High School
The cheers are numbered for the purpose of referencing by readers who may want to suggest similarities to cheers in their own high schools or to make corrections.
1. Are You Ready? (circa 1937)
All Right!
Are You Ready?
Hip! Hip!
2. Golden Tide (first noted in the 1948 Echo)
Roll now; roll now,
Roll Tide, Roll!
3. Signals!
22-44-46-Hite!
Come on, fellows,
Fight, fight, fight.
4. F-i-g-h-t (2)
(3 times, increasing speed)
Fight!
5. F-i, f-i, fight,
F-i, f-i, fight,
F-i, f-i, fight,
F-I-G-H-T, Fight!
6. Golden yellow
Shining black
Come on fellows
Push them back!
7. Shift to the left, (1, 2)
Shift to the right,
Come on fellows,
Fight, fight, fight!
8. With a V, with an I
With a V I C
With a T, with an O
With a TOR
With an O, with an R
With an ORY
With a Victory, Victory, Victory!
9. Victory, victory is our cry,
V-i-c-t-o-r-y!
Are we in it? Well, I guess,
10. V for victory
Is our cry!
Come on, Curwensville,
Hit ‘em high!
Hit ‘em high and
Hit ’em low,
Come on, Curwensville,
Let’s go!”
11. V-i-c --- T-o-r-y (1, 2)
V-i-c --- T-o-r-y
V-i-c --- T-o-r-y
Victory, victory, victory!
12. Welcome Yell
Hi, Visitor! How do you do?
Listen while we cheer for you.
(Spell name of visiting team, then
yell the name of the visiting team.)
13. Response to a Welcome
With a Hey and a Hi,
And a How Do You Do,
We’re from Curwensville,
Glad to meet you!
14. C-u-r-w-e-n-s-v-i-l-l-e
(Repeat three time with increasing speed)
Golden Tide!
15. G-o-l-d-e-n T-i-d-e
(Repeat three time with increasing speed)
Golden Tide!
16. We’ve got the T-e-a-m,
That’s on the B-e-a-m,
We’ve got the team that’s on the beam
And we’re hep to the jive,
Come on, fellows, skin them alive.
The following is known as the warm-up cheer,
according to the 1942 Echo.
17. Whiff! Whac!
Gold and Black!
Do or die,
Curwensville High!
Team, Team, Team.
18. Come on, kids,
He did swell.
Let’s give him
A great big yell!
Yea, (first name)!
Yea, (last name)!
Yea, (full name)!
19. Team, team, team!
T-T-T-T
E-E-E-E
A-A-A-A
M-M-M-M
Team, team, team!
20. Y-e-a, y-e-a, YEA!!
21. C (pause)
U-R (pause)
W (pause)
E-N (pause)
S (pause)
V-I (pause)
L (pause)
L-E (pause)
C-U-R-W-E-N-S-V-I-L-L-E
(pause)
Curwensville
(pause)
Golden Tide
(pause)
Go, Varsity, Go!
22. We’ve got the go;
We’ve got the get;
We’ve got the gang
That’s got the pep.
The go, the get,
The gang, the pep,
Yep, yep, yep!
23. Come on, Gold!
Come on, Black!
Come on, fellows,
Drive them back!
24. Fight, fight, fight, fight
Rah, rah, rah, rah, Fight!
Come on fellows,
F-i-g-h-t, Fight!
25. Rah, rah, rah, rah,
Rah, rah, rah, rah,
Rah, rah, rah, rah,
Yea, team! Fight!
26. Fight, fight, fight, fight,
T-E-A-M!
Fight, fight, fight, fight,
T-E-A-M!
Fight, fight, fight, fight,
T-E-A-M!
FIGHT!
27. Come on fellows, Get that ball.
Don’t you fumble and don’t you fall.
Just kick it to the left,
And pass it to the right.
Come on fellows, fight, fight, fight.
28. We’re gonna fight, fight, fight!
We’re gonna win, win, win!
We’re gonna fight!
We’re gonna win!
We’re gonna beat (Opponent)!
29. Fight, team, fight,
Fight, team, fight.
All together, get together,
Fight, team, fight!
30. Come on, fellows, fight!
Come on, fellows, fight!
F-i-g-h-t, fellows, FIGHT!
31. Yea team, fight team, fight!
32. Opponent’s name (soft)
Same (softer)
Same (very soft)
Curwensville (very soft)
Same (louder)
Same (very loud)
33. Whether we win,
Or whether we lose,
This is the yell
We always use---
G-O-L-D-E-N T-I-D-E
Golden Tide!
34. Leap high, bend low.
Come on, Curwensville, LET’S GO!
35. CHS, go-o-o!
Let that old fight show.
Will they beat us?
NO!
CHS, go!
36. Break that wall,
Make them fall
Across the goal line,
Take that ball.
TOUCHDOWN, TOUCHDOWN, TOUCHDOWN!
37. Center, End, Tackle, Guard
Get together, hit them hard.
Hit ‘em high and hit ‘em low,
Come on Tide,
Let’s Go!
38. Cu, Cu, Cur
We, we, wens,
Vi, vi, ville
Curwensville!
39. Grrrr Rah!
Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah!
40. Chik-a-lak-a, Chik-a-lak-a,
Chow, Chow, Chow.
Boom-a-rak-a, Boom-a-rak-a,
Bow, Wow, Wow.
Chika-a-lak-a Chow
Boom-a-rak-a Bow,
Boy, and How!
41. Stand them on their heads.
Stand them on their feet.
Can’t be beat!
42. Strickland, Strickland! He’s our man,
If he can’t do it, Hewlett can.
Hewlett, Hewlett! He’s our man,
If he can’t do it, Barrett can.
(Go through the names on the team)
If these boys can’t do it, no one can!
43. Cheerleaders: Bon Ami
Crowd: Dutch Cleanser
Cheerleaders: Bon Ami
Crowd: Dutch Cleanser
Cheerleader: Bon Ami
Crowd: Dutch Cleanser
Come on, fellows,
Dust their fenders!
44. Ala-ga-roo, ga-roo, ga-rah
Ala-ga-roo, ga-roo, ga-rah
EE-YAH, EE-YAH
Sissss – Boom – Bah!
Curwensville High School
Rah! Rah! Rah!
45. Yea, Curwensville!
Yea, Curwensville!
C-U-R-W-E-N-S-V-I-L-L-E
That’s the way you spell it,
Here’s the way you yell it,
Curwensville!
Curwensville!
Curwensville!
46. That’s all right, that’s OK,
We didn’t need it anyway
47. Rick Rack, Gold and Black!
Do or die, Curwensville High
48. Boom, chick-a boom,
Boom, chick-a boom,
Boom, chick-a
Boom, chick-a
Boom, Boom, Boom
49. We’ve got the pep,
We’ve got the steam
That’s our team!
50. Push em back
Push em back
Way back….
51. Hit em again, Harder, harder
Hit em again, Harder, harder
52. Hold that line, hold that line!
53. Hey, hey, What do you say?
Push ’em back the other way!
54. Hey, hey, Wadda ya say? (1)
Someone take that ball away.
55. Hey, Hey, (1)
Where, Where?
We want a touchdown over there.
56. We want a touchdown, (2)
We want a touchdown!
57. We’re in the grove
We’re on the move
We’re gonna fight
We’ll win tonight.
58. That’s all right
That’s OK
We didn’t want it anyway.
59. Come on, Gold!
Come on, Black!
Come on, Fellas, Drive them back!
60. Let’s go, Curwensville!
We want some action!
61. Clap your hands!
Stamp your feet!
Can’t be beat!
62. Give me a T
Give me an I
Give me a D
Give me an E
What’s it spell?
Tide
What’s it mean?
Victory!
63. We’re from Curwensville
And couldn’t be prouder.
And if you can’t hear us
We’ll yell a little louder.
64. Two bits, Four bits,
Six bits, a dollar…
…. All from Curwensville,
Stand up and holler.
65. V-i-c-t-o-r-y, That the Freshman battle cry
V-i-c-t-o-r-y, that’s the sophomore battle cry
V-i-c-t-o-r-y, that’s the junior battle cry
V-i-c-t-o-r-y, that’s the senior battle cry
Curwensville, Victory!
Louder
Victory!!
66. Lean to the left! (1)
Lean to the right!
Stand up, sit down,
Fight, fight, fight!
67. We’ve got the power
We’ve got the might
Come on, Curwensville,
Fight, Fight, Fight!
68. You can travel to the East
You can travel to the West
You can travel
But Curwensville’s the best.
69. Our team is reeeed (red) hot
70. First and ten
Do it again.
71. And the score goes up another notch (Stomp, Stomp) (basketball)
72. Hey, hey, Wadda ya say
Someone take that ball away.
73. Hey, hey, Where, where,
We want a basket over there!
74. Shoot em high and pass em low
Come on, Curwensville, Let’s go!
75. They’ve got it, we want it.
Let’s take it away!
76. We want another one
Just like the other one
Score, score, score!
77. Two, four, six, eight
Who do we appreciate?
Curwensville!
Yeh, team!
78. Go back, go back,
Go back to the woods.
You haven’t, you haven’t,
You haven’t got the goods
You haven’t got the rhythm and you haven’ got the jazz
You haven’t got the team that Curwensville has!
79. We got spirit, yes, we do.
We got spirit, how about you?
(repeat)
80. When you’re up, you’re up
When you’re down, you’re down
When you’re up against Curwensville
You’re upside down!
81. Ashes to ashes
Dust to dust
But they can’t beat us.
Golden Tide: Go!
82. We’re out to fight
We’re out to win
We’re out to bring
A victory in.
So fight team fight team,
Fight, Fight, Fight!
83. F – I – G – H – T
Fight, Tide, Fight
F – I – G – H – T
Fight, Tide, Fight
F – I – G – H – T
Fight, Tide, Fight
Fight, Tide, Fight!
84. Fight, team, fight
Fight, team, fight
Fight team, fight team
Fight, Fight, Fight
85. Look out—here we come
Got those Bisons on the run
Look out Bisons,
Here we come!
86. Leader: What’s the matter with the Team?
Crowd: They’re all right!
Leader: Who’s all right?
Crowd: The Team!
All: They are, they are, they are all right.
Team! Team! Team!
87. Sis boom bah
Sis boom bah
Rah, Rah, Rah!
88. We’re gonna fight, fight, fight,
With all our might, might, might.
We’re gonna fight with all our might.
Win Tide … tonight!
89. Hold that line!
Hold that line!
Hold that line!
90. First and ten!
Do it again!!
91. Block that kick!
(Repeat)
92. That’s all right … That’s okay.
He won’t make it anyway!
93. Hey there, Hi there,
Who put her up there
Ma, Pa, Sis Boom Bah
Rah, Rah, Rah
94. We’ve got the go
We’ve got the get
We’ve got the gang
That’s got the pep.
The go, the get,
The gang, the pep
Yep, Yep, Yep!
95. Ala vevo, Ala vivo
Ala vevo, vivo, vum
Gotta get a rat trap
Bigger than a cat trap
Gotta get a cat trap
Bigger than a rat trap.
Boom!
96. Cannibal, Cannibal,
Sis Boom Bah
Rah, Rah, Rah!
[1] This one is sung to the tune of the Notre Dame Fight Song. When I recently was trying to find the origin of the music to which we sang these lyrics, I asked my son who was astonished that I (and everyone else at the time) would be permitted to use such lyrics in high school. As he said, “Mom, did you really sing this song in high school?!” Yes, we all did and didn’t really think about what we were singing.
Thanks for the contribution . Been looking for my old alma matter cheers for my granddaughter. No luck ! Will have to see if I can get some from other alumni ?
ReplyDeleteRosedale High School in Kansas City , Kansas in the 60's .