No single factor in the life of the University has been more effective
than the close relationship of the Faculty and students with the town,
an entente which has been carefully fostered by the Ann Arbor churches.
A large proportion of the Faculty have always been church members, and
this has led to very active efforts to reach the students through the
employment of student pastors, and the establishment of several church
guild houses, which include Harris Hall, Protestant Episcopal; McMillan
and Sackett Halls, Presbyterian; and Tucker Memorial, Baptist; all on
Huron Street, while across from University Hall is the Catholic Chapel
which was remodeled from the old home of Professor Morris. There is also
every prospect that a number of new church buildings of this character
will be erected in the immediate neighborhood of the Campus within a few
years.
Michigan students have many songs which celebrate not only the delights
and care-free charm of college life but also their regard for their
University. Some of them are among the most inspiring and beautiful of
all the great body of melodies which our American colleges have
inspired. They have become an essential of undergraduate life and bear
most effective witness to the sentiment of love and loyalty which,
though often hidden, binds the student to his alma mater.
Always first among Michigan songs is "The Yellow and the Blue," written
by Charles M. Gayley, '78, now of the University of California, when an
Assistant Professor of English in the University. It first appeared in a
pamphlet entitled "Songs of the Yellow and the Blue," published in 1889.
This collection included a number of songs which have always been
favorites, by Professor Gayley and Professor Fred N. Scott, '84, for
which the music, in many cases, was written by Dr. A.A. Stanley. The
words of "The Yellow and the Blue," which are set to the air of Balfe's
"Pirate's Chorus," are as follows:
Sing to the colors that float in the light;
Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue!
Yellow the stars as they ride thro' the night,
And reel in a rollicking crew;
Yellow the fields where ripens the grain,
And mellow the moon on the harvest wain;
Hail!
Hail to the colors that float in the light;
Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue!
Blue are the billows that bow to the sun
When yellow-robed morning is due;
Blue are the curtains that evening has spun,
The slumbers of Phoebus to woo;
Blue are the blossoms to memory dear,
And blue is the sapphire, and gleams like a tear;--
Hail!
Hail to the ribbons that nature has spun;
Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account