Rutgers has a long and abundant tradition of school songs that dates back to 1873. Hearing songs like “On the Banks of the Old Raritan” gives students, alumni, and fans a sense of pride, nostalgia, and reverence for “Dear Old Rutgers.”
Enjoy the Rutgers University Glee Club, led by Dr. Patrick Gardner, as the members perform a sampling of Rutgers songs below.
The Rutgers University Glee Club is one of the oldest and most distinguished men’s choruses in the United States. This student-run organization traces its roots back to 1872, and has been among the nation’s premier collegiate choirs for 140 years.
Like what you hear on this page? Find out how to order your own copy of the Glee Club’s The Bells Must Ring CD.
Queen’s College, the forerunner of Rutgers University, was chartered on November 10, 1766, by William Franklin, Royal Governor of New Jersey. “A Hymn to Queens” explores Rutgers roots back to its origins as a Dutch Reformed college for the training of church ministers.
The evening shadows soft are falling,
The twilight glows from out the West,
The charm of darkness gently calling,
Sweeps all the world to peace and rest.
Tis then the sons of Rutgers meeting,
Brush mould'ring dust from mem'ry's screens,
And deep in faith renew our greeting,
For love we bear to Queens.
And deep in faith renew our greeting,
For love we bear to Queens.
Our college years are swiftly ending,
And we must leave the place we love,
Yet faith and loyalty e'er blending,
Feelings of deepest passions move.
We pledge our faith to Alma mater,
Our love to all the fond old scenes,
And e'er through life we stand together,
For love we bear to Queens.
And e'er through life we stand together,
For love we bear to Queens.
A tongue-in-cheek rendition of the typical four-year experience of a Rutgers undergraduate in the 19th century. Although Latin and Greek are no longer core requirements for today’s students they can still relate to this song that describes college life within these ivy-covered walls of stone.
In a quaint old Jersey town,
That I've learned to call my own,
Stands a college that has long been known to fame;
Where the hardy ivy clings to the
walls of ancient stone,
Ever changing yet eternally the same.
Refrain:
Alma Mater, Alma Mater,
Plucky college by the gentle Raritan
You're the apple of my eye,
Brightest star in all the sky,
Rutgers College by the gentle Raritan.
When the Freshman young and green,
With his self important mien,
Comes to add more knowledge to his little store;
But in just about a week he is
feeling very meek,
For he's interviewed the warlike Sophomore.
(Refrain)
When the Junior year comes round,
There are some who can't be found,
Who enlisted with the Freshmen at the start;
For they thought it wrong to toil, and their
logic was not sound,
So the faculty and they were forced to part.
(Refrain)
But when in the Senior year,
Oh how wise they do appear,
Who have clung to plucky Rutgers all the way;
Who in Latin and in Greek, and in
football have no fear,
For in both they've scored their points on many a day.
The song “Nobody Ever Died for Dear Old Rutgers” from the 1947 musical High Button Shoes, set in New Brunswick, New Jersey, refers to Rutgers legend Frank “Pop” Grant, who broke his leg in an 1892 football game against Princeton, and was rumored to say, “I'd die for dear old Rutgers” as he was carried off the field.
From the 1947 musical High Button Shoes
Listen to the Song [MP3]
Nobody ever died for dear old Rutgers,
Nobody ever had a life to give
When you're clipped by someone in the rear
You hear a mighty cheer,
But you're laid up for a year.
So nobody ever died for dear old Rutgers
Strangely enough they simply want to live
The alumni won't admit it's true, but
Nobody ever died for Rutgers U.
Rutgers, Rutgers, Rah, Rah, Rah, Rah, Rah, Rah, Rah, Rah
Nobody ever died for dear old Rutgers,
Giving away your life would be extreme
When the coach says smash the Princeton line,
His reasoning is fine,
But it's no good for your spine,
So nobody ever died for dear old Rutgers
But there's a lot of valor on the team
You can get a little black and blue, but
Nobody ever died for Rutgers U.
Prior to 1873, Rutgers did not have a formal song of its own that reflected loyalty to the college. So Edwin E. Colburn, the glee club’s organizer, asked his colleague Howard Fuller to write something for their first performance that would inspire the students and alumni. The school’s alma mater was born.
My father sent me to old Rutgers,
And resolv'd that I should be a man;
And so I settled down,
In that noisy college town,
On the banks of the old Raritan.
Refrain:
On the banks of the old Raritan (my friends)
Where old Rutgers evermore shall stand,
For has she not stood
Since the time of the flood,
On the banks of the old Raritan.
Then sing aloud to Alma Mater
And keep the scarlet in the van'
For with her motto high
Rutgers' name shall never die
On the banks of the old Raritan.
(Refrain)
Go to a Rutgers football game and you will hear students chanting phrases like “RU Rah, Rah!” from the university’s fight song “The Bells Must Ring.” The song was inspired by the famed bell that hangs in the cupola of Old Queens and was originally rung to signal the change of classes. Now the bell rings for convocation and other great occasions in university life such as a winning football season!
March, men of Rutgers
Down the field today.
March to another score,
Forward to the fray;
Fight, men of Rutgers
As in days gone by
Fight! For the Scarlet Flag over the rest must fly.
Keep Rutgers colors to the fore
For they must win so fight, fight, fight!
And we'll advance some more to score,
The Rutgers flag flies high tonight, alright, alright
We'll fling the Scarlet Banner out,
And Rutgers men will fight, fight, fight, fight, fight;
The bells of Queens each victory shout
The bells of Queens must ring tonight.
RU, Rah, Rah;
RU, Rah, Rah,
Whoo-Rah, Whoo-Rah;
Rutgers Rah
Up Stream Red Team
Red Team Up Stream
Rah, Rah, Rutgers Rah
Keep Rutgers colors to the fore
For they must win so fight, fight, fight!
And we'll advance some more to score,
The Rutgers flag flies high tonight, alright, alright
We'll fling the Scarlet Banner out,
And Rutgers men will fight, fight, fight, fight, fight;
The bells of Queens each victory shout
The bells of Queens must ring tonight.
One of the most educational of all Rutgers songs. “The Rutgers History Lesson” explores the university’s Dutch heritage and its participation in the American Revolutionary War. The song introduces students to the grand history of the university.
In seventeen and sixty six
On the banks of the old Raritan
A Dutchman's college in the sticks
Oh, then began.
The Revolution came,
With a boom, boom, boom,
And a zoom, zoom, zoom,
With a boom, and a zoom, and a boom.
But all through the shot and shell
The Dutchmen, they fought like -- well
The old Queens flag on high shall fly forevermore.
In eighteen hundred sixty nine
From a place with a mild bid to fame
Came twenty five Tigers in their prime
To play a game.
And football then was born,
With a punt, punt, punt,
And a grunt, grunt, grunt,
With a punt, and a grunt, and a punt.
But although the Princeton yell
Resounded as loud as -- well
The old Queens flag on high shall fly forevermore.
In nineteen hundred and eighteen
Just a mile or a bit more from Queens
An institution we esteem
Came on the scene.
Oh NJC we hail,
With a mm, mm, mm,
And an oh, oh, oh,
With an mm, and an oh, and an mm.
But when the last truth we tell
The rest may all go to -- well
The old Queens flag on high shall fly forevermore.
