Every year during the last regular season home game, the "full" almamater is passed out and sung. Does anyone know a link online, or where I can get the "full" version of the almamater?
Far above Cayuga's waters,
With its waves of blue, Stands our noble Alma Mater,
Glorious to view. Lift the chorus, speed it onward
Loud her praises tell; Hail to thee, our Alma Mater!
Hail, all hail, Cornell!
Far above the busy humming
Of the bustling town, Reared against the arch of Heaven,
Looks she proudly down. Lift the chorus, speed it onward
Loud her praises tell; Hail to thee, our Alma Mater!
Hail, all hail, Cornell!
Sentry-like o'er lake and valley,
Towers her regal form, Watch and ward forever keeping,
Braving time and storm. So through clouds of doubt and darkness
Gleams her beacon light, Fault and error clear revealing,
Blazing forth the right.
To the glory of her founder
Rise her stately walls. May her sons pay equal tribute
Whene'er duty calls. When the moments, swiftly fleeting,
Ages roll between, Many yet unborn shall hail her:
Alma Mater, Queen!
In the music of the waters
As they glide along, In the murmur of the breezes
With their whispered song, In the tuneful chorus blending
With each pealing bell, One refrain seems oft repeated:
Hail, all hail, Cornell!
Here, by flood and foaming torrent,
Gorge and rocky dell, Pledge we faith and homage ever
To our loved Cornell. May time ne'er efface the memory
Of her natal day, And her name and fame be honored
Far and wide alway!
Try
http://classof69.alumni.cornell.edu/memfiles/almamater.html
I feel compelled to say this... The fifth and sixth verses really ought to be reversed. That's how I leanred it, early 90's. Yes, I've been told that that was a mistake in transcription and I have no source to refute that. But seriously, doesn't it make more sense to end with "Hail, all hail, Cornell" ?
[Q]HpyGlmore2-05 Wrote:
Every year during the last regular season home game, the "full" almamater is passed out and sung. Does anyone know a link online, or where I can get the "full" version of the almamater?[/q]
Rumor has it that Age could do all 6 verses from memory. ::twitch::
Ari, you better start studying.... :-P
Bah, I could do all six verses from memory the frist time I attended a season ending game...
[Q]KeithK Wrote:
I feel compelled to say this... The fifth and sixth verses really ought to be reversed. That's how I leanred it, early 90's. Yes, I've been told that that was a mistake in transcription and I have no source to refute that. But seriously, doesn't it make more sense to end with "Hail, all hail, Cornell" ?[/q]
Actually, having contemplated the verses at length on the flight back, I disagree. The sixth verse is much more powerful and a good one to end on. The fifth verse is sort of an interlude about music and all that, and the "Hail, all hail Cornell" brings us back to the main theme of our duty to go out into the world and sing the praises of our Alma Mater at every opportunity, which is hammered home by the sixth verse.
That, and the 5th verse sucks. No need on end on it.
Fair enough. But I disagree (and with Age too).
[Q]CowbellGuy Wrote:
That, and the 5th verse sucks. No need on end on it.[/q]
It lacks the call-to-arms quality of the 4th and 6th verses, but its referential value is appreciated. (In addition to recalling the refrain, its language is also suggestive of the lyrics to "Annie Lisle".) One might say it's a little out of place, but it sort of plays the role of a low-key third movement to a symphony, giving you a breather before the big finish.
One could almost imagine the fifth verse performed as a slow diminuendo to a sudden fortissimo on "Hail, all hail, Cornell!"
Excellent analysis, John, especially the link to Annie Lisle, that cheery song about an ill-fated consumptive. Musicologist approved!
[Q]Scersk '97 Wrote:
Excellent analysis, John, especially the link to Annie Lisle, that cheery song about an ill-fated consumptive. Musicologist approved![/q]
Only fitting, since Cornell had its own ill-fated consumptive.
BTW, I've been meaning to double-check the publication date of the Alma Mater, since I thought it pre-dated McGraw Tower and the Chimes, and yet the later verses seem to make reference to them...
[Q]jtwcornell91 Wrote:
Only fitting, since Cornell had its own ill-fated consumptive.[/q]
Am I missing something obvious?
[Q]jtwcornell91 Wrote:
BTW, I've been meaning to double-check the publication date of the Alma Mater, since I thought it pre-dated McGraw Tower and the Chimes, and yet the later verses seem to make reference to them...[/q]
http://www.elynah.com/?cheers#Alma
;)
The consumptive was Jennie McGraw, daughter of John McGraw, the Dryden lumber baron who donated the money for McGraw Hall. Jennie, a friend of Andrew Dickson White, donated the Chimes in 1868. She died of tuberculosis in 1880. Her death, however, came *after* the composition of the Alma Mater, lyrics by Weeks '72 and music (a well-known tune, "Annie Lisle") "by" Smith '74. (Really the lyrics were written by both. See question #5: http://ezra.cornell.edu/posting.php?timestamp=743918400 ) I don't have a publication date in front of me, but we can assume that it was written during the time they were both at Cornell, or at least by the time Smith graduated. So:
1868 -- Chimes donated by Jennie McGraw
1870-74 -- Composition of Alma Mater
1880 -- Death of Jennie McGraw
1891 -- Chimes moved from McGraw Hall to McGraw Tower
Hence, the bells were there, but "the" Tower was not. The tower which sends out its "beacon" in the third verse is probably the tower of McGraw Hall. Notice, however, that the quote from Dear Uncle Ezra of Bishop's history says that Weeks and Smith composed a verse together and then Weeks composed two more verses. So, three verses. The current Alma, as we all know, has six. I'm thinking there might be an accretion of verses on Alma over time. We'd have to check published versions to see if more verses were added. To my mind, it's entirely possible that verses four through six were added after Jennie McGraw's death.
I'm too far from Cornell to go check it out, but I'm sure the music library has various published versions of the Alma Mater. Also, the red song book, "Songs of Cornell," may have a fuller history than Bishop's.
IIRC, the chimes came to Cornell pretty early - before McGraw Tower. I remember seing a picture of them in a temporary shelter on the Arts Quad that was only a story tall or so(while they were waiting for the tower to be built) - now THAT would have been a loud walk to class!
[Q]jtwcornell91 Wrote:
BTW, I've been meaning to double-check the publication date of the Alma Mater, since I thought it pre-dated McGraw Tower and the Chimes, and yet the later verses seem to make reference to them...[/q]
I'll look for the notes I took when I looked this up umpteen years ago, but if I recall correctly, the first two verses were the extent of the alma mater for quite a while, and the other verses were written later.
Edit: I just looked in Bishop's History and it's three. I also just turned on my reading comprehension on Scersk's post. Mea culpa. (But shouldn't you be writing?!)
[Q]Scersk '97 Wrote:
Also, the red song book, "Songs of Cornell," may have a fuller history than Bishop's.
[/q]
Songs has the abbreviated version of what's in Bishop, leaving out the bit about the next two verses. As an aside, my favorite passage from Bishop is farther down the page:
[q]
Of the Cadet Band's efforts at a public function [in 1872], the Ithaca Journal caustically reported: "At this time the Cadet Band played a few strains, but the principal strain was on the audience."
[/q]
For Saturday night (http://www.cornell69.org/memorabilia/almamater.html):
QuoteFar above Cayuga's waters
With its waves of blue
Stands our noble Alma Mater
Glorious to view
Lift the chorus, speed it onward
Loud her praises tell
Hail to thee our Alma Mater
Hail, all hail, Cornell!
Far above the busy humming
Of the bustling town
Reared against the arch of heaven
Looks she proudly down
Lift the chorus, speed it onward
Loud her praises tell
Hail to thee our Alma Mater
Hail, all hail, Cornell!
Sentry-like o'er lake and valley
Towers her regal form
Watch and ward forever keeping
Braving time and storm
So through clouds of doubt and darkness
Gleams her beacon light
Fault and error clear revealing
Blazing forth the right
To the glory of her founder
Rise her stately walls
May her sons pay equal tribute
Whene'er duty calls
When the moments swiftly fleeting
Ages roll between
Many yet unborn shall hail her
Alma Mater, Queen!
In the music of the waters
As they glide along
In the murmur of the breezees
With their whispered song
In the tuneful chorus blending
With each pealing bell
One refrain seems oft repeated
Hail, all hail, Cornell
Here, by flood and foaming torrent
Gorge and rocky dell
Pledge we faith and homage ever
To our loved Cornell.
May time ne'er efface the memory
Of her natal day
And her name and fame be honored
Far and wide alway!
Note: I changed "away" to "alway", which is how I remember it, but I may be wrong.
Quote from: jtwcornell91 on February 27, 2026, 09:09:36 AMNote: I changed "away" to "alway", which is how I remember it, but I may be wrong.
You're right.
As a aficionado of many (no, not all...) cultural things 19th century, holy shit is our song atrociously terrible.
The only thing worse would be any attempt updating it since about, I dunno, 1927.
So let it ring.
Quote from: Trotsky on February 27, 2026, 09:19:38 AMAs an aficionado of many (no, not all...) cultural things 19th century, holy shit is our song atrociously terrible.
It's a great song actually
Quote from: jtwcornell91 on February 27, 2026, 09:09:36 AMFor Saturday night (http://www.cornell69.org/memorabilia/almamater.html):
QuoteFar above Cayuga's waters
With its waves of blue
Stands our noble Alma Mater
Glorious to view
Lift the chorus, speed it onward
Loud her praises tell
Hail to thee our Alma Mater
Hail, all hail, Cornell!
Far above the busy humming
Of the bustling town
Reared against the arch of heaven
Looks she proudly down
Lift the chorus, speed it onward
Loud her praises tell
Hail to thee our Alma Mater
Hail, all hail, Cornell!
Sentry-like o'er lake and valley
Towers her regal form
Watch and ward forever keeping
Braving time and storm
So through clouds of doubt and darkness
Gleams her beacon light
Fault and error clear revealing
Blazing forth the right
To the glory of her founder
Rise her stately walls
May her sons pay equal tribute
Whene'er duty calls
When the moments swiftly fleeting
Ages roll between
Many yet unborn shall hail her
Alma Mater, Queen!
In the music of the waters
As they glide along
In the murmur of the breezees
With their whispered song
In the tuneful chorus blending
With each pealing bell
One refrain seems oft repeated
Hail, all hail, Cornell
Here, by flood and foaming torrent
Gorge and rocky dell
Pledge we faith and homage ever
To our loved Cornell.
May time ne'er efface the memory
Of her natal day
And her name and fame be honored
Far and wide alway!
Note: I changed "away" to "alway", which is how I remember it, but I may be wrong.
Thanks! I mostly just remember the first line and a half, after which everyone drops off the face of the Earth with recollection 😅 so I'll keep this up!
my only criticism is that closing multiple verses of the song BUT NOT THE FINAL VERSE with "hail, all hail cornell" is insanity
Quote from: ugarte on February 27, 2026, 01:10:46 PMmy only criticism is that closing multiple verses of the song BUT NOT THE FINAL VERSE with "hail, all hail cornell" is insanity
We discussed this earlier in the thread (like 20 years ago). I stand by what I say then.
Quote from: jtwcornell91 on February 27, 2026, 01:27:50 PMQuote from: ugarte on February 27, 2026, 01:10:46 PMmy only criticism is that closing multiple verses of the song BUT NOT THE FINAL VERSE with "hail, all hail cornell" is insanity
We discussed this earlier in the thread (like 20 years ago). I stand by what I say then.
i have no opinion on the transposition of the verses and am laughing at how this appears to be the first time in 20 years that keith and i agree on something
From Songs of Cornell, copyright 1940 (price $2.00), which has the order of verses as above:
"The words of the Cornell Alma Mater were written early in 1872, through mutual suggestion, by Archibald Crosswell Weeks '72 and Wilmot Moses Smith '74, who then occupied rooms in the old Woodruff block on Tioga Street. Only the first two verses are customarily used; the other four are included here, in the version prepared by Mr. Smith for an edition published in 1900."
I am also reminded that it has been far too long since I smelled an old book.
From Morris Bishop's A History of Cornell, copyright 1962, pgs 139-140:
"As Weeks remembered: 'I proposed that we adapt a College Song to the music, and suggested the first two lines of the first verse; [Smith] responded with the third and fourth, I with the fifth and sixth and he with the seventh and eighth. The chorus was the result of mutual suggestion. . . . The next two verses were shortly afterward composed by me.'"
The footnote says that quote was from A.C. Weeks to George William Harris, 18 Jan. 1887.
There is no further mention of the Alma Mater in the index.
Books printed in 1989 don't smell nearly as good.
Quote from: HpyGlmore2-05 on February 16, 2005, 08:58:31 PMEvery year during the last regular season home game, the "full" almamater is passed out and sung. Does anyone know a link online, or where I can get the "full" version of the almamater?
Does the Cornell Anaphoric (?) Society still do this?
Quote from: Trotsky on February 27, 2026, 04:15:02 PMQuote from: HpyGlmore2-05 on February 16, 2005, 08:58:31 PMEvery year during the last regular season home game, the "full" almamater is passed out and sung. Does anyone know a link online, or where I can get the "full" version of the almamater?
Does the Cornell Anaphoric (?) Society still do this?
Pretty sure a printed version hasn't been distributed in at least fifteen years.
Quote from: andyw2100 on February 27, 2026, 05:14:00 PMQuote from: Trotsky on February 27, 2026, 04:15:02 PMQuote from: HpyGlmore2-05 on February 16, 2005, 08:58:31 PMEvery year during the last regular season home game, the "full" almamater is passed out and sung. Does anyone know a link online, or where I can get the "full" version of the almamater?
Does the Cornell Anaphoric (?) Society still do this?
Pretty sure a printed version hasn't been distributed in at least fifteen years.
As it turns out, the lyrics were displayed on the giant video scoreboard, which was practical, even if it took away some of the challenge.
Quote from: jtwcornell91 on March 01, 2026, 06:52:07 AMQuote from: andyw2100 on February 27, 2026, 05:14:00 PMQuote from: Trotsky on February 27, 2026, 04:15:02 PMQuote from: HpyGlmore2-05 on February 16, 2005, 08:58:31 PMEvery year during the last regular season home game, the "full" almamater is passed out and sung. Does anyone know a link online, or where I can get the "full" version of the almamater?
Does the Cornell Anaphoric (?) Society still do this?
Pretty sure a printed version hasn't been distributed in at least fifteen years.
As it turns out, the lyrics were displayed on the giant video scoreboard, which was practical, even if it took away some of the challenge.
That felt like karaoke to me.
Quote from: andyw2100 on February 27, 2026, 05:14:00 PMQuote from: Trotsky on February 27, 2026, 04:15:02 PMQuote from: HpyGlmore2-05 on February 16, 2005, 08:58:31 PMEvery year during the last regular season home game, the "full" almamater is passed out and sung. Does anyone know a link online, or where I can get the "full" version of the almamater?
Does the Cornell Anaphoric (?) Society still do this?
Pretty sure a printed version hasn't been distributed in at least fifteen years.
Yeah, the group that inherited the CAS responsibilities I think over time had fewer and fewer season ticket holders in it; I blame young people. I know we/they were still doing the alma mater through the end of the 00s, but probably around 2010 or so is when it petered out. Just as well, though, by that point everyone had smart phones so the whole thing became moot.