Eyes of Texas

[Ghost of LL 15698]

13 minutes ago, South Austin said:

I don't doubt that a lot of folks have important memories attached to those songs, as do I.  And I don't believe the movement to get rid of The Eyes accuses folks who have those fond memories and who passionately sung that song as being racist, but I can understand that there are many who conflate the arguments against The Eyes with an attack on their memories and their values.

My perspective is one of musicianship.  It's just a banal and poorly written song.  We can do better.

This is football.  And football in Texas, to boot.

Where in football is there a musically pleasing song?  Is "Hail to the Victors" some great piece of songwriting?  Is "hullab-whatever the fuck it is" super-thought provoking?

And anyway, when has a public body in Texas made a good decision about anything, particularly as it relates to the arts? Do you think they're going to appoint some musical aesthete to give us a new song? 

We're not the Germans--we're not going to adopt a piece by Haydn as our anthem.  And we're not going to go the Soviet route and commission every composer in the country to give their best possible anthem and have a big competition.  

We'd pick some far worse schlock, and anybody with any experience with Texas, this athletic department, and football in general knows it.

[4th&Five 42005]

4 hours ago, South Austin said:

Look, I’ve sung The Eyes at the top of my lungs. Not because I like the song, but it’s just a vehicle for a mass of friends and strangers to collectively show pride for their team, usually when most of them are hammered.

But I’ve always thought it has incredibly lame lyrics and a silly melody. Whether rooted in racism or not, at its core it’s a stupid song. If it had never before existed and today someone commissioned to come up with our fight song presented the same lyrics and music to the university administration, they’d get laughed off campus and later sued to get the university’s money back.

Strange hill for wealthy donors to die on.

This is pretty much where I am. When I’ve been next to aggies at games and they start sarcastically singing “I’ve been working on the railroad” I chuckle because it is pretty lame. People love traditions though and a group of people being told their traditions are wrong is only going to make them want it even more. 

[South Austin 53227]

2 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

This is football.  And football in Texas, to boot.

Where in football is there a musically pleasing song?  Is "Hail to the Victors" some great piece of songwriting?  Is "hullab-whatever the fuck it is" super-thought provoking?

And anyway, when has a public body in Texas made a good decision about anything, particularly as it relates to the arts? Do you think they're going to appoint some musical aesthete to give us a new song? 

We're not the Germans--we're not going to adopt a piece by Haydn as our anthem.  And we're not going to go the Soviet route and commission every composer in the country to give their best possible anthem and have a big competition.  

We'd pick some far worse schlock, and anybody with any experience with Texas, this athletic department, and football in general knows it.

We money-whip John Williams. Make him say no.

[NameAlreadyInUse 5169]

5 hours ago, William Wallace said:

spend 1m on a song, b/c a few far left said it is racist.

No one thought about race while singing Eyes of Texas until a twitter warrior.

Everything is race now, sad.  

I'm not one to neg people, but the line gets crossed when you combine willful ignorance and overt racism.  No thanks, new member.

[C-Man 27779]

31 minutes ago, NameAlreadyInUse said:

I'm not one to neg people, but the line gets crossed when you combine willful ignorance and overt racism.  No thanks, new member.

"Reincarnated" poster who'd been crowd-sourced in CR.

[Surly Bevo 25748]

On the musicality kind of agree that I've Been Working on the Railroad tune could be better....but the words themselves?  How are those not fucking awesome ESPECIALLY when the Horns just Mola Ram'd some opponent by pulling out their heart and showing it to them while it was still beating.  We're Texas, we're the big boys, we're here, you can't get away from us, all day, every day....until you fucking die.  

[elfenix 34751]

Should have LHB write a song. They're all talented as fuck I'm sure a few of them could bang out something good in a weekend.

[South Austin 53227]

13 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

We're Texas, we're the big boys, we're here, you can't get away from us, all day, every day....until you fucking die.  

You see, those are better than the actual lyrics. 

[Wally Pryor 5410]

35 minutes ago, elfenix said:

Should have LHB write a song. They're all talented as fuck I'm sure a few of them could bang out something good in a weekend.

Which LHB? 

Last I heard there were 2 of them but could more than that by now.  Who the hell knows. 

[elfenix 34751]

9 minutes ago, Wally Pryor said:

Which LHB? 
Last I heard there were 2 of them but could more than that by now.  Who the hell knows. 

Afaik LHB is the marching band, there's also basketball band.  Not sure on the overlap but they can write too.

Edited July 21, 2021 by elfenix

[Macanudo 13327]

Let's have Willie write it.

[William Wallace 106]

Yeah, "I've been working on the railroad" has never been a great song, I don't care if it goes, but I don't see the big deal, I don't think anyones intention of singing it is racist, and no one thought it was racist until one brought it up, but whatevers.  End it.

[Mole 4340]

6 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

This is football.  And football in Texas, to boot.

Where in football is there a musically pleasing song?  Is "Hail to the Victors" some great piece of songwriting?  Is "hullab-whatever the fuck it is" super-thought provoking?

And anyway, when has a public body in Texas made a good decision about anything, particularly as it relates to the arts? Do you think they're going to appoint some musical aesthete to give us a new song? 

We're not the Germans--we're not going to adopt a piece by Haydn as our anthem.  And we're not going to go the Soviet route and threaten every composer in the country to give their best possible anthem and send the rest to the gulags.  

We'd pick some far worse schlock, and anybody with any experience with Texas, this athletic department, and football in general knows it.

FIFY. See “an artist’s response to justified criticism” and Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony.

[Ghost of LL 15698]

46 minutes ago, Mole said:

FIFY. See “an artist’s response to justified criticism” and Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony.

And that's a fair fix.  And given that we are in Texas in 2021, maybe that's exactly the route we will take.

[checks top of the thread to make sure we're in the Cloak Room . . . we are? . . . good--hits "Submit Reply"]

[fuggled 576]

3 hours ago, elfenix said:

Afaik LHB is the marching band, there's also basketball band.  Not sure on the overlap but they can write too.

I think @Wally Pryor is referring to this news that there's going to be a second marching band formed that won't play The Eyes, in addition to the current LHB.

https://music.utexas.edu/news/changes-expand-options-access-diversity-university-bands

[South Austin 53227]

We might as well break in our move to the SEC with a new fight song. 

[Macanudo 13327]

15 minutes ago, South Austin said:

We might as well break in our move to the SEC with a new fight song. 

Hush your mouth.   We'll adopt a Beach Boys song and move to the Pac-12.

[South Austin 53227]

7 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Hush your mouth.   We'll adopt a Beach Boys song and move to the Pac-12.

Wouldn’t that be nice . . . .

[Nivek 17415]

I nominate D.O.C.

[WhatTheBuck 28930]

10 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

This is football.  And football in Texas, to boot.

Where in football is there a musically pleasing song?  Is "Hail to the Victors" some great piece of songwriting?  Is "hullab-whatever the fuck it is" super-thought provoking?

And anyway, when has a public body in Texas made a good decision about anything, particularly as it relates to the arts? Do you think they're going to appoint some musical aesthete to give us a new song? 

We're not the Germans--we're not going to adopt a piece by Haydn as our anthem.  And we're not going to go the Soviet route and commission every composer in the country to give their best possible anthem and have a big competition.  

We'd pick some far worse schlock, and anybody with any experience with Texas, this athletic department, and football in general knows it.

Plus you’re used to it, grew up with it, and are resistant to change, right?

Look, I know nobody wants to hear my opinion. Forgive me for feeling at home enough here to share it. Just skip on by if you’re not interested.

But correct me if I’m wrong but The Eyes of Texas is the alma mater, isn’t it? Hail to the Victor is Michigan’s fight song. That’s an original composition with original lyrics. I agree it’s not a good song and it’s not because they’re OSU’s rival. It’s because I think it’s a simple song that sounds like it’s based on rehearsal scales. Obviously, as a Buckeye, I’m partial to OSU’s fight songs Buckeye Battle Cry and Across the Field. Some of the school fight songs in the Big Ten I’ve heard many times but couldn’t hum a bar. As school fight songs go, I think On Wisconsin is sort of iconic. You don’t want them to be too complex or too simple. You want a memorable tune with some fanfare. Heck, The Beach Boys quoted it in their song Be True to Your School.

But if we’re talking about the alma mater, never mind the lyrics. Does it not bother you even a little bit that The Eyes of Texas is set to the tune of I’ve Been Working on the Railroad? Even if that song didn’t have a racist past, I’ve been surprised to hear how many southern schools have songs set to the tune of songs that would sort of make me cringe.

Don’t get me wrong. I can cringe at my school too. Urban Meyer and Mickey Marotti introduced a new pregame ritual called “Quick cals” and were hoping that all the students and fans would join in. If the players, all the players, are cool with it then that’s fine. But you’d never catch me doing it and if I was a fan of an opposing team then I’d mock it unmercifully.

Carmen Ohio, Ohio State’s alma mater, is set to the following tune with lyrics written by a Buckeye football player in 1902 on the ride back from an 86-0 loss in Ann Arbor. (To be fair, back then, after scoring a touchdown you could have the opposing team kick the ball back to YOU. That helps explain Fielding Yost’s “point-a-minute” offense. But I digress.) Anyway, here’s that song:

Is that not musically pleasing? I’m not sure what the problem would be with either picking or composing a new song and holding a contest among the student body to write new lyrics. One of the meaningful lines in Carmen Ohio is, “Time and change will surely show how firm thy friendship.” Tradition is great, but sometimes change is needed. How firm is thy friendship?

And there’s always room for new traditions. One popular song for the Buckeyes was just written in 1965, is played by the marching band at the end of every third quarter, and is the official rock song of the State of Ohio. Obligatory:

 

[WhatTheBuck 28930]

Don’t damn me with troll rep, Wallace.