Search for the Dumbest School Fight Song

Our basketball games in the Chicago suburbs this weekend in the King James Summer Showcase (my son Joe was playing in the 16U division) were held at Lake Zurich (IL) High School. As I was reading the list of conference and section championships won by the Lake Zurich Bears, I also couldn’t help notice the words to their school fight song, on a placard donated by the class of 2005 (click to enlarge):

We’re loyal to you, Zurich High

We’re white and we’re blue, Zurich High

We’ll back you to stand against the best in the land

For we know you have sand, Zurich High (Rah! Rah!)

So bat out that ball. Zurich High

We’re backing you all. Zurich High

Our team is our fame protector on bears for we expect

A victory from you, Zurich High!

Chatee, Cha Ha! Cha Ha Ha!

Fighting Bears, Fighting Bears, Rah, Rah, Rah!

“For we know you have sand?” Really? And while I’m sure some of the punctuation and phrasing was missing, I was scratching my head at “Our team is our fame protector on bears….”

When I was growing up in Austin, Minnesota I always thought our school fight song was pretty solid, with maybe just one glitch:

Win, Win, Win for old Austin High!

We’re gonna win this victory!

Win, Win, Win for old Austin High!

Winners we’ll always be! Rah! Rah! Rah!

Go, go, go for Scarlet and White!

Our colors stand for might!

Waving for those courageous and bold, so

Fight! Fight! Fight!

“Winning this victory” seemed a little redundant, but overall I think it’s a pretty solid fight song.

Here’s your chance to get in on the fun as we crowdsource the best and worst of school fight songs. In the comments below, post the lyrics from your school song (whether high school or college) and/or those from your arch rival. Depending on the level of response and interest we may select some finalists and vote have a public vote.

I know I’ve seen some pretty bad school song lyrics in high school gyms throughout the midwest, and I’m sure there are many more like them. This is a chance to bring them all together in one place to give them the recognition they deserve.

Let’s get this contest started! Rah! Rah! Chatee, Cha ha!

Update: Just to clarify, I’m not calling Zurich High’s the dumbest school fight song. I hope the revised headline makes that point. I would like to know what the context of “we know you have sand” is, but maybe there’s a really good explanation that would be extraordinarily meaningful. I’m just using some song lyrics that struck me as funny to crowdsource (and celebrate) a list of interesting and peculiar fight songs that may have made sense at the time they were written, but for which the lingo is way out of date. And it’s all in good fun.

Further update: This from a reader in Illinois: “The Zurich song borrows heavily from the Illinois fight song – Illinois Loyalty. Illinois Loyalty was written around 1906, when “having sand” alluded to the strength and utility of sand bags on the farm.”

Author: Lee Aase

Husband of one, father of six, grandfather of 15. Chancellor Emeritus, SMUG. Emeritus staff of Mayo Clinic. Founder of HELPcare and Administrator for HELPcare Clinic.

5 thoughts on “Search for the Dumbest School Fight Song”

  1. How fun! I have to admit that I think this is pretty solid. Luckily, we were “winners” during my four years of school so that whole standing by you “win or lose” was pretty easy 😉

    Sherman High School, Sherman, TX

    Hail all hail to Sherman High
    Fight, Fight
    Fight, Fight, Fight
    Loyal to maroon and white
    til the day we die
    Through the years we’ll sing your praise,
    ever to you be true
    Win or lose, we’ll always stand beside you
    dear ol’ Sherman High!

    Written by Bill Collins (part-time band director and economic teacher) in 1941

  2. Happened to come across this while googling for something and wanted to stop and post. This high school’s fight song is taken from the fight song for the University of Illinois (see Illinois Loyalty at http://illinois.edu/athletics/songlyrics.html).

    I believe the line “For we know you have sand…” is an old-timey way of saying someone is tough or has a backbone. I don’t have any supporting evidence for that, but I recall being told that during some orientation at Illinois. This song was written in the early 1900s.

    Finally, here’s the instrumental version of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFr585_2Ytw

    1. I go to the School and it’s actually Lake Zurich High School. The lyrics “ for we know you have sand” is saying we know you have grit, but I see how it would be confusing to people who don’t know that. The lyrics “ Our team is our fame protector on bears for we expect a victory from you Zurich high” is actually really syncopated and rhythmic when it is sung, but I have to agree the hyroca arnt really that clear.

  3. Hey i’m a reader that goes to lake zurich high school and I just want to add that pretty much no one knows the full fight song past the “we know you have sand” unless they are in the band/choir and are required to know it. We all kind of hate it but the dumb lyrics add character

Leave a Reply to Sara Evanston Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.