Songs

Thanks to the Harvard Band for their recordings!

Ten Thousand Men of Harvard

Illegitimum non carborundum;
Domine salvum fac.
Illegitimum non Carborundum;
Domine salvum fac.
Gaudeamus igitur!
Veritas non sequitur?
Illegitimum non carborundum -- ipso facto!

Ten thousand men of Harvard want vict'ry today,
For they know that o'er old Eli
Fair Harvard holds sway.
So then we'll conquer old Eli's men,
And when the game ends, we'll sing again:
Ten thousand men of Harvard gained vict'ry today!

Fair Harvard

by S. GILMAN 1811 (words amended 1997) Listen (mp3)

Fair Harvard! we join in thy jubilant throng,
And with blessings surrender thee o'er
By these festival rites, from the age that is past,
To the age that is waiting before.
O Relic and type of our ancestors' worth,
That hast long kept their memory warm,
First flow'r of their wilderness! Star of their night!
Calm rising through change and through storm.

Farewell! thy destinies onward and bright!
To thy children the lesson still give,
With freedom to think, and with patience to bear,
And for right ever bravely to live.
Let not moss-covered error moor thee at its side,
As the world on truth's current glides by,
Be the herald of light, and the bearer of love,
'Til the stock of the Puritans die.

Harvardiana

by R. G. WILLIAMS '11 and S. B. STEEL '11 Listen (mp3)

With Crimson in triumph flashing
'Mid the strains of victory,
Poor Eli's hopes we are dashing
Into blue obscurity.
Resistless our team sweeps goalward
With the fury of the blast;
We'll fight for the name of Harvard
'Til the last white line is passed.
Harvard! Harvard! Harvard! (2x)

Class Ode

by JOHN M. BALBUS '82 and PAUL R. Q. WOLFSON '82

Fair Harvard! Thou teachest that gifts of the mind
Are worth far more than comfort or gold,
So thy scholars don't care when a job they can't find
Or when each morn their showers are cold.
The mattress may sag, and the paint may shed flakes,
And exams may fall after Christmas,
But thy children stay true when the heat system breaks,
For their hearts are warmed by veritas.

And thanks to the Class of 1981 web site for facilitating putting together this page!