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The Stanford Jonah

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Wikipedia article




'"The Stanford Jonah"' is a fight song of the University of California, Berkeley written in 1913 by Ted Haley as an entry into a song contest held by the Daily Californian. The song gained popularity when the campus glee club traveled to Europe where the song was a hit and it continues to be a hit at most sporting events, but specifically at events between the California Golden Bears and their rival, the Stanford Cardinal. Georgia Tech's "White And Gold", The Naval Academy's "Up With The Navy", and the University of Montana's "Up With Montana" share this tune as well.

Controversy and explanation



There is a small controversy about the chorus of this song. In 1914, the University of Montana says that they originated this part with their fight song, "Up With Montana."[http://www.umt.edu/montanan/s07/artifacts.shtml The Montanan - University of Montana Magazine] The U.S. Naval Academy has the written permission of the University of Montana to use this song under the name "Up With The Navy."http://www.usna.edu/USNABand/groups/marchingband.htm US Naval Academy Marching Band The Georgia Institute of Technology claims this song, with adapted lyrics, under the name of "White and Gold" as their rivalry Fight song against the University of Georgia. They also say that the University of Montana adopted the song from them. The University of California holds this song as its own, and since the song "White And Gold" came out after 1929, they state that it is probable that Georgia Tech got it from them after the 1929 Rose Bowl since the two teams have played each other rarely.

Lyrics



Lyric references

*The 'battle axe' referred to is the Stanford Axe which is a perpetual football trophy with a history of being stolen.

*'The Big Game' referred to is the Big Game (football) which pits the California Golden Bears against the Stanford Cardinal in one of the most celebrated college rivalries.

*The 'Oski that rips through the air' refers to an old cheer used by the Golden Bears at football games called "The Oski Yell" that has since been abandoned, but Oski is now the university mascot.


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