October 6, 2011 - 2:19pm
Women’s Glee Club keeps University traditions alive by performing "Varsity" song
BY TAYLOR WIZNER
“Varsity, we’re for you, here for you to cheer for you, we have no fear for you, Varsity!”
Cheering in the stands at the Michigan football games you probably have never heard this tune, yet “Varsity” was once one of the greatest traditions at the University.
In its first public performance on Oct. 6, 1911, the song became an immediate success — soon replacing “Yellow and Blue” in the marching band’s routine, according to a University of Michigan Band Alumni Association statement.
“Varsity” was written by 1912 graduate Earl Vincent Moore and 1911 graduate J. Fred Lawton after the University left the Western Conference and the lyric “champions of the West” in “Hail to the Victors” was no longer applicable, the statement explained.
The Women’s Glee Club has been singing “Varsity” since the club was founded 80 years ago, said Mary Wilhelm LSA sophomore and business manager for the Women’s Glee Club.
“We sing ‘Varsity’ and the ‘Victors’ before all the football games,” Wilhelm said. “We go around to all the tailgaters and we sing songs to pump up for the game. Last year, we also performed it for parents weekend and we sometimes perform it in small groups around campus.”
Wilhelm added it is best known among the Glee Club members since the marching band no longer plays the song. She said, however, she believes everyone who hears the song enjoys the melody and the lyrics.
“It really captures the essence for what we are hoping from our football team that day it is a rousing number that really gets everyone excited for the game and the words make so much sense — ‘We the men of Michigan until victory. Every man and every play’ really captures exactly what we want them to do,” Wilhelm said.
