DawgNBama
the Rush Limbaugh of CSNBBS
Posts: 8,415
Joined: Sep 2002
Reputation: 456
I Root For: conservativism/MAGA
Location: US
|
RE: Go to Hell, LSU
(06-11-2019 12:00 AM)chester Wrote: Off topic, I guess, but I never knew that the "Go to hell" trio of UM, MSU & LSU did not originate with the fabled two-way aeroplane flier drop between UM & LSU in the late 50's.
Appears that the "Go to hell" curse began as a MSU appropriation of an old, pre-Hotty Toddy UM war chant, which had been around since the 20's, at least. I am aware that fans of them all, and others, including Alabama, occasionally entreat their teams to "Give 'em hell," just didn't know that that was once a big thing for UM.
Quote:Ole Miss pep reached its pinnacle of enthusiasm last night at a meeting of the entire student body in Fulton chapel here. The building rang with cheers led by the competent leaders, Charlie Pigford and Miss Jesse Lea. The college band was present and added much to the color of the occasion with their splendid rendition of "Alma Mater" and "Give 'em Hell, Mississippi."
Rooters Coming to Support University. (1927, November 11). Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi). pp. 12.
Quote:Nevertheless [Senator Stennis] can make speeches for hours without losing his voice.
He attributes this to a set of cast iron lungs developed back in 1923 when he was a cheerleader of Mississippi State University, then Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College.
"Our principal yell was quite a test of staying power," he said. "It took endurance."
"How did it go,"? I asked. "I have always wanted to hear a United States Senator blast forth with a college yell."
Senator Stennis went to the door of his temporary office – of which more later – and, after carefully peering up and down the corridor, closed it. The suite then erupted into a screech that went like this:
Rocker chicker boom!
Rocker chicker boom!
Rocker chicker, rocker chicker,
Boom, boom boom, boom!
Rip rah ree
Mississippi, Mississippi A. and M.C!
His alma mater's big yell has changed now, Senator Stennis added, to make it a straight defensive weapon against the rival University of Mississippi. Mississippi U.'s yell is: "Give 'em hell, Mississippi, give 'em hell!" So Mississippi State has met the challenge with: "Go to hell, Ol' Mississippi, go to hell!"
Dixon, G. (1947, November 21). Washington Scene: No Yarns and No Jokes. Republican and Herald (Pottsville, Pennsylvania). pp. 2.
Quote:Incidentally, we have always wondered why the Ole Miss band stopped playing that spirited battle song of yesteryear – "Give 'Em Hell, Mississippi."
Many who rooted for the Red and Blue in days of yore still remember that song. It was simple but spine-tingling, always played just before the team went into combat.
It started off slowly, like a hymn, gradually speeding up until it reached double-quick tempo as the crowd chanted the pugnacious words over and over, louder and louder – "Give 'Em Hell, Mississippi, Give 'Em Hell."
Everybody stood up, just as Texans stand for their "Eyes of Texas." The tune was compelling and infectious, putting players and partisans in a mood for mayhem. It was original, distinctive – an Ole Miss trademark known far and wide...
Somewhere along the line, without apparent reason or explanation, the classic fight song was dropped by the University – after enjoying great popularity for two or three decades. Maybe it was too rowdy or too militant, but it stayed around for quite a spell.
The last time we heard it was at an Ole Miss – State game, played by the Maroon band while State fans chanted, "Go to hell, Ole Miss, Go to Hell." Thus, a tune once loved at Oxford was appropriated by the enemy at Starkville.
...Still, we suspect that no few University alumni would go merrily berserk upon hearing the rollicking, pumping strains of "Give 'Em Hell, Mississippi" – as they used to hear it in days of such U.M. Grid greats as Calvin Barbour, Claude Smithson, Johnny Mustin, Charlie Allen, "Tadpole" Smith, Webb Burke, "Tarzan" Applewhite, Gerald and Hubby Walker, Cowboy Woodruff, Sr., Solly Cohen, etc., etc.
Occasionally, some old grad full of old grand dad will half-sing those fighting words in the heat of a Rebel fray but otherwise, the grand old tune has vanished into the mists of time...gone with the wind.
Ethridge, T. (1959, October 23). Mississippi Notebook. Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi). pp. 7.
I expect that aged Ole Miss chant is ultimately rooted in the Civil War – a god-awful thing that I do not romanticize – but it is cool to learn this bit of SEC history. I'd like to hear it, too. Modern folk need not and, I'm sure, most do not associate cheers like that with the CW.
I wonder if the sheet music for that battle song is still around. Must've been pretty simple. You can hear the cadence in your head, can't you?
"Give 'em hell, Mississippi, give 'em hell!"
I find nothing wrong with it myself, but then again, I didn't really find any problems with Ole Miss' old mascot Colonel Reb either. I don't blame the administration at Ole Miss for wanting to put a lot of distance between themselves and horrible organizations like the KKK, but I think on this stuff the administration went too far.
|
|