Anchors Aweigh
Encyclopedia
Fight song
A fight song is primarily an American and Canadian sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. In both professional and amateur sports, fight songs are a popular way for fans to cheer for their team...
of the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
, and strongly associated with the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, composed in 1906 by Charles A. Zimmerman
Charles A. Zimmerman
Charles A. Zimmermann was an American composer of marches and popular music. A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, he was appointed bandmaster at the United States Naval Academy in 1887 at the age of 26. He served as the Academy's bandmaster until his death from a brain...
with lyrics by Alfred Hart Miles. Zimmerman was at the time a Lieutenant, and had been bandmaster of the United States Naval Academy Band
United States Naval Academy Band
The United States Naval Academy Band was officially founded in November 1852. Previously, there had been a band since the founding of the Naval Academy in 1845, consisting of a fifer and a drummer. The band consists of US Navy career musicians...
since 1887. Miles was Midshipman First Class at the Academy, in the class of 1907, and asked Zimmerman to assist him in composing a song for that class, to be used as a football march. Another Academy Midshipman, Royal Lovell (class of 1926) later wrote what would be adopted into the song as its third verse.
Lyrics
The original lyrics, in two verses by Miles, were:- Stand Navy down the field, sails set to the sky.
- We'll never change our course, so Army you steer shy-y-y-y.
- Roll up the score, Navy, Anchors Aweigh.
- Sail Navy down the field and sink the Army, sink the Army Grey.
- Get underway, Navy, Decks cleared for the fray,
- We'll hoist true Navy Blue So Army down your Grey-y-y-y.
- Full speed ahead, Navy; Army heave to,
- Furl Black and Grey and Gold and hoist the Navy, hoist the Navy Blue
- Blue of the Seven Seas; Gold of God's great sun
- Let these our colors be till all of time be done-n-n-ne,
- By SevernSevern River (Maryland)The Severn River runs through Anne Arundel County in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is located south of the Magothy River, and north of the South River.-Geography:...
's shore we learn Navy's stern call: - Faith, courage, service true with honor over, honor over all.
The Lottman-Savino version published around 1950 in London by Francis, Day & Hunter is:
Verse 1
- Anchors Aweigh, my boys
- Anchors Aweigh
- Farewell to college joys
- We sail at break of day, 'ay 'ay 'ay
- Thou our last night ashore
- Anchors Aweigh
- Until we meet once more
- Here's wishing you a happy voyage home!
Bridge
- Heave a ho there! sailor
- Ev'rybody drink up while you may
- Heave a ho there! sailor
- For you're gonna sail at break of day
- Drink a-way, Drink a-way,
- For you sail at break of day, Hey!
Verse 2
- Stand Navy, down the field, sails set to the sky.
- We'll never change our course, so Army you steer shy-y-y-y.
- Roll up the score, Navy, Anchors Aweigh
- Sail, Navy, down the field and sink the Army, sink the Army Grey.
The current lyrics include three verses and two bridges; the second verse is the one most commonly sung.
Verse 1 (la la la tune)
- Stand Navy out to sea
- Fight our battle cry:
- We'll never change our course
- So vicious foes steer shy-y-y-y
- Roll out the T. N. T.
- Anchors Aweigh
- Sail on to victory
- And sink their bones to Davy Jones, hooray!
Bridge
- Yo ho there shipmate
- Take the fighting to the far off seas
- Yo ho there messmate
- Hear the wailing of the wild banshees
- All hands, fire brands
- Let's Blast them as we go. So
Verse 2
- Anchors Aweigh my boys
- Anchors Aweigh
- Farewell to foreign shores (or "Farewell to college joys")
- We sail at break of day 'ay 'ay 'ay
- O'er our last night ashore
- Drink to the foam
- Until we meet once more
- Here's wishing you a happy voyage home!
Bridge
- Heave a ho there sailor
- Everybody drink up while you may
- Heave a ho there sailor
- For your gonna sail at break of day
- Drink away, Drink away,
- For you sail at break of day, Hey!
Verse 3
- Blue of the Mighty Deep
- Gold of God’s Sun
- Let these our colors be
- Till all time be done
- By Severn Shore we learn
- Navy’s stern call
- Faith, Courage, Service True
- With Honor Over, Honor Over All.
As of the Summer of 2004, the verses taught at Navy Boot Camp are:
Verse 1
- Stand, Navy, out to sea, Fight our battle cry;
- We'll never change our course, So vicious foe steer shy-y-y-y.
- Roll out the TNT , Anchors Aweigh. Sail on to victory
- And sink their bones to Davy Jones, hooray!
Verse 2 (most widely sung)
- Anchors Aweigh, my boys, Anchors Aweigh.
- Farewell to foreign shores, We sail at break of day, of day.
- Through our last night on shore, Drink to the foam,
- Until we meet once more. Here's wishing you a happy voyage home!
The bridge is kept, and that the references to college are completely dropped.
Another widely sung version of the lyrics was published in the children's songbook Wee Sing America:
- Anchors aweigh, my boys, anchors aweigh.
- Farewell to college joys, we sail at break of day-ay-ay-ay.
- Stand Navy out to sea, through swirling foam.
- Until we meet once more, here's wishing you a happy voyage home!
History
The song was first played during the Army–Navy football game on December 1, 1906, at Franklin FieldFranklin Field
Franklin Field is the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, field hockey, lacrosse, sprint football, and track and field . It is also used by Penn students for recreation, and for intramural and club sports, including touch football and cricket, and is the site of Penn's graduation...
in Philadelphia. Before a crowd in excess of 30,000 Navy won the game 10-0, their first win in the match up since 1900.
The song was gradually adopted as the song of the U.S. Navy; although there is a pending proposal to make it the official song, and to incorporate protocol into Navy regulations for its performance, its status remains unofficial. Its lyrics were considered too specific to the Academy and not representative of the Navy at large, and so were rewritten by George D. Lottman (note the reference to "farewell to college joys"). Its melody was also slightly rewritten by Domenico Savino
Domenico Savino
Domenico Savino was born into an artistic family in Taranto, Italy at the end of the 19th Century, and migrated to the United States in the early years of the 20th Century....
.
The song is also is used in the US Navy bootcamp in Great Lakes IL, recruits when passing through an underground tunnel heading away from the barracks sing the first verse and sing the second verse on the way back.
Australian Rules football club songs
The tune of "Anchors Aweigh" (with changed lyrics) is used by the following Australian Rules FootballAustralian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
clubs as their theme song.
- East Perth Football ClubEast Perth Football ClubThe East Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Royals, is an Australian rules football club that is a member of the West Australian Football League...
(East Perth Forever Boys) - Hobart Football ClubHobart Football ClubHobart Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Hobart, Tasmania. They play their home fixtures at the TCA Ground on the Queens Domain, in Hobart and from 2009, the club has been a member of the Tasmanian State League.- Club history :...
Meaning
To "weigh anchorAnchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
" is to bring it aboard a vessel in preparation for departure. The phrase "anchor's aweigh" is a report that the anchor is clear of the sea bottom and, therefore, the ship is officially underway.
"Weigh" as a verb means to "bear" or "move", thus giving it several shades of meaning and derivation, including "weight" or heaviness. This lends itself to obvious plays on words, as with Flip Wilson
Flip Wilson
Clerow Wilson, Jr. , known professionally as Flip Wilson, was an American comedian and actor. In the early 1970s, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series, The Flip Wilson Show...
's old routine about Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
. "Columbus cried, 'Weigh anchor'. A few minutes later, a crewman reported, 'Two thousand, one hundred thirty six pounds'."
In popular culture
- In an episode of Garfield and FriendsGarfield and FriendsGarfield and Friends is an American animated television series based on the comic strip Garfield by Jim Davis. The show was produced by Film Roman, in association with United Feature Syndicate and Paws, Inc., and ran on CBS Saturday mornings from September 17, 1988 to December 10, 1994, with...
, GarfieldGarfieldGarfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
sings this song in anticipation of going on a cruise ship with lots of food (after originally refusing to go until hearing about the food). - The song is featured in the 1945 MGMMetro-Goldwyn-MayerMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
musical Anchors AweighAnchors Aweigh (film)Anchors Aweigh is a 1945 American musical comedy film directed by George Sidney in which two sailors go on a four-day shore leave in Hollywood, accompanied by music and song, meet an aspiring young singer and try to help her get an audition at MGM...
, performed by the U.S. Navy Band. - It is frequently quoted in Warner Bros. CartoonsWarner Bros. CartoonsWarner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
to indicate nautical themes. - A short instrumental clip featured in the "Baby June And Her News Boys" number in the stage musical Gypsy.
- The song is used on The Colbert Report during the X Did It! segments.
- The song is used in the Kelsey Grammer submarine comedy Down PeriscopeDown PeriscopeDown Periscope is a 1996 comedy film starring Kelsey Grammer as the captain of a rust-bucket Navy submarine, the USS Stingray, who is fighting for his career....
, (sung by the men of USC Concert Chorale) as the diesel submarine USS Stingray is initially launched. - The song has been used in TV spots for Carnival Cruise LinesCarnival Cruise LinesCarnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc...
. - It is often misspelled as "Anchors Away".
- It has Swedish lyrics and works as a fighting-spirit-song for the soccer club IFK NorrköpingIFK NorrköpingIFK Norrköping is a Swedish football club based in Norrköping. The club, formed on 29 May 1897, is currently playing in the first division of Swedish football, Allsvenskan...
, called "Härliga IFK" ("Lovely IFK"). - A instrumental version plays in the 10th episode of School House airing in 1949 on DuMont Television NetworkDuMont Television NetworkThe DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
.
See also
- The U.S. Air Force (song)The U.S. Air Force (song)The U.S. Air Force is the official song of the United States Air Force. Written in 1939, it is known informally as "The Air Force Song," and is often referred to informally as "Into the Wild Blue Yonder", "Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder," or simply "Wild Blue Yonder."Originally, the song was...
- Marines' HymnMarines' HymnThe "Marines' Hymn" is the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps. It is the oldest official song in the United States military. The "Marines' Hymn" is typically sung at the position of attention as a gesture of respect...
- The Army Goes Rolling AlongThe Army Goes Rolling Along"The Army Goes Rolling Along" is the official song of the United States Army and is typically called "The Army Song."-The Caisson Song:The song is based on the "Caisson Song" written by field artillery First Lieutenant Edmund L...
- Semper Paratus (march)Semper Paratus (march)"Semper Paratus" is the official march of the United States Coast Guard.Semper Paratus is also the official Coast Guard motto...
External links
- "Anchors Aweigh" by the U.S. Navy Band (mp3 file)
- "Anchors Aweigh" (mp3 file; part II of medley)
- "Anchors Aweigh" done as instrumental band march (.wav file)