![]() The song, which used the tune of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad,” was debuted at the annual campus minstrel show in 1903 attended by UT President Prather. Gregg reportedly once told his soldiers, “The eyes of General Lee are upon you!” But, the report notes, similar phrases had been used long before the Civil War, including in the Book of Job (“For His eyes are on the ways of a man.”) and by George Washington (“The eyes of all our countrymen are now upon us”).Ī student wrote a poem that was the basis for the lyrics. Instead the report found that Prather, who became UT’s president in 1899, more likely found his inspiration from Confederate brigadier general John Gregg of Texas. But a recent report to study the song’s origins could not find any primary sources that show that Lee ever used the phrase. For more than 80 years, that story was accepted as fact. Taylor claimed that Lee often told students, “The eyes of the South are upon you,” as a way of reminding them to work hard and uphold Southern traditions. Lee often told students when he was the president of Washington College, in Virginia, where Prather studied law in the late 1860s. Taylor, the first dean of the College of Engineering at Texas, alleged that the phrase, “the eyes of Texas are upon you,” was a reference to something Robert E. To trace the history of the tune, you must go back to the turn of the twentieth century, when William Prather was president of the university. They also called for officials to replace “The Eyes of Texas “with an new song without racial undertones.” The article came after more than two dozen Texas student athletes - including football, basketball and track stars - posted a letter on social media - which demanded that campus buildings named for men who supported the Confederacy or segregation be renamed. In 2020, during the protests over George Floyd’s murder, Texas Monthly had a story headlined: “The Damning History Behind UT’s ‘The Eyes of Texas’ Song.” Special thanks to Jennifer Duncan who found the recording.The song itself has long been controversial because of questions about its origin and whether it reflects racism and a “Lost Cause” ideology. Men’s Chorus: 5 tenors, 4 second tenors, 4 baritones, and 4 basses. Instrumentation: 7 clarinets, 2 saxophones, 2 French horns, 7 cornets, 4 trombones, baritone horn, 2 tubas, 3 drums, bass drum, and tympani. Rattle-de-thrat! Rattle-de-thrat! Rattle-de-thrat! Rattle-de-thrat! Longhorn! Cactus Thorn! Texas! Texas! Texas! Mooooooo, Texas! Texas Fight! Texas Fight! Yea Texas Fight! (More on UT yells and cheers is here.) The yell heard on the recording is: Unfortunately, the cheer is shouted quickly and hard to understand, though it turns out to be a slight variation from the original Rattle-de-Thrat yell created in 1896. If you string together the parts where “Texas Fight!” is sung and eliminate the rest, you’ll hear the familiar Taps bugle call.Īs with The Eyes of Texas, a yell precedes Texas Taps. Hunnicut’s melody is a spoof on a traditional Farmers Fight! song then used at A&M. Texas Taps, better known today as the Texas Fight! song, was composed by Walter Hunnicut and first performed at the 1923 Thanksgiving Day football game between the University of Texas and Texas A&M, played that year in College Station. The Eyes of Texas is performed at a slower tempo than what is usually heard today, and the song is introduced with a yell: “Yea Texas! Yea Texas! Yea Texas! Fight! Fight! Fight!” It’s not clear whether this was included just for the recording, or if, in 1928, a yell was a normal prelude to singing the Eyes. They are the earliest recordings known of what have become longstanding University traditions. On Sunday morning, – only a few days after the 25th anniversary of The Eyes of Texas, which made its debut on – members of the Longhorn Band and University Men’s Chorus boarded a train for San Antonio, and at a downtown hotel performed two songs that were released on a Victor Victrola record. Texas Taps (“Texas Fight!”) – 1923, lyrics and music by Walter “Red” Hunnicutt and Burnett “Blondie” Pharr The Eyes of Texas – 1903, Lyrics by John Lang Sinclair Click on the image for a larger view.Ĭlick here for a blog post about the discovery of these recordings. Performed in San Antonio on May 20, 1928, they are the earliest known recordings of these traditional songs. Earliest Recordings of The Eyes of Texas and Texas FightĪbove: Side A and B of a 1928 Victor 78 rpm record of The Eyes of Texas and Texas Taps. ![]()
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