Saturday, May 10, 2008

"On the Banks of the Old Raritan" -- A Sing-A-Long Video

Here's the one song that every fan at Rutgers Stadium should sing out loud with the band right after the national anthem, and with the players at the end of the game. And you won't have to sing all five of the verses in this video, just the first verse and the chorus.

"On the Banks of the Old Raritan" was written by Howard Fullerton, a graduate of the Rutgers College class of 1874, in 1873. The version on this video with one voice and guitar replacing the traditional marching band and/or glee club, was played by a graduate of the Rutgers College class of 1978 on May 9, 2008. If this little ditty has one thing, it's longevity.
  • Here's another video of the song, showing the team singing the first verse and chorus on the road in North Carolina in September 2006 with great spirit (though it takes half the song before they begin to agree on a key).
  • Here's a video of New Brunswick street scenes after the Navy game in September 2007 backed by a rock version of "On the Banks...", with two verses, the chorus, and a long outro, played by Chris Batten and the Woods.
  • And this link has an mp3 of the Rutgers Glee Club singing the first and last verses and three choruses with great vocal skill (though it drives me crazy when they prounce "Man" and "Raritan" to rhyme with "John" rather than "Fan").

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