Here are the lyrics to some of the most popular Princeton tunes. There are a lot of other Princeton songs, and many of the songs listed here have interesting histories and lyrics that have evolved through time. This is a fairly exhaustive collection of the lyrics to the Princeton tunes that the band plays.
Old Nassau
Tune ev'ry heart and ev'ry voice,
Bid ev'ry care withdraw;
Let all with one accord rejoice,
In praise of Old Nassau.
CHORUS
In praise of Old Nassau, we sing,
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
Our hearts will give, while we shall live,
Three cheers for Old Nassau.
Let music rule the fleeting hour,
Her mantle round us draw;
And thrill each heart with all her pow'r,
In praise of Old Nassau.
(chorus)
And when these walls in dust are laid,
With reverence and awe
Another throng shall breathe our song,
In praise of Old Nassau.
(chorus)
Till then with joy our songs we'll bring,
And while a breath we draw,
We'll all unite to shout and sing:
Long life to Old Nassau.
In praise of Old Nassau, we sing,
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
Our hearts will give, while we shall live,
Long Life to Old Nassau.
Lyrics by Harlan Page Peck 1862, Music by Karl Langlotz
Bid ev'ry care withdraw;
Let all with one accord rejoice,
In praise of Old Nassau.
CHORUS
In praise of Old Nassau, we sing,
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
Our hearts will give, while we shall live,
Three cheers for Old Nassau.
Let music rule the fleeting hour,
Her mantle round us draw;
And thrill each heart with all her pow'r,
In praise of Old Nassau.
(chorus)
And when these walls in dust are laid,
With reverence and awe
Another throng shall breathe our song,
In praise of Old Nassau.
(chorus)
Till then with joy our songs we'll bring,
And while a breath we draw,
We'll all unite to shout and sing:
Long life to Old Nassau.
In praise of Old Nassau, we sing,
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
Our hearts will give, while we shall live,
Long Life to Old Nassau.
Lyrics by Harlan Page Peck 1862, Music by Karl Langlotz
The Orange And The Black
Although Yale has always favored
The violet's dark blue,
And the many sons of Harvard
To the crimson rose are true,
We will own the lilies slender,
Nor honor shall they lack,
While the Tiger stands defender
Of the Orange and the Black.
We will own the lilies slender,
Nor honor shall they lack,
While the Tiger stands defender
Of the Orange and the Black.
Thro' the four long years of college,
'Midst the scenes we know so well,
As the mystic charm to knowledge
We vainly seek to spell;
Or, we win athletic vict'ries
On the football field or track,
Still we work for dear old Prince-ton,
And the Orange and the Black.
Or, we win athletic vict'ries
On the football field or track,
Still we work for dear old Prince-ton,
And the Orange and the Black.
When the cares of life o'ertake us,
Mingling fast our locks with grey,
Should our dearest hopes betray us,
False Fortune fall away,
Still we'll banish care and sadness
As we turn our mem'ries back,
And recall those days of gladness
'Neath the Orange and the Black.
Still we'll banish care and sadness
As we turn our mem'ries back,
And recall those days of gladness
'Neath the Orange and the Black.
Lyrics by Clarence Mitchell 1889, Music by Ernest Carter 1888
The violet's dark blue,
And the many sons of Harvard
To the crimson rose are true,
We will own the lilies slender,
Nor honor shall they lack,
While the Tiger stands defender
Of the Orange and the Black.
We will own the lilies slender,
Nor honor shall they lack,
While the Tiger stands defender
Of the Orange and the Black.
Thro' the four long years of college,
'Midst the scenes we know so well,
As the mystic charm to knowledge
We vainly seek to spell;
Or, we win athletic vict'ries
On the football field or track,
Still we work for dear old Prince-ton,
And the Orange and the Black.
Or, we win athletic vict'ries
On the football field or track,
Still we work for dear old Prince-ton,
And the Orange and the Black.
When the cares of life o'ertake us,
Mingling fast our locks with grey,
Should our dearest hopes betray us,
False Fortune fall away,
Still we'll banish care and sadness
As we turn our mem'ries back,
And recall those days of gladness
'Neath the Orange and the Black.
Still we'll banish care and sadness
As we turn our mem'ries back,
And recall those days of gladness
'Neath the Orange and the Black.
Lyrics by Clarence Mitchell 1889, Music by Ernest Carter 1888
The Princeton Cannon Song
In Princeton town we've got a team
That knows the way to play.
With Princeton spirit back of them
They're sure to win the day.
With cheers and song we'll rally 'round
The Cannon as of yore,
And Nassau's walls will echo with
The Princeton Tiger's roar:
CHORUS
(And then we'll) Crash through the line of blue
And send the backs on 'round the end!
Fight, fight for ev'ry yard,
Princeton's honor to defend.
Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah!
Tiger sis boom ah!
And locomotives by the score!
For we'll fight with a vim
That is dead sure to win
For Old Nassau!
Arthur H. Osborn 1907 and Joseph F. Hewitt 1907
That knows the way to play.
With Princeton spirit back of them
They're sure to win the day.
With cheers and song we'll rally 'round
The Cannon as of yore,
And Nassau's walls will echo with
The Princeton Tiger's roar:
CHORUS
(And then we'll) Crash through the line of blue
And send the backs on 'round the end!
Fight, fight for ev'ry yard,
Princeton's honor to defend.
Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah!
Tiger sis boom ah!
And locomotives by the score!
For we'll fight with a vim
That is dead sure to win
For Old Nassau!
Arthur H. Osborn 1907 and Joseph F. Hewitt 1907
Going Back to Nassau Hall
When the sons of Princeton
Gather anywhere,
There's a place they think of,
Longing to be there.
It's the one and only
University,
Situated and celebrated In New Jersee
CHORUS
Going back, going back,
Going back to Nassau Hall.
Going back, going back,
To the best old place of all.
Going back, going back,
From all this earthly ball.
We'll clear the track as we go back,
Going back to Nassau Hall.
Let's go back to Princeton
At commencement time,
Sample each reunion:
That's the life for mine!
Ramble round the campus,
Full of jollity,
Our location for celebration
Is New Jersee.
(chorus)
They are great at football
Down in Princeton town,
And likewise in baseball
They have won renown.
Soon we'll see them winning
One more victory,
And bonfires burning when we're returning
To New Jersee
(chorus)
Kenneth S. Clark 1905
Gather anywhere,
There's a place they think of,
Longing to be there.
It's the one and only
University,
Situated and celebrated In New Jersee
CHORUS
Going back, going back,
Going back to Nassau Hall.
Going back, going back,
To the best old place of all.
Going back, going back,
From all this earthly ball.
We'll clear the track as we go back,
Going back to Nassau Hall.
Let's go back to Princeton
At commencement time,
Sample each reunion:
That's the life for mine!
Ramble round the campus,
Full of jollity,
Our location for celebration
Is New Jersee.
(chorus)
They are great at football
Down in Princeton town,
And likewise in baseball
They have won renown.
Soon we'll see them winning
One more victory,
And bonfires burning when we're returning
To New Jersee
(chorus)
Kenneth S. Clark 1905
Princeton, Forward March
Come, fall in line, we're all in line for Princeton,
To show we're true to team and crew.
We'll march along with cheer and song for Princeton,
To show we're loyal through and through.
Ready Nassau Hall, hear that battle call:
"Princeton, forward march!" Yea!
CHORUS
Princeton, forward march to victory,
Princeton, lead the way.
Princeton, forward march to victory,
This is the tiger's day. Yea!
Princeton, forward march to victory,
Fight with brain and brawn.
We'll leave old Eli trailing in the dust,
As we go marching on.
Kenneth S. Clark 1905
To show we're true to team and crew.
We'll march along with cheer and song for Princeton,
To show we're loyal through and through.
Ready Nassau Hall, hear that battle call:
"Princeton, forward march!" Yea!
CHORUS
Princeton, forward march to victory,
Princeton, lead the way.
Princeton, forward march to victory,
This is the tiger's day. Yea!
Princeton, forward march to victory,
Fight with brain and brawn.
We'll leave old Eli trailing in the dust,
As we go marching on.
Kenneth S. Clark 1905
The Princeton Band
Oh here we are,
The Princeton Band,
Playing songs of Old Nassau.
That old refrain
Will sound again,
And you will hear the tiger's roar.
Roar!
The slide trombone,
The saxophone,
And the bass drum sounding grand.
With a boom boom boom,
And a zoom zoom zoom.
Oh, when you hear the Princeton Band!
Joseph F. Hewitt 1907 and Arthur H. Osborn 1907
The Princeton Band,
Playing songs of Old Nassau.
That old refrain
Will sound again,
And you will hear the tiger's roar.
Roar!
The slide trombone,
The saxophone,
And the bass drum sounding grand.
With a boom boom boom,
And a zoom zoom zoom.
Oh, when you hear the Princeton Band!
Joseph F. Hewitt 1907 and Arthur H. Osborn 1907
Here Comes That tiger
Oh boy! Oh boy!
Here comes that Tiger, wow!
He's running wild,
They'll never stop him now!
He'll prowl around and then he'll let out a roar
When eleven Princeton football players start to score.
He likes to play in any game that's tough
And lead the way to where the going's rough.
What is the one team that always wears the crown?
It's that Royal Bengal Tiger down in Princeton town!
Lyrics by Arthur H. Osborn 1907, Music by Herman Hupfeld
Here comes that Tiger, wow!
He's running wild,
They'll never stop him now!
He'll prowl around and then he'll let out a roar
When eleven Princeton football players start to score.
He likes to play in any game that's tough
And lead the way to where the going's rough.
What is the one team that always wears the crown?
It's that Royal Bengal Tiger down in Princeton town!
Lyrics by Arthur H. Osborn 1907, Music by Herman Hupfeld
Princeton's Sons (1907 Song)
Princeton's Sons are (Nineteen Seven's) back again
Into the Tiger's den once more.
Back with the class
And back where the Nass
Used to stand in days of yore.
They've come back from far and near,
Back to Princeton ev'ry year,
To cheer once more
For Old Nassau
With a Tiger sis boom bah!
Arthur H. Osborn 1907
Into the Tiger's den once more.
Back with the class
And back where the Nass
Used to stand in days of yore.
They've come back from far and near,
Back to Princeton ev'ry year,
To cheer once more
For Old Nassau
With a Tiger sis boom bah!
Arthur H. Osborn 1907
Princeton Stadium Song
Princeton's team today will win more laurels.
Our Tiger team will win again today.
See them march out on the field;
Johnny Harvard's fate is sealed
In the good old Princeton way. So,
CHORUS
Princeton will rule the stadium.
Nassau will win the fight.
Over the line we will push to score.
Bright Princeton stars will shine here tonight, so we will
Sing out our cheers for Princeton.
Triumph will come once more.
Hoist the banner to the skies;
The Nassau team will take the prize, so
Let the Tiger roar!
Lyrics by Elzey M. Roberts 1942, Music by JF Hewitt 1907 and WAG Leboutillier 1910
Our Tiger team will win again today.
See them march out on the field;
Johnny Harvard's fate is sealed
In the good old Princeton way. So,
CHORUS
Princeton will rule the stadium.
Nassau will win the fight.
Over the line we will push to score.
Bright Princeton stars will shine here tonight, so we will
Sing out our cheers for Princeton.
Triumph will come once more.
Hoist the banner to the skies;
The Nassau team will take the prize, so
Let the Tiger roar!
Lyrics by Elzey M. Roberts 1942, Music by JF Hewitt 1907 and WAG Leboutillier 1910
Princeton Forever
Princeton Men, once again, one and all
Give a cheer, when you hear the tiger's call.
Let him roar, while Nassau wins the game.
He'll defend to the end our fame.
March a-long with a song, once again
Raise your voice and rejoice, my Princeton men (and women!)
Singing yea! Let's go! Nassau! We shoot as one.
Forever more, Princeton!
Arthur H. Osborn 1907 and Joseph F. Hewitt 1907
Give a cheer, when you hear the tiger's call.
Let him roar, while Nassau wins the game.
He'll defend to the end our fame.
March a-long with a song, once again
Raise your voice and rejoice, my Princeton men (and women!)
Singing yea! Let's go! Nassau! We shoot as one.
Forever more, Princeton!
Arthur H. Osborn 1907 and Joseph F. Hewitt 1907
