Go, Vandals, Go

"Go, Vandals, Go"
"Go, Vandals, Go"
Song
Written	1930, 93 years ago
Published	1931, University of Idaho
Genre	Collegiate fight song
Songwriter(s)	J. Morris O'Donnell; (1912–1977)

Last updated October 19, 2023

"Go, Vandals, Go" is the official fight song of the University of Idaho in Moscow.

The song was composed 93 years ago in 1930 by John Morris "Morey" O'Donnell (1912–1977),^[1]^[2]^[3] the freshman class vice president^[4] from Granite (between Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint). He graduated from Coeur d'Alene High School, the UI law school,^[5] and became a prominent attorney in the state at Moscow.^[6] A member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, O'Donnell was a talented pianist and had played internationally before college.^[1]^[6] The title is similar to cross-state rival Idaho State Bengals song Growl, Bengals, Growl.^[7]

The song was the freshman class' winning entry in the university's annual song and stunt fest in May 1930,^[4]^[8]^[9] and was soon played by the UI pep band at football games at MacLean Field. Previously, the Vandals had used a variation of "On, Wisconsin" as its fight song.^[1]

Most fight songs are hard to sing because of the fast beat used to make them sound spirited. However, O'Donnell wrote the song almost entirely with whole notes and half notes to make it easy for a large football crowd to sing;^[1] he also added a heavy drumbeat to carry the spirit.

For many years, it has been cited as one of the top fight songs in the United States. For example, 2002, Norm Maves, Jr. of The Oregonian in Portland described it as "the once and future king of college fight songs, with a fanfare lead-in that could motivate a successful infantry charge."

Lyrics

Came a tribe from the North, brave and bold,
Bearing banners of Silver and Gold;
Tried and true to subdue all their foes
Go Vandals, go mighty Vandals!

Go, Vandals, go,
Fight on with hearts true and bold,
Foes will fall before your Silver and your Gold.

The victory cannot be withheld from thee,
So all bear down for Idaho,
Come on old Vandals, go!

I-D-A-H-O
Idaho, Idaho, Go! Go! Go!

Source:^[1]^[10]

Bing Crosby fight song

Singer Bing Crosby, raised in Spokane, recorded an unrelated Idaho fight song in 1947;^[11] "You're the Gem State Wonder, Idaho" was set to the melody of "Buckle Down, Winsocki" from the 1943 musical Best Foot Forward (and 1941 Broadway play).^[12]^[13] A few months later, Crosby was an absentee judge for a campus beauty contest, documented in the UI yearbook.^[14]

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References

1 2 3 4 5 "Fight Song: Go, Vandals Go". University of Idaho Marching Band. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
↑ "Morey O'Donnell". University of Idaho Athletics. Hall of Fame. 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
↑ "J. Morey O'Donnell". Find a Grave. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
1 2 "Freshman Class". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1930. pp. 108–109.
↑ "Juniors". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1932. p. 80.
1 2 "J.M. O'Donnell". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (obituary). January 11, 1977. p. 8A.
↑ Studwell, William E; Schueneman, Bruce R (March 7, 2013). College Fight Songs: An Annotated Anthology. United States: Taylor & Francis. p. 25. ISBN 9781136384677.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
↑ "Freshman take both honors in song, stuntfest". Idaho Argonaut. (Moscow). (University of Idaho). May 16, 1930. p. 1.
↑ "Song and Stunt Fest (May 1930)". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1931. p. 242.
↑ "Go Vandals Go" (PDF). University of Idaho Library. (special collections). May 1930.
↑ "Idaho fight song - Bing Crosby". YouTube. 1947. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
↑ Crosby, Bing; Martin, Hugh; Blane, Ralph. "You're the Gem State wonder, Idaho / Buckle down, Winsocki". All Music. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
↑ "Tommy Dix - Buckle Down, Winsocki". YouTube. (from Best Foot Forward ). 1943. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
↑ "Bing Crosby". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1948. p. 42.

External links

YouTube – Go, Vandals, Go (with lyrics)
Arrangement for flute

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[imbfs-1] 1 2 3 4 5 "Fight Song: Go, Vandals Go". University of Idaho Marching Band. Retrieved September 29, 2017.

[uiathof-2] "Morey O'Donnell". University of Idaho Athletics. Hall of Fame. 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2017.

[fndgrv-3] "J. Morey O'Donnell". Find a Grave. Retrieved September 29, 2017.

[frosh30-4] 1 2 "Freshman Class". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1930. pp. 108–109.

[gem32jr-5] "Juniors". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1932. p. 80.

[lmtobit-6] 1 2 "J.M. O'Donnell". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (obituary). January 11, 1977. p. 8A.

[7] Studwell, William E; Schueneman, Bruce R (March 7, 2013). College Fight Songs: An Annotated Anthology. United States: Taylor & Francis. p. 25. ISBN 9781136384677.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

[frtbrthhr-8] "Freshman take both honors in song, stuntfest". Idaho Argonaut. (Moscow). (University of Idaho). May 16, 1930. p. 1.

[snstntfst-9] "Song and Stunt Fest (May 1930)". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1931. p. 242.

[uilibspcol-10] "Go Vandals Go" (PDF). University of Idaho Library. (special collections). May 1930.

[bing-11] "Idaho fight song - Bing Crosby". YouTube. 1947. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved September 29, 2017.

[bdwnwin-12] Crosby, Bing; Martin, Hugh; Blane, Ralph. "You're the Gem State wonder, Idaho / Buckle down, Winsocki". All Music. Retrieved September 30, 2017.

[bytdnwin-13] "Tommy Dix - Buckle Down, Winsocki". YouTube. (from Best Foot Forward ). 1943. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved September 30, 2017.

[bingm48-14] "Bing Crosby". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1948. p. 42.

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v t e University of Idaho
Located in Moscow, Idaho
Academics	Law Music Outdoor Science
Facilities	Kibbie Dome Memorial Gymnasium ICCU Arena MacLean Field (defunct) Neale Stadium (defunct) Golf Course Arboretum Ridenbaugh Hall Gym & Armory
Athletics	Idaho Vandals Football Men's basketball Women's basketball Baseball (defunct) Rivalries Battle of the Palouse Little Brown Stein Battle of the Domes Boise State Gonzaga Fight song
Media	Fugue KUOI-FM University of Idaho Press
Related	Idaho Gem Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival Alumni Timeline 2022 UI killings

v t e Idaho Vandals football
Venues	MacLean Field (1914–1936) Neale Stadium (1937–1968) Rogers Field (1969–1970) Joe Albi Stadium (1971) Kibbie Dome (1971–present) Martin Stadium (1999–2001)
Bowls and rivalries	Bowl games Boise State Gonzaga (defunct) Idaho State Montana: Little Brown Stein Washington State: Battle of the Palouse
Culture and lore	History Joe Vandal Go, Vandals, Go The Sound of Idaho
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Starting quarterbacks
Seasons	1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

v t e Idaho Vandals men's basketball
Venues	Armory and Gymnasium (1905–1928) Memorial Gymnasium (1928–1976, 2020–21) Kibbie Dome / Cowan Spectrum (1976–2021) Idaho Central Credit Union Arena (2021–present)
Rivalries	Washington State
Culture & lore	Go, Vandals, Go
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e Idaho Vandals women's basketball
Venues	Memorial Gymnasium (1974–1976, 2020–21) Cowan Spectrum (1976–2020) Idaho Central Credit Union Arena (2021–present)
Rivalries	Washington State
Culture & lore	Go, Vandals, Go
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23