Oil Thigh

Last updated

The Oil Thigh is the name given to the anthem and fight song of Queen's University at Kingston and its sports teams, the Queen's Gaels. Although the song's official title is Queen's College Colours, it is almost universally referred to by the first words of the Gaelic chorus.

Contents

Etymology

Oilthigh (pronounced  [ˈɔlhɪ(j)] ) is the Scottish Gaelic for "university", from oil "educate, rear", which is from Old Irish ail- and taigh "house" (older spelling tigh) plus lenition. [1] It is usually spelt as a single word in modern orthography. [2]

History

The chorus was written in 1891 [3] as part of a longer Gaelic warcry, by three Gaelic-speaking students: Donald Cameron, F.A. McRae, and another called MacLean, whose first name is not known. The rest of the song was written in 1898 by a student, Alfred Lavell, with the title The Queen's College Colours after a disappointing loss to the University of Toronto in order to inspire the team. [3] The first verse is "Queen's College colours we are wearing once again, Soiled as they are by the battle and the rain, Yet another victory to wipe away the stain! So, Gaels, go in and win!"

The second, third and fourth verses are rarely sung.

In 1985 the original "Boys, go in and win" was changed to "Gaels, go in and win" to make the text gender neutral. [3]

The song is often heard sung by students and alumni when the home team scores a point, goal, touchdown, etc., and at other school events. It is usually sung while forming a chain by linking arms behind each other's backs and performing a low-kicking can-can. The Varsity Men's and Women's Rowing teams sing the song to celebrate winning the team points championship at the OUA Rowing Championships and/or the Canadian University Rowing Championships by huddling in a closed circle and performing the traditional low-kicking. The 1892 version uses the tune of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic/John Brown's Body". [3]

Additional stanzas that have fallen out of popular use made reference to historic victories over Yale University, rival McGill University, and the University of Toronto.

Gaelic translation

A distinctive element to the song is the Gaelic words of the chorus. The Gaelic translates to:

Chorus:

Oil thigh na Banrighinn a'Banrighinn gu brath!
Oil thigh na Banrighinn a'Banrighinn gu brath!
Oil thigh na Banrighinn a'Banrighinn gu brath!
Cha-gheill! Cha-gheill! Cha-gheill!

English translation:

The college of the Queen forever!
The college of the Queen forever!
The college of the Queen forever!
No surrender! No surrender! No surrender!

Related Research Articles

God Save the Queen National anthem of the United Kingdom and royal anthem of many Commonwealth realms

"God Save the Queen" is the royal anthem in a number of Commonwealth realms, their territories and the British Crown dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown, and it may originate in plainchant; but an attribution to the composer John Bull is sometimes made.

Flower of Scotland Scottish national anthem (unofficial)

"Flower of Scotland" is a Scottish song, frequently performed at special occasions and sporting events as an unofficial national anthem of Scotland.

Battle Hymn of the Republic American patriotic song written by Julia Ward Howe

The "Battle Hymn of the Republic", also known as "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" outside of the United States, is a popular American patriotic song by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe.

Queens Golden Gaels

The Queen's Golden Gaels are the athletic teams that represent Queen's University at Kingston in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Team colours are blue, red, and gold. Its main home is Richardson Memorial Stadium on West Campus.

Auld Lang Syne Robert Burns poem set to traditional melody

"Auld Lang Syne" is a popular song and poem, particularly in the English-speaking world. It is traditionally used to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. By extension, it is also sung at funerals, graduations, and as a farewell or ending to other occasions, and many branches of the Scouting movement use it to close jamborees and other functions.

In U.S. and Canadian sports, a fight song is 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, and are also laden with history; in singing a fight song, fans feel part of a large, time-honored tradition. Although the term "fight song" is primarily used in the United States, the use of fight songs is commonplace around the world, but they may also be referred to as team anthems, team songs or games songs in other countries, even such as Australia, Mexico and New Zealand. Fight songs differ from stadium anthems, used for similar purposes, in that they are usually written specifically for the purposes of the team, whereas stadium anthems are not.

"The Skye Boat Song" is a late 19th-century Scottish song recalling the journey of Prince Charles Edward Stuart from Benbecula to the Isle of Skye as he evaded capture by government troops after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

Far Above Cayugas Waters Cornell University alma mater

"Far Above Cayuga's Waters" is Cornell University's alma mater. The lyrics were written circa 1870 by roommates Archibald Croswell Weeks, and Wilmot Moses Smith, and set to the tune of "Annie Lisle", a popular 1857 ballad by H. S. Thompson about a heroine dying of tuberculosis.

The University of Alabama is a school with many traditions. This article describes several of these traditions.

The Cavan County Board or Cavan GAA is one of the 32 County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Cavan.

"Victory for MSU", formerly "MSU Fight Song", is the official fight song of Michigan State University, US. MSU's fight song was created in early 1915, when MSU was known as Michigan Agricultural College (M.A.C.). An MSU cheerleader, Francis Irving Lankey, along with lyricist Arthur Sayles, created the song. With several changes noted below, the school has used the same song ever since. The MSU Fight Song is played at all university sporting events and is frequently sung by students and alumni.

Waulking song

Waulking songs are Scottish folk songs, traditionally sung in the Gaelic language by women while fulling (waulking) cloth. This practice involved a group of women rhythmically beating newly woven tweed or tartan cloth against a table or similar surface to soften it. Simple, beat-driven songs were used to accompany the work.

Queens University at Kingston University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Queen's University at Kingston, commonly known as Queen's University or simply Queen's, is a public research university in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Queen's holds more than 1,400 hectares of land throughout Ontario and owns Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England. Queen's is organized into ten undergraduate, graduate, and professional faculties and schools.

The "Limerick" is a traditional humorous drinking song with many obscene verses. The tune usually used for sung limericks is traditionally "Cielito Lindo," with the words arranged in the form of a limerick.

University of Toronto Rowing Club

The University of Toronto Rowing Club (UTRC) was founded on February 10, 1897 and represents the Varsity Blues at local and international regattas. It is the oldest university rowing club in Canada.

The following is an alphabetical list of terms and jargon used in relation to Gaelic games. See also list of Irish county nicknames

"Follow the Colours" is a marching song written by the English composer Edward Elgar in 1907, with words by Capt. William de Courcy Stretton. The song is for solo voice with an optional chorus of male voices.

Saint Marys Gaels

The Saint Mary's Gaels are the athletic teams that compete at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. The nickname applies to the college's intercollegiate NCAA Division I teams and to the school's club sports teams. Most varsity teams compete in the West Coast Conference.

Queen's Golden Gaels women's ice hockey is the representative women's ice hockey program of Queen's University at Kingston in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The team plays in the women's ice hockey section of Ontario University Athletics (OUA), one of the four regional governing bodies that comprise U Sports.

Carleton Ravens football

The Carleton Ravens football team represents Carleton University, which is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The team plays Canadian Interuniversity Sport football in the Ontario University Athletics conference. The Ravens football program started in 1945 and was continuously in operation until 1998 when the program was disbanded. The football program was brought back to the university in 2011 and began play in 2013. The football team has won one conference championship, winning the Dunsmore Cup in 1985 while playing in the Ontario-Quebec Intercollegiate Football Conference.

References

  1. ↑ MacBain, A. (1911) An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language Stirling Eneas MacKay, 1982 edition by Gairm ISBN   0-901771-68-6
  2. ↑ Mark, C. The Gaelic English Dictionary Routledge (2004) ISBN   0-415-29761-3
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Queen's Encyclopedia". Queen's University. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
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.