Often called the most beloved and popular of college fraternity songs, "The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi" was written in 1911 [1] by Byron D. Stokes (Albion Class of 1913) and F. Dudleigh Vernor (Albion '14). Stokes had written the words while in class one June day that year, and presented them that afternoon to Vernor, who was practicing the piano in a local house, and composed the music at that time. The song has since become a favorite among ballroom orchestras and was used in two movie musicals of the same name, in 1933 and 1946. When asked about the song's inspiration, Stokes replied, "The 'Sweetheart' is the symbol for the spiritual ingredient in brotherhood. It was the Sigma Chi fraternity itself that inspired the song. I wrote the words not long after my initiation, and the magic of our Ritual with its poetic overtones and undertones was, I suppose, the source of my inspiration". The manuscript of the song remained on campus until 2007 when it was lost and not recovered.
The song was first sung by Harry Clifford (Albion '11), who later drew the cover for the original sheet music published by Vernor's brother Harry Vernor (Albion '13). The song became a big band hit, has been performed in film and television, and continues to be recognized around the world. Through the years, many people have tried to pin the title of "original sweetheart" on many women; however, the two most likely candidates are Elsie Munro (Vernor's girlfriend) and Helen Beall Russell, who lived next to the old chapter house. Either way, since then the concept of the Sweetheart of Sigma Chi has gained popularity all across the world, with the adoption of sweethearts at every chapter and even an international sweetheart. [2]
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The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi Words by Byron D. Stokes, Albion 1913
When the world goes wrong, as it's bound to do
And you've broken Dan Cupid's bow
And you long for the girl you used to love
the maid of the long ago
Why, light your pipe, bid sorrow avaunt,
Blow the smoke from your altar of dreams
And wreathe the face of your dream-girl there
The love that is just what it seems.
The girl of my dreams is the sweetest girl
Of all the girls I know
Each sweet co-ed, like a rainbow trail
Fades in the after glow
The blue of her eyes and the gold of her hair
Are a blend of the western sky
And the moonlight beams
On the girl of my dreams
She's the Sweetheart of Sigma Chi.
The girl of my dreams is the sweetest girl
Of all the girls I know
And the moon still beams
On the girl of my dreams
She's the sweetheart of Sigma Chi.
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Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014.
Sigma Chi (ΣΧ) International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more than 350,000 members. The fraternity was founded on June 28, 1855, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, by members who split from the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
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"Goodnight, Sweetheart" is a British popular song written in 1931. It has been performed by Al Bowlly, Kate Smith, Connie Francis, Dick Haymes, Gordon MacRae, Sarah Vaughan and Dean Martin, among others, and was the theme song for the 1990s BBC time-travel sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart starring Nicholas Lyndhurst, which was named after it.
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