Hail! to the victors valiant,
Hail! to the conq'ring heroes, hail!
Hail! to Michigan,
The champions of the West.
Though these words are somewhat too grandiloquent for all occasions, the same spirit which inspires the students to bare their heads and sing "The Yellow and the Blue" at all the great football games, whether in victory or defeat, prompts the band to head the students' march back from the field to the stirring strains of this University march, whether its sentiment is justified or not. Hardly less popular is the football song, "Varsity," written by Professor Earl V. Moore, '12, for which the words were furnished by J. Fred Lawton, '11.
Varsity,
Down the field, never yield,
Raise high your shield!
March on to victory
For Michigan,
And the Maize and Blue.
Oh, Varsity, we're for you,
Here for you, to cheer for you,—
We have no fear for you,
Oh, Varsity.
Nor should another exceedingly popular song of the present time be overlooked:
I want to go back to Michigan,
To dear Ann Arbor town,
Back to Joe's and the Orient,
Back to some of the money I spent.
I want to go back to Michigan
To dear Ann Arbor town,—
I want to go back; I've got to go back,—
To Michigan.
This song has also been popular at Minnesota, it is said, where, during the long period of Michigan victories in football which was at last broken in 1919, it was sung with the same words but in a somewhat different spirit.
The official colors of the University are maize and azure blue. Blue was used officially by the University from early days; but it was not until the class of 1867 chose the maize and azure blue as emblematic of the University that the names of the colors were definitely fixed. As for the colors themselves, they have varied widely, and it was not until 1912 that the exact shades were determined by a committee appointed by the University Senate.
There is little doubt but that originally the colors were a deep blue and the accepted color of Indian corn or maize, as is shown in the ribbons on old diplomas and dance programmes. But gradually the colors faded; the blue particularly, from almost a navy blue to a "baby blue," while the maize became an expressionless pale yellow. These colors were entirely ineffective for decorations, and made it necessary for the Athletic Association to employ shades entirely different from those generally regarded as the true University colors. It is quite possible that a misinterpretation of the words of the song "The Yellow and the Blue" had something to do with the alteration from the original brighter colors.
An inquiry into what "azure blue" really was, soon revealed the fact that it was generally defined as the clear blue color of the sky or of the sea reflecting it, and was further described as that of the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. Cobalt and prussian blue were also given as synonyms. With this clear definition in mind, the committee was able to fix the colors, and Michigan now has a clear deep blue and the yellow of Indian corn, with the exact shades officially fixed by samples preserved among the University's records.