March 2, 2021

"The Eyes of Texas is non-negotiable. If it is not kept and fully embraced, I will not be donating any additional money to athletics or the university or attending any events."

Wrote one alumnus quoted in "'UT needs rich donors': Emails show wealthy alumni supporting 'Eyes of Texas' threatened to pull donations/Emails obtained by The Texas Tribune show alumni and donors threatened to stop supporting the university financially and demanded that the university president take a stronger stance supporting 'The Eyes of Texas'" (The Texas Tribune).

"The Eyes of Texas" is a song traditionally played at the end of football games, with players remaining on the field to sing the song along with the fans. Recently, all the players except the quarterback left the field. 

Students have been petitioning to get rid of the song — something I wrote about last October. I didn't take a position on the racial problem with the song and whether it's enough to overcome the pull of tradition, but I did undertake my own independent analysis of the lyrics:

The state has eyes and is always watching you: "The Eyes of Texas are upon you/All the livelong day/The Eyes of Texas are upon you/You cannot get away/Do not think you can escape them/At night or early in the morn/The Eyes of Texas are upon you/'Til Gabriel blows his horn." 
There really is something wrong with this song. It's oppressive even if you don't know the background story. It speaks of surveillance and endless oppressive work. Maybe a lot of college kids think the song is just funny and surreal. Eyes that you cannot escape.

129 comments:

Rusty said...

Another instance where context would be helpful.
A side note; My late stepfather knew every school song of every state university in the US. Many a time we would drink for free because of his talent.

Leland said...

Sounds like hell.

Quayle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
GatorNavy said...

Now, do ‘On Wisconsin’ or any other Big Ten song specific to its state or university. Follow the money and see where it leads.

Rory said...

Is that a shark I see jumping?

Dan from Madison said...

On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin! Plunge right through that line!
Run the ball right down the field, a touchdown sure this time.
On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin! Fight on for her fame,
Fight! Fellows! Fight! Fight, fight, we'll win this game.
On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin! Stand up, Badgers sing!
'Forward' is our driving spirit loyal voices ring.
On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin! Raise her glowing flame
Stand, fellows, let us now salute her name!

So many commands. So much violence. Sigh.

Kai Akker said...

---There really is something wrong with this song. It's oppressive even if you don't know the background story. It speaks of surveillance and endless oppressive work.

--Maureen Downey

tcrosse said...

You think the all-seeing eye is bad, wait until they get to the part about someone in the kitchen with Dinah, strumming on the old banjo.

gilbar said...

Violent ground acquisition games such as football is in fact a crypto-fascist metaphor for nuclear war.

And NOBODY is Against Nuclear War, are You?

Jeff Brokaw said...

The problem with canceling historical artifacts is the failure to account for postives from these cultural institutions, the bond they provide for future generations, the unifying effect.

Such things are the glue that holds a people together.

I’m not interested, nor should anyone be, in hearing what’s wrong with such things if you cannot even be bothered to account for the plus side of keeping them.

RNB said...

"There really is something wrong with this song. It's oppressive even if you don't know the [fake] background story. It speaks of surveillance and endless oppressive work." No, it speaks of expectations and duty. Why do you persist in this strained misinterpretation? Poking the excitable among the commentariat?

Caroline said...

Oppressive? Really?

Mr Wibble said...

The problem with canceling historical artifacts is the failure to account for postives from these cultural institutions, the bond they provide for future generations, the unifying effect.

Such things are the glue that holds a people together.


This is why they want to get rid of it. The goal is the destruction of all institutions, all common culture, any shared identity outside of that created by The State.

Sebastian said...

"It speaks of surveillance and endless oppressive work."

Sure, surveillance and endless oppressive work, that's what kids like to sing about at football games.

Doug said...

Get over it, Althouse. It's a tradition, it's a football song. Congrats to the alumni for threatening to pull their support.

This is the cancel culture getting its well-deserved push back. You got a problem, maybe check out the lyrics do "On Wisconsin" to see if it might trigger some snowflake.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Isn't a creepy song just want you want to terrify the invaders... er... the other team?

rhhardin said...

It looks like I've Been Working on the Railroad, scanwise.

Tommy Duncan said...

In a time of universal offense, having fun is a revolutionary act.

rhhardin said...

The only all seeing eye is the woke movement.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Dan From Madison...

And we were told by our corrupt hypocritical elite betters at Trump's 5th impeachment trial - the word "FIGHT" is racist, white supremacist, evil, bad, wrong, insurrectionist, Nazi and all bad things.

Ann Althouse said...

"Now, do ‘On Wisconsin’ or any other Big Ten song specific to its state or university. Follow the money and see where it leads."

The traditional song to sing at the end of a game at Wisconsin is "Varsity." Read about the tradition here.

Here are the lyrics:

Varsity! Varsity!

U-rah-rah! Wisconsin,

Praise to thee we sing!

Praise to thee, our Alma Mater,

U-rah-rah! Wisconsin!


Hard to critique that as racist, but examine the word "varsity" — what is it? where did it come from? And what is "U-rah-rah!" Sounds militaristic, at the very least. The concept of "praise" could be problematized. "Alma Mater" is vulnerable to feminist analysis. And the big target is "Wisconsin." Big cultural appropriation there.

Stay Safe said...

Isn't there another Police song they could sing? How about Roxanne?

Mr Wibble said...

In a time of universal offense, having fun is a revolutionary act.


Part of the appeal of Trump, and why he still has the loyalty of so many Americans, is that he seems to be having fun. He enjoys the fight, the spectacle. There is power in that, because the worse thing you can do to your opponent is mock him. Doing so makes you look stronger. And people are generally drawn to strength, confidence, and to people who seem to genuinely love life.

CWJ said...

Althouse,

What about the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg?

Jeff Brokaw said...

Endless self-flagellation is a sign of poor mental health in an individual, and so it is in the culture at large.

Accept the past, warts and all, and don’t assume our modern culture has sufficient moral certitude to sit in judgment of our ancestors. We should learn from history, of course, but the idea we need to purge it seems ... kind of Stalinist, no?

Ann Althouse said...

"Varsity" is just a shortening of "university." I never knew that until just now.

CWJ said...

"It speaks of surveillance and endless oppressive work."

Now sing the song replacing "Texas" with "wokeness."

Howard said...

Another uplifting sign Texas is going Deep Purple.

tomaig said...

"There really is something wrong with this song. It's oppressive even if you don't know the background story. It speaks of surveillance and endless oppressive work."

Talk about being "drearily earnest"...

Michael said...

Here is an exegesis of the song. https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/eyes-of-texas-lyrics-racist-undertones-explained/285-d1929725-99a9-4013-8c4b-9c88e0c9312f

To summarize there is nothing racist in the lyrics but rather a similar phrase of the title was uttered by Robert E Lee ( I assume it is permissible to write that name). The song was also performed in minstrels show. Once. Upon a time. So it should go.

Sweet Jesus on a motherfucking pogo stick just stop. Just fucking stop listening to these assholes, these children, these morons picking at every thread of the past.

Mr Wibble said...

Just fucking stop listening to these assholes, these children, these morons picking at every thread of the past.

Unfortunately we tried that. It didn't work. Instead they spread throughout the system, taking over education and the mass culture.

Dan from Madison said...

"The traditional song to sing at the end of a game at Wisconsin is "Varsity." Read about the tradition here."

Yes, but they play "On Wisconsin" I would guess at least twenty times in some fashion during the course of a game. So much fighting. So much sexism with the using of "fellows". Sigh. What to do?

Tim said...

People are stupid. Always looking to be offended.

Michael said...

The phrase U-rah-rah is often used by racist military cadres as they carry out their maneuvers to ready themselves to kill brown people. It was also a cry used by Confederate troops going not battle. It is a war cry pure and simple.

Bob Smith said...

This stool is way cool
Until they come for youll

See Pastor Niemoller

Gahrie said...

Unfortunately we tried that. It didn't work. Instead they spread throughout the system, taking over education and the mass culture.

Because people like Althouse indulged and supported them.

Curious George said...

First: "he lyrics are said to be intended to poke fun at University President William Lambdin (Colonel) Prather. Prather had attended Washington College, now Washington and Lee University, whose president, Robert E. Lee, would frequently tell his students, "the eyes of the South are upon you." Prather was known for including in his speeches a similar admonition, "The eyes of Texas are upon you," meaning that the state of Texas was watching and expecting the students to go out and do great things. Prather enjoyed the song and promoted its usage."

So that's what it's about. Nothing oppressive.

Second: If you have ever watched a UT football game they play and sing the song before, during, and after the game. While not their official fight song it's kind of like OSU playing "Hang on Sloopy." It's NOT just the "after the game" song like UW Varsity, which is the Alma Mater song. OSU plays their Alma Mater song Carmen Ohio after games...most colleges do.

Gahrie said...

No, it speaks of expectations and duty. Why do you persist in this strained misinterpretation? Poking the excitable among the commentariat?

Expectations and duty are tools of the White Patriarchy.

farmgirl said...

I started down the rabbit hole- I got to minstrel shows, so googled exactly what that was. If I had lived “back then” would acceptance of this kind of cultural comedy been a given? Idk. Which led me to The Black and White Minstrel Show created by a Scotsman. Then, I clicked on https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lewis_Moore, a one man mail March- murdered for his stance and principled position of equality-“one week before his 36th birthday.” His mind was sound enough for me. Finally...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_Was_the_Week_That_Was Is quite a link. I read the lyrics to the song performed and... I turned tail and beat feet outta that hole. People are dark beings and if we can’t find the Light- I’d say we deserve our comeuppance.

Jeff Brokaw said...

Mr Wibble - yes there is that radical faction that openly advocates for destruction of our society. Of course. They are beyond reach.

But they rely on foot soldiers in the wider culture to do the heavy lifting of mainstreaming these ideas, people unaware they are being used by radicals to destroy a culture from within who might not even realize that there is such a thing as “glue that holds a people together”.

That’s a much bigger group that might be open to re-evaluating these constant calls to rewrite history. First they have to understand that cultural glue exists, what it is, why it’s important, etc. Right now they are bobbing in a sea of ideas with no anchor.

Bob Boyd said...

The Eyes of Big Tech are upon you/All the livelong day/The Eyes of Big Tech are upon you/You cannot get away/Do not think you can escape them/At night or early in the morn/Politics will get you cancelled/Best you stick to porn

farmgirl said...

Tom Brokaw:
Accept the past, warts and all, and don’t assume our modern culture has sufficient moral certitude to sit in judgment of our ancestors. We should learn from history, of course, but the idea we need to purge it seems ... kind of Stalinist, no?

This could be the hill. Acceptance isn’t to condone.
If definitions can change, pronouns, genders- insulting racist words take on new meanings- then why protest a dead past? Isn’t that having it both ways? Or is that just the exact definition of Woke?

Bill R said...

University people seem to have way too much free time.

Budget cuts. Tuition caps.

farmgirl said...

And honestly- it’s not my circus...

Sebastian said...

"I did undertake my own independent analysis of the lyrics"

One more example of Althouse meeting bad-faith prog attacks with a good-faith nice-liberal response.

Of course, we have long since reached the point where such niceness itself aids and abets prog destruction.

Until the nice women of America decide they've had enough, we'll get more. So expect the cleansing of the culture to continue. With nice women standing by, holding on to their high self-regard, taking no responsibility for the wreckage.

Owen said...

Jeff Brokaw, Michael, others: agree, this is just an effort to dismantle the shared past and leave people —who need things to share or they perish for lack of meaning— doubly desperate and eager to accept the State’s replacement symbols and narratives. Which the Proggies control.

They’re evil. No other word for it.

I have to think that Prof. A is trolling us all with her interpretation of a song whose lyrics are about as innocuous as any ever written.

Bob Smith said...

I think Bob Boyd at 8:35 wins the internet today.

Owen said...

Bob Boyd @ 8:35: Brilliant!

BarrySanders20 said...

Boyd the poet laureate of the comment section strikes gold again

M Jordan said...

“ Blogger rhhardin said...
The only all seeing eye is the woke movement”

What a great comment. Nice.

Browndog said...

One more example of Althouse meeting bad-faith prog attacks with a good-faith nice-liberal response.

Many will debate each and every "isolated" incident of cancel culture as to it's merits. Was the CPAC stage a big nazi symbol? Let's dive in...

The only response, so eloquently put by the great Andrew Breitbart is: Fuck-you. War.

tim maguire said...

I'm fully prepared to roll my eyes at the "racial" context, whatever that is. But your excerpt--ick. That's a scary song. Texas knows when you've been sleeping, Texas knows when you're awake. Texas knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness' sake!

I'm Not Sure said...

"It speaks of surveillance..."

Great. Now do smartphones.

Fernandinande said...

I've been working on oppression
All the live long day
I've been working on oppression
Just to pass the time away

Can't you hear the dom'nant culture
Colonizing early in the morn
Can't you hear the dom'nant culture
Dinah, appropriate their horn

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Or it means, “when you play for UT you represent UT on and off the field. Be proud of that and act accordingly.” I believe some other admin somewhere recently said words to that effect regarding that school’s team that wanted to kneel or something. The country's youth are begging for good leadership.

Quaestor said...

Banning "The Eyes of Texas" is a blow against the First Amendment.

The alumni have a moral duty to refuse to support fascism, therefore I support their effort to defund the University of Texas. However, what it is qualified support.

What needs to be banned is football, at least in its present form -- a corrupt money machine that soils the very concept of the academy.

Iman said...

On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin! Reinforce that Cheddar with Brie!
On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin! Pray your teammate don’t take teh knee

Gravel said...

Leland said...
Sounds like hell.


But they sing it so well.

R C Belaire said...

Why anyone would freely donate to a public university these days is beyond me.

Howard said...

Soil is the lifeblood of humanity, therefore being soiled produces growth. It's very offensive to see soil continually maligned.

Howard said...

Banana Slugs, you perservere.
Banana Slugs, you know no fear.
Banana Slugs, you are our heros.

Banana Slugs, of thee we sing.
The forests with your praises ring.
Of gastropods, you are the king.

Banana Slugs, your slithering
Has your opponents withering.
So once again we are cheering your
Journey on to victory.

Aggie said...

Given the circumstances, it would appear the lyrics are correct.

tcrosse said...

Suggested new, more enlightened lyrics to On Wisconsin:

Who is Silvia? what is she,
That all our swains commend her?
Holy, fair, and wise is she;
The heaven such grace did lend her....
Is she kind as she is fair?
For beauty lives with kindness.
Love doth to her eyes repair,
To help him of his blindness.

Bob Smith said...

I’m not surprised that current generations don’t like the implications of “The Eyes of Texas”. Being reminded that you have social obligations is distasteful to a lot of people.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

So much virtue to signal, so little time.

Ken B said...

It’s a metaphor for duty.

mezzrow said...

That's a pretty top moment there, Boyd.

I'd revel in it if I were you. Kudos.

Joe Smith said...

"And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air..."

That is a song about war and violence. War and violence have no place in our society.

The last 50 years have been on giant, motherfucking slippery slope.

Camel's noses under all the tents.

And it's all driven by a leftist, Marxist ideology that has taken over our culture and soon our government, like the cancer that it is.

FWBuff said...

Texas A&M's fight song ("The Aggie War Hymn") has lots of sarcastic references to "The Eyes of Texas". This is the main verse we've always sung, regardless of whether we're playing UT. It has persisted even now that A&M is in the SEC and never plays UT:

"Hullabaloo, caneck! caneck!
Hullabaloo, caneck! caneck!
Goodbye to Texas University.
So long to the orange and the white.
Good luck to dear old Texas Aggies!
They are the boys who show the real old fight!
'The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You'
That is the song they sing so well
(Sounds like hell!)
So goodbye to Texas University.
We're gonna beat you all to
Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem
Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem
Rough stuff tough stuff Texas A&M!"

And then we saw Varsity's horns off, but you get the idea.

bleh said...

I remember when you wrote this and thinking how wrong you were. You're still wrong and I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. The song is NOT about constant, oppressive surveillance by the state government of Texas. I guess you're just impervious to hearing different, more plausible interpretations of the lyrics from lifelong Texans who actually went to UT.

Ann Althouse said...

"Now sing the song replacing "Texas" with "wokeness.""

The eyes of wokeness are upon you
All the livelong day
The eyes of wokeness are upon you are upon you
You cannot get away
Do not think you can escape them
At night or early in the morn...

Bob Boyd said...

Their song debuted it at an annual campus minstrel show, according to Gordon, who said the students probably were wearing blackface when they performed it.

"probably"

rcocean said...

They've singing that song for 50 years at UT. why should they change now? The current crop of players will leave in 1 or 2 years and be replaced. It reminds me of a quote from Full Metal Jacket:

"Marines die. But the Marine Corps lives forever."

BTW, it'd be nice if we have actual, real-life Journalists in the USA, instead of DNC propagandists. Because a journalist would go the players who hated the song and ask them for specific reasons WHY They hated the song. And WHEN they decided the song was so horrible. And WHO they've talked to about the song. The answers would be illuminating.

jaydub said...

I don't know why the offensive lyrics from the UT song can't just be replaced with some from Cardi B's "Wet-Ass Pussy" classic. Something like:

"The eyes of Texas are upon your wet ass pussy,
Now from the top, make it drop, that's some wet-ass pussy
Now get a bucket and a mop, that's some wet-ass pussy
I'm talkin' wap, wap, wap, that's some wet-ass pussy
Macaroni in a pot, that's some wet-ass pussy, huh
All the live-long day."

No one is going to object to that because it would be racist to do so. Talk about your talent on loan from God!

chuck said...

It speaks of surveillance and endless oppressive work.

Heh. Someone reads too much literary fiction.

rcocean said...

The liberal bourgeoise is worthless. Sometimes they will feebly stand up to the extreme Left. Sometimes they won't. Most of the time they stay silent. The only consistent thing is this:

They don't want to defeat the left.

So, if you're counting on them to keep the "crazies" in check. Think again. One can picture them, like so many of their historical counterparts, standing up against a wall, about to be executed, and thinking 'Well, at least those Goddamn Conservatives Lost".

Mike Litoris said...

"Another uplifting sign Texas is going Deep Purple."

Only in your fevered dreams, you half-retarded Nitschke scholar.

Bob Boyd said...

The eyes of wokeness are upon you
All the livelong day
The eyes of wokeness are upon you are upon you
You cannot get away
Do not think you can escape them
At night or early in the dawn
Poke your fingers in the eyes of wokeness
And say, Get off my lawn!

rcocean said...

Everyone can have traditions and a group identity except white people. especially White Texans and Southerners. Not sure why. Just is.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

In keeping with their tradition of just changing the words to an existing song, UT should adopt “Fight Fiercely, Texas” as their new fight sing.

rcocean said...

Last comment. The counter-culture should have been called the anti-culture. As shown by the last 40 years, they tore down the old culture and replaced it with nothing or mediocre crap. What is the UT going to replace "Eyes of Texas" with? Probably nothing. So, another old tradition gets destroyed, and the liberals do a little happy dance. And what comes after? Nothing.

Joe Smith said...

"Just fucking stop listening to these assholes, these children, these morons picking at every thread of the past.

Unfortunately we tried that. It didn't work. Instead they spread throughout the system, taking over education and the mass culture."


I agree...ignoring them wasn't enough.

They were (and are always) fighting.

Fighting back is necessary.

Ken B said...

Althouse:
"Now sing the song replacing "Texas" with "wokeness.""

Cute, but you are dropping context. When the song was written a pervasive state of surveillance did not exist and could not exist. Hence the eyes must be metaphorical. People make such metaphors about conscience too, or god.

Now, in the age of woke, the actual surveillance is possible and becoming a reality. That changes how one can read it.

Michael K said...

Blogger Unknown said...
"Another uplifting sign Texas is going Deep Purple."

Only in your fevered dreams, you half-retarded Nitschke scholar.


A data point for Howard and his hopes for Texas.

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) warned “the Biden administration against easing up too much on unauthorized immigrants, citing their impact on his constituents, local hospitals and their potential to spread the coronavirus,” Axios reported. The report said that Cuellar sees that the pro-immigration agenda that far-left Democrats are pushing could blow up in the administration’s face.

“You just can’t say, ‘Yeah, yeah, let everybody in’ — because then we’re affected down there at the border,” Cuellar told Axios.


chuck said...

Forget Texas, try Google, Twitter, and Facebook.

Chick said...

Happy Independence Day, Texans !

Ken B said...

I look forward forward to the Althouse analysis of

“When Adam delved and Eve span
Who was then the gentleman?”

in light of the changes of language in the last 700 years, where “delved” has acquired sexual connotations to replace the old meaning of digging — to say nothing of the changing sense of span. This once radical egalitarian rhetorical question will emerge as the script of a porn video.

Molly said...

(eaglebeak)

I'm not among the youth, to say the least; the song IS funny.

Here we have Elvis singing The Yellow Rose of Texas/The Eyes of Texas--

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2LKh8SbEvI

It's funny. C'mon, man.

Ken B said...

Texas is already purple. It will be blue once the latest influx from California hits.

Ken B said...

I forgot to mention, “When Adam delved ...” is a speech from John Ball. More fodder for sexual innuendo.

My point of course is that Althouse is imposing her own modern assumptions on an artifact from the past, distorting it.

I'm Not Sure said...

"So, another old tradition gets destroyed, and the liberals do a little happy dance. And what comes after? Nothing."

Shamelessly stolen from the Dr. Seuss post...

You'll think you got fucked by a train. And the library? Gone! Sealed off brick by brick! We'll have us a little book-barbecue in the yard. They'll see the flames for miles. We'll dance around it like wild Injuns. Do you understand me? Are you catching my drift? Or am I being obtuse?

Deirdre Mundy said...

When, as a PA transplant, I lived in TX for a year as a kid, I'd follow it up with "Gabriel won't ya blow, Gabriel won't ya blow, Gabriel won't ya blow your hor-or-orn..."

Bob Smith said...

“It’s a metaphor for duty”

Thank you Ken B.

Mark said...

In terms of Wisconsin songs, I always wondered what happened 'by the light of the moon' that made one a Badger in 'if you want to be a badger'

Sang that all the time at football and hockey games growing up, was I singing about sex outside?

Rick.T. said...

One shudders to think what the fight song lyrics of the Pekin Chinks must have been.

Iman said...

The eyes of Biden are upon you
All the livelong day
The eyes of Biden are upon you
When he squints you’ll hear him say
“Lying, dog-faced pony soldier!”
“Clap for that, you stupid bastards”
Call a lid in early morning
Joe’s a fount of nonsense words

Iman said...


The eyes of China are upon you
All the livelong day
Fly to Beijing in teh morning
And they’ll swab yo’ derrière

Mary Beth said...

It's a great song to sing after a game. If you won, it's a "we're watching you, loser" song. If you lost, it's a "we've got our eye on you and will beat you next time" song.

It has everything a song like that needs - it's easy to sing, everyone knows the lyrics, and it has the word "Texas" in it. It fulfills its function perfectly.

Browndog said...

The eyes of China are upon you
All the livelong day
Fly to Beijing in teh morning
And they’ll swab yo’ derrière


LOL.

RichardJohnson said...

Mike K quotes article:
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) warned “the Biden administration against easing up too much on unauthorized immigrants, citing their impact on his constituents, local hospitals and their potential to spread the coronavirus,” Axios reported. The report said that Cuellar sees that the pro-immigration agenda that far-left Democrats are pushing could blow up in the administration’s face.“You just can’t say, ‘Yeah, yeah, let everybody in’ — because then we’re affected down there at the border,” Cuellar told Axios.

Starr County, on the border with Mexico and 96% Hispanic, increased its vote for Trump from 18% in 2016 to 47% in 2020. Trump's policy on immigration must have had something to do with that. Be aware of that, Slow Joe.

Joe Smith said...

"It's a great song to sing after a game. If you won, it's a "we're watching you, loser" song. If you lost, it's a "we've got our eye on you and will beat you next time" song."

'Every breath you take'

Iman said...

'Every breath you take'

Every cake you bake...

Jim at said...

I'm trying to find the part where these asshole students are being forced to attend UT.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Just warn the public ahead of time, like Tiper Gore's obscenity label, that the eyes on the prize contains subject matter that may be objectionable to some listeners.

PM said...

Always thought "Eyes" was an admonishment to Texas boys to be brave. I'm so shallow.

The Crack Emcee said...

Jim at said...

"I'm trying to find the part where these asshole students are being forced to attend UT."

Bingo.

Otherwise, you guys are, still, mostly fucked-up on race around here.

KellyM said...

Or any different than this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56hqrlQxMMI

The Crack Emcee said...

"There really is something wrong with this song."

I've been in lockdown for over two years now. That's how oppressed I am by the culture.

RigelDog said...


Sure, surveillance and endless oppressive work, that's what kids like to sing about at football games.}}}}

How fondly I remember Penn State football games, linking arms and singing as one voice, shaking the very foundations of Beaver Stadium:

Dear Old State! All-knowing Father,
Look down on us from lofty Mount Nittany!
Let not our hands falter
As by the sweat of our brow
We proudly gather the People's most excellent sugar-beet harvest!

Ralph L said...

All Hail, O Davidson,
Our dear old alma mater.
Thy founders loved thee,
Gave their best to thee.
We still today,
Thy loyal sons and daughters, (undaunted, before 1973)
Follow them on,
And pledge our loyalty.

Thy founders were slaveholders! Oh no!

John Cunningham said...

Commie scum demand the end of Eyes of Texas because of racism. Since Confederates used hats, belts, boots, knives, forks, and spoons, all those must go as well. They also used the wheel on wagons and caissons. Abolish the wheel!!!

gadfly said...

It’s the truth and I’m just going to say it. That I wish I never would have fucking met Trump,” [Alex] Jones said on camera in January 2019, while shooting a documentary in [of all places] Austin, Texas. “I wish it never would have happened. And it’s not the attacks I’ve been through. I’m so sick of fucking Donald Trump, man. God, I’m fucking sick of him. And I’m not doing this because, like, I’m kissing his fucking ass, you know. It’s, like, I’m sick of it.”

We're so sorry, uncle Albert
We're so sorry if we caused you any pain
We're so sorry, uncle Albert
But there's no one left at home
And I believe I'm gonna rain

rsbsail said...

As a Texas Tech alumni, I despised hearing that song when UT came to play the Red Raiders in Lubbock. But in my senior year, we beat Texas and their great fullback Earl Campbell, so it was ok then.

I'm sure Red Raiders must upset someone, so I'll shut up now.

n.n said...

Diversity [dogma], perhaps. Vigilance... so be good, for goodness sake.

tim in vermont said...

Sting once said he was sort of horrified when people told him that “Every Breath You Take” was their wedding song.

Yancey Ward said...

More thread music

Yancey Ward said...

I see KellyM already did APP.

Yancey Ward said...

Alan Parsons must have read a lot of literary fiction.

Yancey Ward said...

I agree with the comment above- the only responses at this point should be, "Fuck you, war!"

These people are like Terminators- you can't reason with them and they will not stop, ever, until we are all dead.

Josephbleau said...

“On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin! Stand up, Badgers sing!
'Forward' is our driving spirit loyal voices ring.“

Of course you can’t see forward anymore unless you dive into the lake where blm dumped her.

I had to sing eyes of Texas every day in kindergarten. It made me feel good that someone was interested in me, and wanted me to do well.

MadisonMan said...

Imagine if an email you sent to a University Foundation-type place were made public like this. Why would anyone risk that? Dear UW Foundation, I will never email you about funding again.

Lurker21 said...


Some schools have two songs: the fight song and the song you sing when the team wins.

Very often nobody actually knows the words to the second song.

Surveillance of one sort or another has been around a long time. It's how people are kept in line morality-wise.

It used to be God who was always watching. Now it's whoever goes through your old tweets.

I suspect that the pious old souls down in Texas didn't have Twitter and thought they had nothing to hide from God or the state.

We know better and are busy taking down their statues.


JAORE said...

I attended the University of Kansas many years past.

If we have a song for victory in football it has been forgotten because it hasn't been used for so long.

Bunkypotatohead said...

The team is predominately black. The wealthy alumni have nothing in common with the players, and no reason to continue to finance them.

Lee Moore said...

Never mind Totalitarian Texas, what about that creepy Santa ?


"You better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town

He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!"

He probably doesn't limit himself to watching you when you sleep, kids. He may sneak in and nuzzle your hair. Oh wait, that's that other guy.

I can't believe Althouse missed that Varsity is an abbreviation of University. it's obvious. But I spose we all miss obvious things.

It's only now that I've realised what SANTA is an anagram of.

FinnHarps said...

TU (the Aggie term for UT) is a lost cause. Their USNews Univ rating are pumped up by their fealty to woke causes, not actual scholarship, teaching and the current graduates they deliver to employers. Like (unfortunately) the USD, TU's reputation is inflated and set for a crash in value.

Let the woke go their own way. They can sing "The (5)Eyes of Wokeness are Upon You" at their gender blind, everyone gets a trophy tiddlywink tournaments.

Texas A&M will continue singing the Aggie War Hymn at real SEC Football games in front of 100k red-blooded, Aggie fans.

Let the loyal Texans currently supporting TU migrate to the only school in Texas that shares their values - Texas A&M. You, your children and your grandchildren will be welcome at Kyle Field and in the classrooms of College Station.

-Gig em

FinnHarps said...

If TU drops "Eyes of Texas", I propose that Texas A&M pick it up. Its a good song. Play both the Aggie War Hymn and the Eyes of Texas.

Would extend the welcome mat and make the new A&M fans from Austin feel right at home.

Jeff Brokaw said...

FYI this Mike Rowe podcast is all about the history of cancel culture - he tells a story about a very famous Revolutionary War hero who lives in infamy to this day, plus other tidbits about similar “un-personing” through history, plus the SF school board deciding to rename 45 schools, I found the whole thing very interesting and worthwhile: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2A4gGRDjxnPJzGWEp4MJ10?si=Bdc_D9XSTPGZdX1DcuEmGQ

Anonymous said...

"The Eyes of Texas" are upon you.

Santa Claus - He sees you when you're sleeping, He knows when you're awake.

It's about God. It's about explaining God to children and young men.

Those who came before reluctantly recognized the Truth.

They wanted to share it. They needed to share it with those who came after.