These fight songs fire up SC high schools

Nothing gets football fans fired up faster than their school’s fight song.

Boston College is credited with composing the first fight song in 1885. Safe to say in the past 132 years, most universities have followed.

While some schools compose original melodies, many use existing tunes with customized lyrics. The University of South Carolina’s fight song, “The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way,” uses the tune “Step to the Rear” from the 1967 musical “How Now, Dow Jones.” The music was chosen as the USC fight song by former football coach Paul Deitzel, who also wrote the lyrics, in 1968.

At some point during the past 132 years, high schools also picked up the tradition of having a customized fight song. Fans, students, players and alumni may not know the words. They may not know the song’s title, but they know it when they hear it. And they know their cues.

And chances are, when they hear it, they start clapping, cheering and showing team spirit.

We asked every high school in Richland and Lexington counties to tell us about their fight songs. Here is what we learned:

Batesburg-Leesville

Name: “Victory Special”

Tune: Unknown

Notes: Fans clap during the song. After the fight song, the Panther Band plays a drum cadence while cheerleaders and fans dance.

Chapin

Name: “Eagle Victory”

Tune: “Wildcat Victory,” Kansas State University’s fight song

Notes: Fans shout “Go Eagles!” during the song.

Dutch Fork

Name: “On Wisconsin”

Tune: University of Wisconsin’s fight song

Notes: Fans clap on the beat, and the team enters the field as the fight song is played.

Eau Claire

Name: Eau Claire Fight Song

Tune: Original

Notes: Written, arranged and composed by Myron Thomas.

Gilbert

Name: “GHS Fight Song”

Tune: Based on “Hail to the Redskins”

Notes: Fans shout “Go Big Red” at the end and do a tomahawk chop.

Irmo

Name: “Across the Field”

Tune: An Ohio State University fight song

Notes: Drums play, then fans shout, “Go Irmo!”

Lexington

Name: “Wildcat Fight Song”

Tune: Based on Notre Dame University’s “Victory March”

Notes: Fans shout “Go Cat.”

Pelion

Name: “The Victors”

Tune: Based on the University of Michigan fight song

Notes: Fans clap along to the beat and yell “Go Panthers” at the end.

Ridge View

Name: “Ridge View High School Fight Song”

Tune: “Mighty Oregon,” the University of Oregon’s fight song

Notes: Lyrics were written in 1995 when the school opened.

River Bluff

Name of fight song: “Gators Fight”

Tune: Based on “War Eagle,” Auburn University’s fight song

Notes: Band director Ken Turner wrote the lyrics three years ago for the school’s second football season. Fans do the Gator chomp at the end.

Spring Valley

Name: “The Spring Valley Fight Song”

Tune: Original melody

Notes: Spring Valley student John Frick wrote the song in the early 1980s. He enjoyed learning to write music and wanted to take on the project as he planned to major in music at USC. Fans shout “Go Vikings” during the song, and during a drum break they spell out “Spring Valley.”

Westwood

Name: “Fight Song”

Tune: Northwestern University’s (in Chicago) fight song

Notes: In the spring of 2012 when the school prepared to open, school officials looked up and found about 20 different fight songs from across the country. “We tried to avoid SEC and ACC and instead looked for schools in other parts of the country, where the students and parents here would not likely have heard the tune,” says Daniel H. Humber, band director and Fine Arts Department chairman. “We selected Northwestern University and asked Gordon ‘Dick’ Goodwin, USC professor emeritus, to arrange that tune for us.” There is a percussion break in the middle where the fans chant “Go RedHawks.”

White Knoll

Name: “Timberwolf Battle Cry”

Tune: Based on “Battle Cry,” an Ohio State University fight song

Notes: Written when the school opened in 2000.

W. J. Keenan

Name: “Hosts of Freedom”.

Tune: “Hosts of Freedom”

Notes: The song was written by Karl L .King, a bandmaster and composer.

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 4:05 PM with the headline "These fight songs fire up SC high schools."