Old Lake Charles High School’s Unique “Fight” Song Plaque
Ah yes, the good ole school fight song. Lake Charles High School had one, like most. I was unaware that Lake Charles High School had such a colorful one, but the more I kept reading it, the more it seemed vaguely familiar. Here is the plaque with the song donated by the class of 1973.
I dug around a bit, and this version has been used at a few schools over the years. More specifically "back in the day". The LCHS version is actually a similar version that other schools used, just with the school's name changed. The original lyrics originate from Notre Dame known as the "Notre Dame Victory March". Verse two of the song go...
Cheer, cheer for Old Notre Dame,
Wake up the echoes cheering her name,
Send a volley cheer on high,
Shake down the thunder from the sky.
What though the odds be great or small
Old Notre Dame will win over all,
While her loyal sons and daughters
March on to victory.
It should be noted that the original song actually did not include "and daughters" due to the fact that Notre Dame had only male athletes at the time. It was "modified" after women became part of Notre Dame athletics.
The song was written by Notre Dame graduates Michael Shea and John Shea. The song was copyrighted in 1908 including a piano version with lyrics and was published that same year. It wasn't until 1928 that the song was presented to the university by the Shea brothers. The song was then adopted by the college and copyrighted to them. Although the song remains copyrighted, the lyrics "Cheer, cheer for Old Notre Dame" are public domain in the states, but protected everywhere else. This means you can use the first six words of the song for anything you want, but that's it.
The version we see at LCHS is an adapted version that was carried from generation to generation and became the unofficial fight song for a lot of schools. I really had no idea this plaque existed until I ran across it recently. I think it's pretty funny, but also very fitting for the era. I highly doubt anyone would let that plaque fly anywhere else in this day in age.
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