Fight songs, team anthems, battle hymns…call it what you will, those rousing songs lead area teams on to victory. Some songs have been around for as long as anybody can remember, some are being revived, and others are brand new.

According to Jerry Houghton the Gallatin Band instructor Jim Aller wrote the Bulldog fight song sometime between 1969-1972. Mr. Aller was said to have come up with both the words and the music.

Before that, the school song was based on the “On Wisconsin!” with “On Gallatin!” substituting for Wisconsin, remembers Sharon Lockridge. It went “On Gallatin! On Gallatin! Plunge right through that line; Run the ball clear down the field; a score is sure this time. Rah Rah.”

Both of these former GHS graduates, remember the old school song (not the fight song) as being a rather slow and melodramatic piece that nobody sang and which has apparently faded out of memory.

Anyway, the Gallatin Fight Song is catchy and upbeat and easy to memorize after you’ve heard it a couple of times. It goes like this:

We’re the Gallatin Bulldogs

Out of Missouri

That great, big farming town

It’s in the midwest section

Of the U.S.A.

Between the Arkansas border

And the land of Iowa

Where the sun never sets

And the teams are the best

That’s where we love to be

That’s why we’re singing

So loud of it

Because we’re so proud of it

Gallatin’s our home town!

Jim Aller was the Gallatin Band Instructor in the early 70s at Gallatin. Students of those years remember him as a gifted musician who promoted the band and received numerous awards. The uniforms in the picture are fairly new, having been introduced in May of 1970. The uniform was black with red and white trim, complete with a shako hat, white gloves and spats.

The Winston Redbirds have revived the tradition of leading the student body and faculty in the fight song during assemblies this year.

Winston uses one of Notre Dame’s Fightsongs, according to Chris Gagnon, 7-12 Principal at Winston R-6.  This one is called Hike Notre Dame.

The original composer (for Notre Dame) was Joseph Casasanta. He was the Director of Bands for Notre Dame from 1919-1942.

“I am not certain when we began using this as our fight song,” Mr. Gagnon noted. “Those that graduated 30-plus years ago remember singing it.”

Here are the words, adapted for Winston:

The march is on

No brain or brawn,

Can stop the charge of fighting men,

Loud sings the cry,

A grim defy,

Of hard attack let loose again.

For it’s hike, hike, hike to victory,

The call to rise and strike,

For Winston High men are winning,

When Winston High hears hike, hike, hike.

On to the cheering

Songs rising high,

On to the roaring,

As the ranks go marching by!

Shoulder to shoulder,

Chanting our glorious name,

Burn high your fires, 

And sing along for Winston High.

To hear a video of two Winston choir students Carson Meek and Ren Schussler singing the fight song during an assembly, visit wistonredbirds.blogspot.com.

The Tri-County Mustangs have a brand new anthem. It is called “The Horse” and is written by Bill Moffit. It is sheet music for a marching band.

“We have not been able to write words yet but we’re working on it!” noted R-7 secretary Angela Williams. “For now, we just spell out MUSTANGS at the end.”

Pattonsburg R-2’s popular tune is from the Minnesota Rouser song used at colleges. It goes like this:

Panthers, Panthers, Panthers are we

Pattonsburg Panthers roll on to victory

We’ll fight and win boys/girls victory we’ll see

Keep our spirit flying high

PHS will never die

Panthers eternally

North Daviess Knights — which so nicely rhymes with “fights” — apparently doesn’t have a school fight song. That’s too bad because the Jameson school has turned out some winning teams in the past and are bound to do so again in the future. Here’s hoping the school comes up with a fight song soon. Rah Rah!