There Are No Little Things 1: Losing Track of Time
Annual Thanksgiving Message

Things You’ll Never See/Hear Again Redux

(length warning) You are probably aware that song lyrics stay with us much longer than text. The only reason I know the gender of the German word Hut is because of the song Mr. Knopf taught us: “Mein hut, der hat drei ecken.”

I learned a great deal of popular music and a few folk songs from my mother. When I was around six years old she went to college. She taught me a song popular at Portland State in the 50s. There are a few Internet citations, but not many.

There are multiple verses, but the ones I remember are:

For it’s beer, beer, beer that makes us want to cheer,
On the farm, on the farm,
For it’s beer, beer, beer that makes us want to cheer,
On the Leland Stanford Junior Varsity Farm.

For it’s gin, gin, gin that makes us want to sin,
On the farm…

For it’s vodka, vodka, vodka, that makes us feel we oughta

For it’s Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey that makes us feel so frisky

And of course what’s a college drinking song without a risqué ending:

For  it’s split-pea soup that makes us want a… crumpet.

This was usually combined with

We never stagger, we never fall,
We sober up on wood alcohol.
Send that freshman out for gin,
And don’t let a sober sophomore in.
And finally, from a different source

Let’s all drink to our misspent youth,
Three parts gin, one part vermouth.

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