UNH Alma Mater

Lyrics as published in The Granite 1909 edition and credited to H. F. More (sic)

The "UNH Alma Mater" is the official alma mater of the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire. The lyrics to the song were written by Herbert Fisher Moore, an 1898 graduate of the school,^[1][2] and are sung to the tune "Lancashire" (also known as "Lead On, O King Eternal")^[3] by Henry Smart.^[4]

History

In February 1898—when the school was still New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts—The New Hampshire College Monthly published an editorial requesting a college song.^[5] It offered a $10 prize, outlining rules and stating that judges could "reject all contributions if none are... suitable".^[5] In April, the College Monthly reported that the judges felt the contributions received "were hardly suited" to be adopted as the college song.^[6]

In October 1903, the College Monthly published a "College Song" sung to "Fair Harvard", with New Hampshire-oriented lyrics—the opening line was "New Hampshire, thy sons and thy daughters return".^[7]

The date of first publication of the current alma mater is unclear. Under the title "New Hampshire Hymn", the words were included in the inaugural (1909) edition of The Granite, the school's college yearbook, published in May 1908.^[8]

Lyrics

New Hampshire, alma mater,
All hail, all hail to thee!
Behind thee tow'r the mountains,
Before thee roars the sea.
Thy sons and daughters ever
Thy praises loud will sing.
New Hampshire, alma mater,
Accept our offering.^[a]

We love thee, old New Hampshire,
And to the White and Blue,
Where'er our work shall call us,
We always will be true.
We'll ever guard thy honor,
Bright shall thy mem'ry be.
New Hampshire, alma mater,
All hail, all hail to thee!

Source: ^[9]

See also

• "On to Victory" – the school's fight song

Notes

1. The 1909 edition of The Granite has this line as "Accept an offering."^[8]

References

1. "Board of Editors". The New Hampshire College Monthly. Vol. 5, no. 3. December 1897. p. i. Retrieved March 1, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
2. "Register of Graduates". Catalogue of The New Hampshire College of the Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. 1901–1902. p. 109. Retrieved March 1, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
3. "Lead On, O King Eternal (Lancashire)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved March 1, 2020 – via YouTube.
4. "UNH Alma Mater". alumni.unh.edu. Archived from the original on March 9, 2005.
5. "Wanted A College Song". The New Hampshire College Monthly. Vol. 5, no. 4. February 1898. p. 91. Retrieved February 29, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
6. "The College Song". The New Hampshire College Monthly. Vol. 5, no. 6. April 1898. p. 138. Retrieved February 29, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
7. "College Song". The New Hampshire College Monthly. Vol. 11, no. 1. October 1903. p. 5. Retrieved February 29, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
8. The Granite (1909). Durham, New Hampshire: New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. May 1908. p. 156. Retrieved March 1, 2020 – via library.unh.edu.
9. "Commencement Program" (PDF). University of New Hampshire. May 18, 2019. p. 75. Retrieved March 1, 2020 – via unh.edu.

External links

• "UNH Alma Mater". University of New Hampshire. October 4, 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved March 1, 2020 – via YouTube. The Afternotes and the UNH wind symphony performed the University of New Hampshire Alma Mater at a celebration of UNH's 150th anniversary.