School Song
There are a few school songs at Williston. One commonly known among students and alumni is "Sammy," in reference to founder and first headmaster Samuel Williston. While the song is sung on many occasions, singing "Sammy" at midfield has become a tradition for the varsity football team after home victories.
The words are as follows:
Sammy, my Sammy, My heart yearns for thee,
Yearns for your campus and your old elm tree,
Long may we cherish in years yet to come,
Long may we cherish Williston.
The "Williston Hymn" was a standby at the beginning and end of year assemblies, as well as at the Cum Laude assembly, for many decades (although apparently discontinued some time in the 2000s). The text was as follows:
God preserve our alma mater/ Williston forevermore/ In the sunshine of thy favor/ Guard her, keep her, we implore/ Crown her still with strength and honor/ By thy grace renew her youth/ In the light that never faileth/ Lead her on from truth to truth/ Here today upon her altars/ We present our sacrifice/ Though tomorrow widely sundered/ Still may this our prayer arise/ God preserve our alma mater/ Williston forevermore/ In the sunshine of thy favor/ Guard her, keep her, we implore/ Amen.
The tune of the Williston hymn, through unfortunate coincidence, was the German national anthem, "Deutschlandlied." Long before Germany adopted it, the melody was composed by Joseph Haydn, for use as the Austrian national anthem. In 1797 Haydn incorporated it into his "Emperor" string quartet, op. 76, no. 3.
O Williston, the school’s new alma mater, made its debut at Convocation on September 14, 2007 and is performed at the school’s more formal occasions, such as Convocation and Baccalaureate.
Read more about this topic: Williston Northampton School
Famous quotes containing the words school and/or song:
“A sure proportion of rogue and dunce finds its way into every school and requires a cruel share of time, and the gentle teacher, who wished to be a Providence to youth, is grown a martinet, sore with suspicions; knows as much vice as the judge of a police court, and his love of learning is lost in the routine of grammars and books of elements.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“She sang a song that sounds like life; I mean it was sad. Délira knew no other types of songs. She didn’t sing loud, and the song had no words. It was sung with closed lips and it stayed down in one’s throat.... Life is what taught them, these Negresses, to sing as if they were choking back sobs. It is a song that always ends with a beginning anew because this song is the picture of misery, and tell me, does misery ever end?”
—Jacques Roumain (1907–1945)