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The "Notre Dame Victory March" is the fight song for the University of Notre Dame. It was written by two brothers who were Notre Dame graduates. Michael J. Shea, a 1905 graduate, wrote the music, and his brother, John F. Shea, who earned degrees in 1906 and 1908, wrote the lyrics.

The chorus of the song is one of the most recognizable collegiate fight songs in the United States, and was ranked first among fight songs by Northern Illinois University Professor William Studwell, who remarked it was "Best known, and perhaps the most borrowed." [1]

Its tune has often been adopted as the fight song of high school teams, and has also been adopted by the Australian rules football team Sydney Swans. It has also been used in mass media in situations that seemed to compel an inspirational "halftime speech", a la Knute Rockne. One obvious example of that usage was in the comedy film Airplane!

[edit] Lyrics

Typically the two verses are sung together, and then the chorus is sung one or more times.

The lyrics to the verses are still under copyright in the United States; they can be found at the official Notre Dame athletics site.

The chorus, which was written earlier, is in the public domain in the United States:

Cheer, Cheer for Old Notre Dame,

Wake up the echoes cheering her name,

Send the 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 are marching

Onward to Victory.

[edit] External links

• Notre Dame Victory March

• Notre Dame Victory March page at official Notre Dame Athletics site
• Sports Illustrated article ranking the best college fight songs