Far Above Cayuga's Waters - Lyrics

Lyrics

The first two verses are the best known and are usually the only verses sung. These verses and the rest of the song are as follows:

Far above Cayuga's waters, with its waves of blue,

Stands our noble Alma Mater, glorious to view.

Lift the chorus, speed it onward, loud her praises tell;

Hail to thee our Alma Mater! Hail, all hail, Cornell!

Far above the busy humming of the bustling town,

Reared against the arch of heaven, looks she proudly down.

Lift the chorus, speed it onward, loud her praises tell;

Hail to thee, our alma mater! Hail, all hail, Cornell!

Sentry-like o'er lake and valley towers her regal form,

Watch and ward forever keeping, braving time and storm.

So through clouds of doubt and darkness gleams her beacon light,

Fault and error clear revealing, blazing forth the right.

To the glory of her founder rise her stately walls.

May her sons pay equal tribute whene'er duty calls.

When the moments, swiftly fleeting, ages roll between,

Many yet unborn shall hail her: Alma Mater, Queen!

In the music of the waters as they glide along,

In the murmur of the breezes with their whispered song,

In the tuneful chorus blending with each pealing bell,

One refrain seems oft repeated: Hail, all hail, Cornell!

Here, by flood and foaming torrent, gorge and rocky dell,

Pledge we faith and homage ever to our loved Cornell.

May time ne'er efface the memory of her natal day,

And her name and fame be honored far and wide away!

As it is presented above in full form, the song has six verses and no refrains. However, in common practice, only the first two verses are sung, and they share the lines "Lift the chorus, speed it onward, loud her praises tell; / Hail to thee our Alma Mater! Hail, all hail, Cornell!". Due to this symmetry, whenever only the first two verses are printed or sung, it is customary to consider lines 1–2 and 5–6 as being verses 1 and 2, respectively, and lines 3–4 and 7–8 as being a single repeated refrain:

Far above Cayuga's waters,

With its waves of blue,

Stands our noble Alma Mater,

Glorious to view.

Refrain

Lift the chorus, speed it onward,

Loud her praises tell;

Hail to thee, our Alma Mater!

Hail, all hail, Cornell!

Far above the busy humming

Of the bustling town,

Reared against the arch of heaven,

Looks she proudly down.

Refrain