Godiva's Hymn

Godiva's Hymn

"Godiva's Hymn" (sometimes "Engineer's Hymn" or "Engineers' Drinking Song") is a traditional drinking song for engineers. It was originally sung by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is now often performed by the MIT a cappella group The Chorallaries. In many university engineering faculties, military engineering corps and other engineering organizations and societies, Lady Godiva is a school icon or mascot.

Godiva's Hymn is sung either to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic or The Son of a Gambolier. Near Christmas, it is a tradition of the Lady Godiva Memorial Bnad (sic) of the University of Toronto to sing Godiva's Hymn to the tune of Good King Wenceslaus.

A variation, in which the word "mountaineers" is substituted for engineers, is part of a collection owned by the Aberdeen University Lairig (mountaineering) club, and was sung in Crianlarich, Scotland in January 1980.

At Queen's University in Kingston Ontario, Canada, each freshman year writes their own verse of Godiva's Hymn during orientation week which is written by the freshmen and voted upon. When the song is sung, the oldest engineers get to sing their verse first, followed by each successive year present.

One Version of the Chorus is as follows:

We are We are We are We are--
We are the engineers--
We can We can We can We can--
Demolish forty beers--
Drink rum Drink rum Drink rum all day--
and come along with us for--
We don't give a damn for any old man--
Who don't give a damn for us--

One of Godiva's Verses:

Godiva was a lady who through Coventry did ride--
To show to all the villagers her pure and fine white hide--
The most observant man of all, an engineer of course--
Was the only man to notice that Godiva rode a horse--