Lyrics
Lankey's original lyrics reflected the school's role as an agricultural college. The lyrics have since been changed several times. The lyrics had to be modified when the school changed its mascot from the Aggies to the Spartans. In addition, whereas the original lyrics referred specifically to an American football game against the University of Michigan ("line of blue" refers to the Wolverine defensive line), the modern lyrics can be used for any opponent in any sport (although many hockey fans like to change the word "ball" to "hockey"). Below is a side-by-side comparison of the original lyrics and the modern-day equivalent.
| Current MSU lyrics | Original M.A.C. lyrics |
|---|---|
| On the banks of the Red Cedar, There's a school that's known to all; Its specialty is winning, And those Spartans play good ball; Spartan teams are never beaten, All through the game they fight; Fight for the only colors: Green and White. Go right through for MSU, |
On the banks of the Red Cedar, There's a school that's known to all; Its specialty is farming, And those farmers play football; Aggie teams are never beaten, All through the game they'll fight; Fight for the only colors: Green and White. Smash right through that line of blue, |
These two lines are often swapped into the modern song for events against Michigan.
Read more about this topic: Michigan State University Fight Song
Famous quotes containing the word lyrics:
“Chad and I always look for deeper meanings; we can analyze Beastie Boys lyrics for hours.”
—Amy Stewart (b. 1975)