The Good Old Song

Various sources ascribe the authorship of "The Good Old Song" to Virginia Glee Club member Edward A. Craighill circa 1895 even though Craighill's 1922 article on the song disclaims sole authorship. The best documentary evidence to date indicates that the song's lyrics were more or less spontaneously composed by a group of students in 1893, and that by 1894 the song was already being documented in the student annual, Corks and Curls. According to the Virginia Pep Band, the university's band from 1974 to 2003, the university's Athletic's Department attempted to replace "The Good Old Song" with a more lively post-touchdown song during the 1970s. They relate that the students of the Pep Band refused to abandon the song in spite of the orders, and it is thus still played today. ==Controversy==

Since the 1970s, it had become a practice of some fans to insert a chant of "Not gay!" after the line "Where all is bright and gay". Petitions and organized protests against the practice began in 2001. Today, more commonly, some fans, after that portion of the song, shout, "Fuck Tech", instead referring to Virginia Tech, UVA's biggest rival. The university released a video in September 2019 requesting that students "Keep the 'Good Old Song' good" by refraining from using either jeer. == References ==