Prior to 1936, the University of Nebraska used a series of unofficial fights songs, most notably "
Dear Old Nebraska U." Fans lamented the lack of a song to "express Cornhusker determination and victory spirit," noting similar schools with long-established fight songs. Music professor Wilber Chenoweth was commissioned to compose a new university song in the early 1930s. He wrote the score on a train returning to Lincoln from California and suggested alumnus W. Joyce Ayres write the lyrics. Hail Varsity was first performed by the Men's Glee Club on November 21, 1936, at NU's annual Kosmet Klub Fall Revue, a student skit contest. The Men's Glee Club performed the song throughout the winter of 1937 and it became clear Hail Varsity was likely to be adopted in an official capacity.
Band Song Nebraska played the
1941 Rose Bowl, the program's first bowl game, during a
nationwide boycott of the
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. ASCAP prohibited any song it licensed, including Hail Varsity, from being played publicly after January 1, so members of the Cornhusker Marching Band composed "Band Song" while on the train to
Pasadena. The music was based on "Song of the Vagabonds" from
The Vagabond King and the lyrics were written as a reference the band's upcoming performance in the
Rose Parade. Band Song is now typically performed as a prelude to Hail Varsity. ==Lyrics==