Western’s Songs
By Reid Schneider, BESc‘19
(left to right) Cover of Western Songs songbook 1909, "Western" Music by Walter Smither, Lyrics by Margaret Ovens, Arrangement by Don Wright, picture of Walter Smither (Occidentalia, 1935)
A growing trend in the late 19th century across North American universities was establishing school spirit and identity through song. These songs have become as iconic as the teams themselves. If you’ve ever been to a football game, you’ve most certainly come across this. Usually an up-tempo piece led by a marching band, they are often referred to as “fight songs” or “victory songs” as the lyrics almost always talk about scoring touchdowns and beating rival teams.
While most schools have had a song or two written about them over the years, many songs tend to get lost to time as generations cycle through a university. Western is somewhat unique in the Canadian university landscape. It still has a marching band so songs have remained a strong part of the athletics culture.
The current school song, simply titled Western, was composed by Walter Smither, BA’32, MD’35) with the help of biology student Margret Ovens, who wrote the lyrics. Smither submitted the composition to a contest held by the Students’ Administrative Assembly (a predecessor to the University Student Council) in November of 1929.
The contest, open to all Western students, aimed to gather a definitive school song and, presumably, compile an accompanying songbook. All entries were reviewed by a committee, with an award of $25 for the creator of the best original song. The competition closed on January 6, 1930, where Smither and Ovens were awarded the prize.
In 1931, undergraduate student Don Wright (BA’33, honorary Dmus’86, honorary Lmus’87), picked up and lengthened the original melody for larger ensembles. The song quickly became popular. The words were published in The Gazette and in football programmes, and the marching band started to perform it at games.
While the current school song has been a staple of the athletics experience since 1930, it is just one of many written about Western. There is also a unique collection of lesser-known songs and chants that have diminished in popularity.
The first recorded instance of a Western song dates to the early 1900s. A group of students, inspired by American university traditions, organized a contest in December 1908. Promising to compile a book of songs by the new year, the students announced a $5 prize for the best lyrics. William F. Tamblyn assembled the songbook in February 1909, featuring 30 popular songs of the period alongside lyrics about Western. Among these was the inaugural Western school song by A. L. Clarke, set to the popular tune of Private Tommy Atkins. While initially successful, Clarke’s composition gradually waned in popularity, fading into obscurity by 1913. With no published sheet music, the song was difficult for students to recite and play along with, making it impossible for future generations to continue the tradition.
In 1922, Sidney Kingsmill composed another university anthem. An active member of various campus musical organizations, including the Little Theatre Orchestra and Glee Club, Kingsmill's composition debuted with anticipation but was also lost to obscurity with no sheet music known to exist. It was noted that the song was of a “more serious nature” and would most likely be out of place in the setting of a football game.
Additional attempts were made to write school songs after Smither’s success in 1930. The Mustangs Fight Song was written by Earle Zeigler in 1949 and emulates traditional school songs of the time period. Zeigler was a musician as well as the football line coach, and later Director of Physical Education at Western in 1950.
Marvin Kwitko, a former marching band director, added another school song to the band’s repertoire in the early 1950s. The piece was coined as the Victory Song and was played after touchdowns and celebrations at football games. It originally debuted via a four-part men’s choir, but Kwitko quickly arranged it for the band afterwards. Both songs ultimately did not sink into Western culture and became lesser known in subsequent years.
Chants and cheers are quite a staple of most athletics games, starting in the early 1910s. Usually led by a cheer squad, they were full of rhyming (and sometimes nonsensical) words. Throughout this time, cheers were usually published in football programme pamphlets and Gazette issues as quick reference. While most of the cheers have since disappeared, one cheer from 1915 remains, known as The Canninny cheer. Led by cheerleaders and the band, it follows the conclusion of the school song after touchdowns during football games.
The tradition of musical identity remains a uniting symbol for school spirit and pride. Whether you remember the words or not, music is a legacy you can always hear at athletic events: a unique song, just for Western.
