Anchors Aweigh!
Official Lyrics
Stand, Navy, out to sea, Fight our battle cry;
We'll never change our course, So vicious foe steer shy-y-y-y.
Roll out the TNT , Anchors Aweigh. Sail on to victory
And sink their bones to Davy Jones, hooray!
Anchors Aweigh, my boys, Anchors Aweigh.
Farewell to foreign shores, We sail at break of day, of day.
Through our last night on shore, Drink to the foam,
Until we meet once more. Here's wishing you a happy voyage home!
Original Lyrics
Stand Navy down the field, sails set to the sky.
We'll never change our course, so Army you steer shy-y-y-y.
Roll up the score, Navy, Anchors Aweigh.
Sail Navy down the field and sink the Army, sink the Army Grey.
Get underway, Navy, Decks cleared for the fray,
We'll hoist true Navy Blue So Army down your Grey-y-y-y.
Full speed ahead, Navy; Army heave to,
Furl Black and Grey and Gold and hoist the Navy, hoist the Navy Blue
Third Verse added in 1926:
Blue of the Seven Seas; Gold of God's great sun
Let these our colors be till all of time be done-n-n-ne,
By Severn shore we learn Navy's stern call:
Faith, courage, service true with honor over, honor over all
"Anchors Aweigh" is the song of the United States Navy, composed in 1906 by Charles A. Zimmerman with lyrics by Alfred Hart Miles.
Zimmerman was at the time a Lieutenant, and had been bandmaster of the United States Naval Academy Band since 1887. Miles was Midshipman First Class at the Academy, in the class of 1907, and asked Zimmerman to assist him in composing a song for that class, to be used as a football march.
To "weigh anchor" is to bring it aboard a vessel in preparation for departure. The phrase anchor's aweigh is a report that the anchor is clear of the sea bottom and that, therefore, the ship is officially underway.
The original lyrics, listed below were first played during the Army-Navy football game on December 1, 1906, at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Before a crowd in excess of 30,000 Navy won the game 10-0, their first win in the match up since 1900.
Another Academy Midshipman, Royal Lovell (class of 1926) later wrote what would be adopted into the song as its third verse, also below.
The song was gradually adopted as the song of the U.S. Navy; although there is a pending proposal to make it the official song, and to incorporate protocol into Navy regulations for its performance, its status remains unofficial as of 2006. Its lyrics were considered too specific to the Academy and not representative of the Navy at large, and so were rewritten by George D. Lottman (note the reference to "farewell to college joys"). Its melody was also slightly rewritten by Domenico Savino.
