ATHENS, Ga. — Those who have had the exhilarating experience of watching the Redcoat Marching Band play "Glory, Glory" inside Sanford Stadium may revel in the Dawgs' fight song.
But did you know? That's technically not the school's fight song.
Officially, it's "Hail to Georgia," though there's little ambiguity about which song really "sings" Georgia football - "Glory Glory," strictly speaking a "rally" song, is synonymous with the Dawgs, played after touchdowns and most anything else that signals something good happened for UGA.
What's more, "Battle Hymn of the Bulldog Nation," played before games, is also arguably more closely associated with the Dawgs than the official "Hail to Georgia" fight song.
As it happens, "Glory Glory" is basically done in the same tune as the classic "Battle Hymn of the Republic," only faster.
The song's history makes it a funny fit for UGA, as The New York Times reported: "Famous as a Civil War anthem of the North, 'Battle Hymn' was inspired by a song that honored the antislavery martyr John Brown. The apocalyptic lyrics cast the South as a serpent, the biblical embodiment of evil, and link the Union to a divine mission, imploring, 'Let us die to make men free'... Slapping on new lyrics was easy. In the Georgia version, its precursor’s thrice-repeated lyric, 'Glory, glory Hallelujah,' is replaced with, 'Glory, Glory to old Georgia,' and the line 'His truth is marching on' is supplanted by 'G-E-O-R-G-I-A.'
Its lyrics are simple. If you're watching the game and hear it - if you're a UGA fan, hopefully often - it's certainly easy to sing along with:
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
G-E-O-R-G-I-A
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
G-E-O-R-G-I-A
The CFP National Championship game between Georgia and TCU kicks off at 7:30 p.m. EST on Monday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. From Athens to Los Angeles, 11Alive is bringing you complete coverage in the Dawgs' quest to repeat as champions. Visit 11alive.com/bulldogs for more.