Bow Down to Washington

Bow Down to Washington
Year1915
GenreFight song
WrittenLester J. Wilson
Commissioned byThe Daily
PerformedNovember 6, 1915
PublishedNovember 13, 1915
Recordings
Vic Meyers and His Hotel Butler Orchestra (1928)

Bow Down to Washington is the official fight song of the University of Washington.[1][2][3] It was written by Lester J. Wilson in 1915 while partaking in a competition requesting a new song for the university.[1][2] The competition was sponsored by the campus newspaper, The Daily, and had a grand prize of US$25 (the equivalent of $655 in 2021).

"Bow Down to Washington" was first used as a fight song at the Washington-California football game on November 6, 1915, in a 72–0 away victory.[4][5] The lyrics were first published one week later in the home program for the November 13, 1915 contest at Denny Field, again versus California.[6] The original lyrics refer frequently to California and snaring the Golden Bear, but later versions of the song dropped these lines.[3][4]

The song is typically played and sung at all University of Washington sporting events at which the University of Washington Husky Marching Band is present, including all football, basketball, and volleyball games.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Columns2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Columns2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Athletic2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference SpecialCollectionsBowDown was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Bow Down to Washington". UWTV. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference FirstPrinting1915Program was invoked but never defined (see the help page).