Texas vs. Texas A&M: Longhorns better learn why rival Aggies want to ‘saw Varsity’s horns off’
A&M’s signature cheer was written in 1918 to poke fun of the “Varsity” team in Austin
The Texas Longhorns may think they’re walking into just another 100,000-seat stadium on Saturday to face the Texas A&M Aggies.
But make no mistake, this isn’t just another game and it’s not just another hostile crowd.
Beating the Longhorns is one of the cornerstones of the Aggies’ way of life. This is more than throwing the Horns Down to anyone wearing burnt orange. They sing about beating Texas every day as part of the school song, known as the “Aggie War Hymn.”
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Asked if he knew what sawing Varsity’s horns off meant, Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. said, “I don’t know what that means.”
Told that it was a song, Hill just shrugged and said, “I don’t know that song.” And this is a player who committed to A&M before switching to Texas.
According to school lore, J.V. “Pinky” Wilson wrote a song in 1918 while serving in World War I. He took a couple of older A&M yells and wrote lyrics to the tune later published as “Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby.” The song’s original name was “Goodbye to Texas University.”
Aggie War Hymn, Lyrics by J.V. "Pinky" Wilson
All hail to dear old Texas A&M
Rally around Maroon and White
Good luck to the dear old Texas Aggies
They are the boys who show the real old fight
That good old Aggie spirit thrills us
And makes us yell and yell and yell
So let’s fight for dear old Texas A&M
We’re going to beat you all to
Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem
Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem
Rough Tough! Real Stuff! Texas A&M
Good-bye to texas university
So long to the Orange and the White
Good luck to dear old Texas Aggies
They are the boys that show the real old fight
“The eyes of Texas are upon you…”
That is the song they sing so well (Sounds like hell)
So good-bye to texas university
We’re going to beat you all to
Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem
Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem
Rough! Tough! Real Stuff! Texas A&M
During the song, the Aggies lock arms and sway back and forth while singing “Saw Varsity’s horns off.” Texas referred to its own early teams as the “Varsity” before the nickname “Longhorns” came along.
It’s also important for any A&M student or former student — notice they are not called “alums,” but former students — to know that it’s spelled “t.u.” with lower-case lettering. Most references to Texas are simply “t.u.” or “texas university.”
Before any Longhorns start talking smack, it’s worth pointing out the first lyrics to UT’s favorite fight song are “Texas fight, Texas fight, and it’s goodbye to A&M.”
