Lyrics

"Hymn to Middlebury College (Centennial Hymn)" -1860/1900

Verse 1: Hail Mother, glory seated, Be by thy children greeted,
Beside these gliding waters, Thy sons, thy graceful daughters.
Hail, Mother, hail, our love we tell, Hail and farewell! Hail and farewell.

Verse 2: These hills of green enshrine thee, Our filial arms entwine thee,
Dawns beauty on the linger, Touch thee with rosy finger.
With love for thee, our bosoms swell, Hail and farewell! Hail and farewell.

Verse 3: From year to year repeated, Be by thy children greeted,
Be kindly turned time's pages For thee, through all the ages.
Firm as these hills still may'st thou dwell, Hail and farewell! Hail and farewell

Verse 4: Where'er on earth we wander, Still on thy charms we ponder;
For thy caress still yearning, For thine approval turning,
Hail, Mother, hail, our bosoms swell, Hail and farewell! Hail and farewell.

"Alma Mater" -1902

Verse 1: Where thy familiar spire appears
Dear Alma Mater, We today rise up,
and crown thine honored years of patient, wise maternal way.
Each pulse the wanted landscape thrills;
The same the graceful valley's sweep,
The same the strength of God's green hills,
The fields of gold the farmers reap,
The same the strength of God's green hills,
The fields of gold the farmers reap.

Verse 2: Thy founders were a stalwart race
Who had the faith to do and dare;
They laid thy corner stone with grace,
And built thy walls with humble prayer;
From thrifty domicile and land,
To fill thy halls their offspring sent,
The heirs of yeoman heart and hand;
Home-ties, their joy and sacrament.

Verse 3: In all earth's climes thy work is known,
Dear Alma Mater, sacred shrine!
Thy sons thy teachings still enthrone,
Thy daughters cast their laurels thine.
Or East or West, or South or North,
What though no foot the path have trod,
One standard marks their going forth:
"For freedom, virtue, and for God!"

Verse 4: So long as greets the earth and sun,
As Otter's liquid waters glide,
Still be thy noble office done,
Be truth and grace in thee allied.
Thy sons among the good and great,
Thy daughters, excellent and fair,
In home, in school, or church or state,
The world give welcome everywhere.

"Walls of Ivey (Alma Mater)"

Verse 1: Walls of Ivy, paths of beauty,
we have known and loved them well,
Spired chapel rising proudly,
Morning hymn and evening bell.

Chorus: Middlebury, Alma Mater,
Symbol of his strength and truth,
Symbol of his strength and truth.

Verse 2: Sunset glowing o'er the mountains,
Snowy peaks and winding ways,
Peaceful stillness o'er the campus,
Mem'ries of most happy days. (chorus)

Verse 3: Loyal ever in these friendships,
We have spent four glorious years.
Filling us with hope and courage,
Till the hour of parting nears. (chorus)

"Gamaliel Painter's Cane" -1917

Verse 1: When Gamaliel Painter died, he was Middlebury's pride,
A sturdy pioneer without a stain;
And he left his all by will, to the college on the hill,
And included his codicil cane.

Chorus: Oh, its rap rap rap, and it's tap tap tap,
If you listen you can hear it sounding plain;
For a helper true and tried, as the generations glide,
There is nothing like Gamaliel Painter's cane.

Verse 2: Oh, his blessed bones are hid 'neath a marble pyramid,
For ever there in honor to remain;
But he built us Painter Hall, noblest monument of all,
And he left to us his courage in his cane. (chorus)

Verse 3: And our brothers by the lake, oh, they shiver and they shake,
And their shivering is easy to explain:
We have trimmed them in the past, we will trim them to the last,
For we conquer in the courage of the cane. (chorus)

***Verse 3****: So let every son of Midd strive to do as Painter did,
Let him cultivate his muscle and his brain,
When there's studying to do or a center to go through,
Let him summon up the courage of the cane.

(another verse, "So let every son of Midd…." -indicated above, has sometimes appeared as verse three, while "...And our brothers by the lake..." appears as verse four)