“Big C” All versions

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“Big C” is unquestionably the most famous and controversial Cal song. “Big C” was composed in 1913 by Harold P. Williams, with words by Norman Loyall McLaren. It was written to commemorate the creation of the large cement “C” built on the “rugged Eastern foothills” of the Berkeley campus in 1905.
The controversy surrounding the song has its roots in the “All University Weekend,” an annual event which began around 1948 and lasted into the 1960’s. This event was a double header football game that pitted Cal against UCLA and UC Davis against UC Santa Barbara. The games were played alternately in Berkeley one year and in Los Angeles the next year. Bands from all four of the schools would perform together in one giant, combined half-time show.

In one of the last “All U Weekends,” F. Kelley James, then Associate Director of the UCLA Band and alumnus of the Cal Band wrote an arrangement of “Big C” for the combined half-time show. Afterwards, UCLA continued using his arrangement of “Big C,” adding its own lyrics and renaming it “Sons of Westwood.” The UCLA Band began playing it regularly as their new fight song. James Berdahl, then director of the Cal Band, was incensed over what he felt was a violation of the sanctity of Cal songs. A bitter exchange ensued between Berdahl and James for the next several years concerning the legal and ethical grounds under which “Big C” was appropriated. The matter came to a head in February 18, 1969, when Irwin Coster, working on behalf of the UCLA cause, received official word from the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress that “Big C” had never been copyrighted, and thus it was in the Public Domain. Public Domain status meant that only adaptations and arrangements of the song could be copyrighted, so UCLA had every legal right to “steal” the song.

source: Cal Songs – University of California Marching Band
Time stamps:
0:00 CAL
1:06 UCLA
2:18 DAVIS
3:14 IRVINE

Lyrics: CAL

On our rugged Eastern foothills,
Stands our symbol clear and bold,
Big “C” means to fight and strive
And win for blue and Gold.
Golden Bear is ever watching;
Day by day he prowls,
And when he hears the tread
Of lowly Stanfurd red,
From his Lair he fiercely growls.
What’s he say? He says:
Grrrrrah, Grrrrrrah!
Grrrr, Rrrr, Rrrrrah!
We are Sons of California,
Fighting for the Gold and Blue.
Palms of glory we will win
for Alma Mater true.
Stanfurd’s men will soon be routed
By our dazzling “C”,
And when we serpentine,
Their red will turn to green,
In our hour of victory!

UCLA

We are the sons of Westwood, and we hail
the blue and gold,true to thee our hearts will
be, our love will not grow old.

Bruins roam the hills of Westwood, by the
blue Pacific shore, and if by chance they see
a man from USC, every Bruin starts to roar!

U rah rah rah rah,
C rah rah rah rah,
L rah rah rah rah,
A rah rah rah rah

U. C. L. A FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!

DAVIS

On our mighty water tower Stands our symbol, clear and bold. CA means to fight and strive and win for Blue and Gold. Good old Ollie’s ever watching Day by day he prowls And when he hears the buzz of the Sacramento fuzz From his lair he fiercely growls Grrrrrah, Grrrrrrah! Hey, Hey! Grrrrrah, Grrrrrrah! Hey, Hey! Grrrr, Rrrr, Rrrrrah!

We are Sons of California, Fighting for the Gold and Blue. Palms of glory we will win for Alma Mater true. Sac State's men will soon be routedBy our dazzling 'C', We'll stomp 'em in the mud,Their green will turn to blood, In our hour of victory!

IRVINE

We are sons of California
Fighting for the Gold and Blue
Palms of Glory we will win for Alma Mater True
Long Beach State will soon be routed
By our dazzling C
and when we serpentine, their black will turn to green
in our hour of victory!
U (clap, clap, clap) C (clap, clap, clap), I (clap, clap, clap) Zot (clap, clap, clap)
U, C, I, ZOT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THIS MUSIC