O. S. U. Medley

(Spoken.) Do you want to know who we are,
and why we're here tonight?

(Sing.) We come from the O. S. U.,
We're to her colors true,
We rally round her name,
We carry high her fame,
We get there just the same, See?--

Nut-brown maiden, thou hast a ruby lip to kiss,
Nut-brown maiden, thou hast a ruby lip,
A ruby lip is thine, love,
The right to kiss---

The bull-dog on the bank,
And the bull-frog in the pool;
Oh! the bull-dog on the bank,
And the bull-frog--

In the sky the bright star glittered;
On the banks the pale moon shown,
And 'twas from Aunt Dinah's quilting party,
I was seeing--

Old Black Joe, I'm coming, I'm coming--

Over the banister leans a face---

And the golden hair was hanging down her back.
And she was the sunshine of Paradise Alley--

(Whistle.) Doris, Doris, Oh! how I love you,
See me at your feet,--

(Sing.) She may have seen better days,
Once upon a time,
She may have seen better days,
When she was--

In the evening by the moonlight,
You can here the banjos ringing,
In the evening by the moonlight,
You can here those darkies singing--

Here's to O. S. U., drink it down, drink it down,
Here's to O. S. U., drink it down, drink it down,
Here's to O. S. U., she's so hearty and so true,
Drink it down, drink it down,
Drink it down, down,--

Down on the Mississippi floating,
Long time I trabbled o'er the way,
Last night while Nellie was a-sleeping,
The Glee Club roused her with their...(Roll, Jordan, Roll)

Wahoo! Wahoo! Rip, zip, bazoo!
I yell, I yell for O. S. U.,
Wahoo! Wa--

Who did, who did, who did, who did,
Who did swallow Jo, Jo, Jo, Jo,--
Who did, who did, who did, who did,
Who did swallow Jo, Jo, Jo, Jo,--
Who did, who did, who did, who did,
Who did swallow Jo, Jo, Jo, Jo,--
Who did swallow Jonah,
Who did swallow Jonah--

Down in my old cabin home,
There lies my sister and brother,
There lies my wife, she's the joy of my life,
And the child--

Who has plenty of good peanuts,
And giveth his sister none,
He shan't have any of my peanuts,
When his peanuts are--

Gone again, Skip to my Lou,
She's gone again, Skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, Skip to my Lou--

My darling,
Oh, my darling, oh, my darling, Clementine,
Tho' in life I used to hug her,
Now she's dead, I'll--

Break the news to mother,
And tell her that I loved her. And--

How we started to boohoo
Down by the river side,
Down by the river side, down by the river side,
She sighed and I sighed, and we both sighed by side,
Down by the river side.

We were dear old pals, jolly old pals,
Sticking together in all sorts of weather,
We're dear old pals, jolly old pals.
Give me, oh, give me a friendship,
Of just one girl--

The little fisher maiden--

Oh, promise me that you will take my hand for--

I'd leave my happy home for you,
You're the sweetest girl I ever knew,--

Good-night my love, the hour 'tis late,
The moon shines bright, O'er silv'ry lake,
And when I'm gone, you'll think of me,
Good-night my love, good-night my sweet.

O. S. U. Medley was written, in 1895, by and for The Ohio State University Men's Glee Club. It was performed several times, in the late 1890s. This selection, as indicated in the title, a medley of very popular songs of the day. All told, parts of 24 songs are weaved into this selection. In the above text, there are breaks to indicate the end of one song and the start of another.

As noted above, there are 24 different songs weaved into O. S. U. Medley, all are songs which were popular among the Ohio State students, in 1895. In putting together the MP3 file, I was able to obtain music to all the songs, most of which were in the song books. On a personal note, it took many hours to search for music, get everything in order and to score the MP3 file with Noteedit; by far, this was the most complex song provided on this web site.

In the MP3 file, there is an item of note:

The Line: "The Glee Club roused her with their...(Roll, Jordan, Roll)": This uses the melody of Nellie Was A Lady. As O. S. U. Medley dates to 1895, the notation of Roll, Jordan, Roll in the lyrics, identifies the melody of Wahoo! Wahoo!. The Ohio State University Men's Glee Club adapted the Wahoo! Wahoo! cheer to music, according to The Lantern, in 1891. In addition, it is unclear, from the text of O. S. U. Medley, if the line "...(Roll, Jordan,Roll)" was spoken or sung to the melody of Nellie Was A Lady.

There may be a few lines that could be considered offensive in 21st Century America. In the late 1890s, these were the songs that were the popular standards of the day. Also, the references made to woman and African-Americans were made within the vernacular of the times. There is no intention to offend anyone in providing this document of history.

The following are a list of songs, in order, included in O. S. U. Medley:

Who Are We?, Songs of the Scarlet and Gray
Nut-Brown Maiden, Songs of the Scarlet and Gray
The Bull-Dog, Songs of Ohio State University
The Quilting Party, Songs of the Scarlet and Gray
Old Black Joe, Songs of Ohio State University
Over The Banister, Songs of the Scarlet and Gray
The Sunshine of Paradise Alley, Lester S. Levi Sheet Music Collection
That Girl Of Mine, Lester S. Levi Sheet Music Collection
She May Have Seen Better Days, Lester S. Levi Sheet Music Collection
In The Evening By The Moonlight, Library of Congress African-American Sheet Music Collection
Bingo, Songs of the Scarlet and Gray
Nellie Was A Lady, Songs of the Scarlet and Gray
Wahoo! Wahoo!, Songs of the Scarlet and Gray
Who Did?, Songs of the Scarlet and Gray
Peanuts, Songs of the Scarlet and Gray
Skip To My Lou, Lester S. Levi Sheet Music Collection
Clementine, Songs of the Scarlet and Gray
Break The News To Mother, Library of Congress American Sheet Music Collection
Down By The Riverside, Songs of the Scarlet and Gray
We're Dear Old Pals, Songs of Ohio State University
The Little Fisher Maiden, Library of Congress American Sheet Music Collection
Oh Promise Me, Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection
I'd Leave Ma Happy Home For You, Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection
Good-night My Love, Songs of the Scarlet and Gray

Photo: 1892 Mirror Lake, Courtesy of The Ohio State University Archives

Please e-mail any comments, problems or suggestions to njmetrowsky@gmail.com

Webmaster: Nick Metrowsky
The Ohio State University, BA, History, 1979
Life Member The Ohio State University Alumni Association
Life Member of The Ohio State University President's Club
Annual Member of The Ohio State University Varsity "O" Association

Last Updated: 23 September, 2021