Ode to Harvard
From Willipedia
A poem, song, rap, or "ode" written by Diana Davis in the fall of 2003 explaining why Williams is just so much better than Harvard. There is a .wav abbreviated version of this song being performed here.
- If Williams had rejected me, I wouldn't be an Eph;
- I'd have had to go to Harvard, source of everlasting grief.
- I'd be living down in Cambridge, in that hallowed Harvard yard
- Where orgueil is the assumption, even more than working hard.
- Harvard. I didn't go to Harvard.
- I didn't go to Harvard. I didn't go to Harvard.
- In this 1600 mecca, they all worship the AP;
- A four-point-oh is not enough; they've all got four-point-three.
- My jacket would have ve-ri-tas emblazoned on the chest
- So that everyone who saw me would know that I was the best.
- Harvard. I didn't go to Harvard.
- I didn't go to Harvard. I didn't go to Harvard.
- My "small" classes would be forty; my "professors" all TA's,
- And who would care if during class my eyes would often glaze?
- I'd try real hard to find my niche, but even when I did,
- I'd still be what Ross Baird called "just another Harvard kid."
- Harvard. I didn't go to Harvard.
- I didn't go to Harvard. I didn't go to Harvard.
- When I say I go to Williams, people blink and say, "um -- where?"
- But if you say you go to Harvard, you just get an awestruck stare.
- Some kids will go and hate it; they'll spend four years being glum;
- But it's worth it when you graduate, 'cause then you're an alum!
- Then down the road, when someone asks you where you went to school
- You can say you went to Harvard and make him look like a fool.
- Harvard. I didn't go to Harvard.
- I didn't go to Harvard. I didn't go to Harvard.
- But I can't -- I go to Williams: land of mountains, fields, and trees,
- Where the smog and smoke of cities never interrupts the breeze;
- Where our uniforms are purple and we proudly sport the cow;
- Where for discussions, nineteen is the most that they allow;
- Where my lecture class is fifty; my professor knows my name,
- And everyone I meet seems genuinely glad they came.
- Harvard. I didn't go to Harvard.
- I didn't go to Harvard. I didn't go to Harvard.
- So when they send you your certificate to hang upon the wall,
- Know that Williams over Harvard is an easy judgment call.
- Although I know that any school I go to, I will love,
- I'd rather spend my life somewhere that fits me like a glove.
- Williams. I go to Williams.
- I go to Williams -- I didn't go to Harvard.
A subset of the Ode to Harvard is known as the Ode to Williams.