Hail to the Redskins
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Hail to the Redskins is the oldest fight song for a professional American football team. It is the fight song of the Washington Redskins. Written in 1938, it was composed by Corinne Griffith, the wife of the owner, George Preston Marshall. Her lyrics are different from the ones used today.
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Current lyrics
- Hail to the Redskins!
- Hail Vic-tor-y!
- Braves on the Warpath!
- Fight for old D.C.!
- Run or pass and score — we want a lot more!
- Beat 'em, Swamp 'em,
- Touchdown! — let the points soar!
- Fight on, fight on 'til you have won
- Sons of Wash-ing-ton. Rah!, Rah!, Rah!
- Hail to the Redskins!
- Hail Vic-tor-y!
- Braves on the Warpath!
- Fight for old D.C.!
Original version
The original version was changed to eliminate perceived racist undertones. Changed lyrics are bolded.
- Hail to the Redskins!
- Hail Vic-tor-y!
- Braves on the Warpath!
- Fight for old Dixie!
- Run or pass and score — we want a lot more!
- Scalp 'em, swamp 'em — We will take 'em big score
- Read 'em, weep 'em, touchdown — we want heap more
- Fight on, Fight on — 'til you have won
- Sons of Wash-ing-ton. Rah!, Rah!, Rah!
- Hail to the Redskins!
- Hail Vic-tor-y!
- Braves on the Warpath!
- Fight for old Dixie!
Reasons for the change
Reference to Dixie
References to Dixie were changed to "D.C.", for two main reasons. First, it was seen as potentially racist against African-Americans. Second, the Washington Redskins were the one of the few Southern teams for several decades, but as more teams were added, the "Dixie" reference became somewhat irrelevant.
Dixie refers to the American South, where slavery was practiced until the American Civil War. This reference was seen as potentially offensive to African-Americans, many of whom are descendants of slaves. Many Southerners, both black and white, do not feel that "Dixie" has any racist connotations; it simply refers to the South as a cultural center. For some, though, "Dixie" does carry racist undertones. Team owner George Preston Marshall, who has been called "the leading racist in the NFL", excluded African-American players until 1962. The lyric change, which occurred only after the team was integrated, was largely an attempt to disassociate the Redskins from previous racism against blacks.
The Dixie reference may also seem confusing to those unfamiliar with the history of the NFL. Washington, DC is very close to the Mason-Dixon line, far from the center of the American South, but was always considered to be a part of the South, and in fact, until the beginning of the Civil War, did have slaves. However, in the late 1930's when Hail to the Redskins came into use, there were no other Southern teams in the league.
Eventually more Southern teams would be founded, making the Redskins' claim as "the professional football team of Dixie" increasingly inaccurate. Current Southern teams include:
- Dallas Cowboys (founded 1960)
- Atlanta Falcons (founded 1966)
- Miami Dolphins (founded 1966)
- New Orleans Saints (founded 1967)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (founded 1976)
- Carolina Panthers (founded 1995)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (founded 1995)
- Baltimore Ravens (founded 1996; note that Baltimore is even closer to the Mason-Dixon line than Washington)
- Tennessee Titans (moved from Houston in 1997)
Native American stereotypes
The original lyrics were also racist against Native Americans. In this case, the racism was unambiguous: the reference to scalping and the phrases "take 'em big score" and "want heap more" are negative stereotypes against Native Americans. Scalping was practiced by a limited number of Native American groups — it is highly inaccurate to insinuate that the average Native American is a brutal warrior. The two phrases are equally inaccurate; a popular stereotype of early 20th century (popularized by Old West fiction) was that Native Americans did not speak proper English.
Some Native American groups still take offensive to the lyrics in their present form. First, the song references the team name, Redskins. There has been considerable debate over whether the term "redskin" is a racial slur against Native Americans. Second, "braves on the warpath" is another stereotype, similar to the removed "scalping" reference.
The updated version is seen as much less offensive, though not perfect. It remains one of the most popular and well-known fight songs in the NFL.