"Rover" is a song traditionally sung at the end of athletic contest victories by fans of the

University of California Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Cal ...

. It is a

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

of the song "

I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" is a song from 1927, which was written by Mort Dixon with music by Harry M. Woods. Original recordings were made during 1927 by Nick Lucas (No. 2), Ben Bernie (No. 3), and Jean Goldkette (No. 10). Histor ...

". The UCLA Band arrangement opens with "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight". Following the opening, the band then plays the chorus to "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover". The band and students sing the lyrics, then the band plays the chorus again.

History

The song "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" was popularized in 1948 by

Art Mooney Arthur Joseph Mooney (February 11, 1911 – September 9, 1993) was an American singer and bandleader. His biggest hits were " I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" and " Baby Face" in 1948 and " Nuttin' For Christmas," with Barry Gordon, in 1955. ...

.Jasen, David A.. A Century of American Popular Music. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis, 2013. It was written in 1927 with words by

Mort Dixon Mort Dixon (March 20, 1892 – March 23, 1956) was an American lyricist. Biography Born in New York City, United States, Dixon began writing songs in the early 1920s, and was active into the 1930s. He achieved success with his first published e ...

, and music by Harry M. Woods. "

There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight "A Hot Time in the Old Town", also titled as "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight", is an American popular music, American popular song, copyrighted and perhaps composed in 1896 by Theodore August Metz with lyrics by Joe Hayden. Metz ...

'" was written in 1886 with original lyrics by Joe Hayden and music by Theodore Metz, band leader of the McIntyre and Heath Minstrels. The UCLA Band arrangement is titled "Stanford Game (1954)", implying that it was originally played during the halftime of that football game by the UCLA Band. The current song originated in the late 1960s, when a band student wrote the parody lyrics to the tune of "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" during a football game. The UCLA song was retitled simply "Rover". The song was initially played only after

blowout Blowout or Blow out may refer to: Film and television *''Blow Out'', a 1981 film by Brian De Palma * '' The Blow Out'', a 1936 short film * ''Blow Out'' (TV series), a TV series on Bravo * "Blow Out" (''Prison Break''), an episode of ''Priso ...

basketball victories, which were frequent during

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Westwood", he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, nati ...

's time coaching the team. Now, "Rover" is played after all UCLA victories. The lyric "scattered all over the court" is changed to "scattered all over the field" when at a football or soccer match. Also, after the band sings the lyric "and in his head there's a great big dent" they jump off their seats or benches simultaneously and continue singing.

Song notes

* During the annual game against traditional rival

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, the lyrics are changed slightly, changing the word "dog" to "horse", as a parody of the Trojans' horse mascot, Traveler. * Following "And in his head, there's a great big dent", singers jump on the bleachers to make the "crashing" sound. * During the run of NCAA basketball championships, the UCLA Band reserved an arrangement of the "

Hallelujah Chorus ''Messiah'' ( HWV 56), the English-language oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741, is structured in three parts. This listing covers Part II in a table and comments on individual movements, reflecting the relation of the musical se ...

" to be played only after a victory in the championship game. * Other arrangements have been recorded including ** "My Dead Dog Rover" by Hank Stu Dave and Hank (Hank Landsberg and Dave Whited) from 1977, which appears on the Dr. Demento 25th Anniversary Collection ** "I’m Lookin’ Over My Dead Dog Rover" by Kevin Gershon from 1973 and played on KMET FM in Los Angeles

References

* {{UCLA UCLA Bruins University of California, Los Angeles

History

Song notes

See also

References