Since Bowles Hall is an all-male dormitory, you can imagine that quite a bit of drinking goes on here. As with anything else that happens in Bowles Hall, the Residential Assistants usually adopt a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy - in other words, as long as you don’t gravely harm yourself or any of your neighbors, nobody will ever find out about it.
So, as you finish your first beer at Bowles Hall, you might want to start singing the Bowles Hall Drinking Song:
(speaking start)
The steward went below. (Shhh!)
To light the captain’s lamp. (Shhh!)
The lamp it would not light. (Why not?)
Because the wick was damp. (Oh!)
The captain went below. (Shhh!)
To kick the steward’s… (Shhh!)
He said, “So fire it up you son-of-a-bitch,
The Golden Gate is passed!”
(singing start)
Oh, they had a little party down in Newport;
There was Harry, there was Mary, there was Grace.
Oh, they had a little party down in Newport,
And they had to carry Harry from the place.Oh, they had to carry Harry to the ferry,
And the ferry carried Harry to the shore;
And the reason that they had to carry Harry to the ferry
Was that Harry couldn’t carry any more.For California, for California,
The hills send back the cry,
We’re out to do or die,
For California, for California,
We’ll win the game or know the reason why.And when the game is over, we will buy a keg of booze,
And drink to California ’till we wobble in our shoes.So drink, tra la la,
Drink, tra la la,
Drink, drank, drunk last night,
Drunk the night before;
Gonna get drunk tonight
Like I never got drunk before;
For when I’m drunk, I’m as happy as can be
For I am member of the Souse family.Now the Souse family is the best family
That ever came over from old Germany.
There’s the Highland Dutch, and the Lowland Dutch,
The Rotterdam Dutch, and the Irish.Sing glorious, victorious,
One keg of beer for the four of us.
Sing glory be to God that there are no more of us,
For one of us could drink it all alone. Damn near.
Here’s to the Irish, dead drunk.The lucky stiffs, they had four fifths
A six pack too, of homemade brew
And there was Grandma
Swinging on the outhouse door
Without her nighty (buh duh ba ba)
And there was Grandpa
Wishin’ he could swing once more
But he was eighty
And couldn’t get it up no more
Without his walker
So basically y’gotta
Gooooooooo bears…
NOTE: This is not the same song as the California Drinking Song. It’s sung to the same tune, but Bowlesmen have added the last verse.
{ 4 } Comments
What you’ve got there is the California Drinking Song. The Bowles Hall Drinking Song goes like this:
We’re the men of Bowles Association,
Coming here from over all the nation.
Drinking here together one and all,
We lift our voices loud for Bowles Hall!
(Chorus)
Here’s to Bowles Association.
Drink it down and then,
Drink a toast to home sweet home,
Of California men. Rah! Rah! Rah!
Fill your glasses to the brim,
And lift them in the air.
And drink a toast to Bowles Association,
And the Golden Bear.
Men of Bowles are gathered here together,
Toasting everything from girls to weather.
But the very greatest toast of all,
Is the one that we now give to Bowles Hall!
(Chorus)
We sang lots of rude songs, but only one when the band came by.
Well, you’re probably correct about the formal naming. However, I did add a note at the bottom of my post: This is not the same song as the California Drinking Song. It’s sung to the same tune, but Bowlesmen have added the last verse.
The song I posted is the Bowles-customized version of the California Drinking Song. As thus, I think it’s correct to also consider it as the Bowles Drinking Song.
KTF is right.
You’ve listed a “personalized” version of the Cal Drinking song–it’s a completely different song than the “Bowles Hall Drinking Song.” KTF gave the lyrics to “The Bowles Hall Drinking Song.”
I don’t know if this still happens or not, but in the old days the Cal Band marched by Bowles after every home football game. Bowlesmen would gather, Bowles Hall mugs in hand, and the band would play the Bowles Hall Drinking Song while Bowlesmen sang.
So far as I know, the last verse has always been a part of the song, even the old-timers I know who didn’t immediately remember bowles existed knew the last verse. It’s just not posted on the berkeley.edu website because that’s the sanitized version the band plays.
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