"Gaudeamus igitur" (Latin for "So let us rejoice") or just "Gaudeamus", also known as "De brevitate vitae" ("On the Shortness of Life"), is a popular academic commercium song in many European countries, mainly sung or performed at university graduation ceremonies. Despite its use as a formal graduation hymn, it is a jocular, light-hearted composition that pokes fun at university life. The song is thought to originate in a Latin manuscript from 1287. It is in the tradition of carpe diem ("seize the day") with its exhortations to enjoy life. It was known as a beer-drinking song at many early universities and is the official song of many schools, colleges, universities, institutions, student societies, and the official anthem of the International University Sports Federation.

Content

The lyrics reflect an endorsement of the bacchanalian mayhem of student life while retaining the knowledge that one day we will all die: . The song contains humorous and ironic references to sex and death, and many versions bowdlerize the text for performance in public ceremonies. In private, students typically sing ribald words.

The song is sometimes known by its opening words, "Gaudeamus igitur" or simply "Gaudeamus". In the UK, it is sometimes affectionately known as "The Gaudie". The centuries of use have given rise to numerous slightly different versions.

Lyrics

The proposition that the lyrics originate in 1287 by , who admitted to making significant changes to the text. The Neo-Latin word Antiburschius refers to opponents of the 19th-century politically active German student fraternities.

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! Latin

! English (literally)

! English (Mark Sugars, 1997)

It is quoted in Johann Strauss II's "" (Française, Op. 263), first performed at the students' ball at the ballroom in the Vienna Hofburg on 24 February 1862.

The tune is quoted, along with other student songs, in the overture of Franz von Suppé's 1863 operetta ', the action again set at the University of Heidelberg.

Based on the original melody, Franz Liszt composed the "Gaudeamus igitur—Paraphrase" and later (1870) the "Gaudeamus igitur—Humoreske". Pyotr Tchaikovsky made an arrangement for male chorus with piano accompaniment (1874) (TH 187; ČW 413).

H. P. Lovecraft quotes the song in his short story "The Tomb".

Tom Lehrer mentioned the Gaudeamus in his satirical song, "Bright College Days":

<blockquote><poem>Turn on the spigot

Pour the beer and swig it

And gaudeamus igit-itur</poem></blockquote>

In 1979, New England Science Fiction Association member Joe Ross wrote a parody of the song with lyrics referencing the 1955 film This Island Earth. The parody was titled "Haec Insula Terra" (a Latin translation of the film's title) and was published in the first volume of the NESFA Hymnal. Warwick Academy in Bermuda uses part of the lyrics as their school song.

On the soundtrack of the 2013 Disney and Pixar film Monsters University, composed by Randy Newman, the instrumental piece "Scare Pig" includes some of "Gaudeamus igitur".

See also

  • Ars longa, vita brevis
  • Ubi sunt

References

Further reading

  • Hoffmann von Fallersleben, Gustav Schwetschke: Gaudeamus igitur. Eine Studie von Hoffmann von Fallersleben. Nebst einem Sendschreiben und Carmen an Denselben von Gustav Schwetschke. Halle, 1872.

Other (often non-original but altered) text variants:

  • Johann Christian Christoph Rüdiger (editor, published as only "R-d-r"): Auswahl guter Trinklieder, oder Töne der Freude und des Weins, beym freundschaftlichen Mahle anzustimmen. Aus den besten Dichtern gesammlet. – Trink- oder Commersch-Lieder, beym freundschaftlichen Mahle zu singen, aus den besten Dichtern gesammlet. 2nd edition, Hendelscher Verlag, Halle 1795, p. 142–143.
  • Neues deutsches allgemeines Commers- und Liederbuch. Germania, 1815, p. 20–21 and 180–183 (Das neue Gaudeamus).
  • Leipziger Commersbuch. Bei Karl Tauchnitz, Leipzig, 1816, p. 106–108.
  • Berlinisches Commersbuch. Bey Theodor Joh. Chr. Fr. Enslin, Berlin, 1817, p. 27–28 and 158–159 (Das neue Gaudeamus).
  • Neues Commersbuch. Germania, 1818, p. 42–43.
  • Neues teutsches allgemeines Commers- und Liederbuch. 3rd edition, Germania, 1820 (Tübingen in der Osiander'schen Buchhandlung), p. 25–26.
  • Auswahl deutscher Volks- und Burschen-Lieder. Gedruckt und verlegt von der Deckerschen Geheimen Ober-Hofbuchdruckerei, Berlin, 1821, p. 113–114.
  • Urceus Lebensreise. – Meine Lebensreise. In sechs Stazionen zur Belehrung der Jugend und zur Unterhaltung des Alters beschrieben von Urceus. Nebst Franz Volkmar Reinhard's Briefen an den Verfasser. Leipzig, 1825, p. 179–180 containg Das neue Gaudeamus (The new Gaudeamus).
  • Deutsche Studenten-Lieder des siebzehnten und achtzehnten Jahrhunderts. Nach alten Handschriften gesammelt und mit einleitenden Bemerkungen über die geschichte des deutschen Studentenliedes versehen von Dr. Robert Keil und Dr. Richard Keil. Verlag M. Schauenburg & C., Lahr, pp. 165–167
  • a medical travesty, by Kayser from Breslau:
  • Archivii italiani di laringologia periodico trimestrale. Anno X. &nbsp; Ottobre 1890 &nbsp; Fasc. 4. Napoli, 1890, p. 180–181.
  • Internationales Centralblatt für Laryngologie, Rhinologie und verwandte Wissenschaften. Siebenter Jahrgang. (Juli 1890 bis Juni 1891.) Berlin, 1891, pp. 132–133.

Performances:

  • , performed by the Roosevelt Academy Choir, Middelburg, Netherlands
  • , at Smith College convocation, 2008; note the stomping and enthusiasm for the "Vivat academia!" and "Vivant professores" lines.
  • , Cary Grant conducts Johannes Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture in People Will Talk (1951)
  • – Gaudeamus igitur accompanied by the 2012 Organ Historical Society convention attendees, University of Chicago Rockefeller Chapel