Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents information about Upsala College (East Orange, New Jersey) and presents two versions of a song that was sung by students of that college.
Some information about that song is also included in this post along with my notes about my memories of that song.
This pancocojams post also includes quotes about the very similar University of Georgia saying "I'm Bulldog born, and Bulldog bred, and when I die, I'll be Bulldog dead".
The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT UPSALA COLLEGE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upsala_College
"Upsala College (UC) was a private college affiliated with
the Swedish-American Augustana Synod (later the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran
Church) and located in East Orange in Essex County, New Jersey in the United
States. Upsala was founded in 1893 in Brooklyn, in New York City, and moved to
Kenilworth, and finally to East Orange in 1924. In the 1970s, Upsala considered
moving to Wantage Township in rural Sussex County (where it opened a satellite
campus) as East Orange's crime problem magnified and social conditions
deteriorated. However, college administration and trustees chose to remain
committed to East Orange. Declining enrollment and financial difficulties
forced the school to close in 1995.
[…]
The name Upsala was chosen to honor both the historic
Uppsala University in Sweden and the Meeting of Uppsala.[b][2]: p.122–123 That
1593 meeting—exactly 300 years before the founding of Upsala College—firmly
established Lutheran Orthodoxy in Sweden after the attempts by King John III to
reintroduce Roman Catholic liturgy.[4]
[…]
Decline and closing
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Upsala suffered from severe
financial problems and a declining enrollment.[8] The demographics of East
Orange had changed in the aftermath of the Newark riots in the 1960s, and
Upsala began to enroll larger numbers of minority students—a move thought to
have upset the older Caucasian alumni and donors. East Orange's tax base and
socio-economic conditions continued to deteriorate with an increase in crime
statistics which made the college an unattractive setting for prospective
students. By the early 1990s, the student body had decreased from approximately
1,500 to 435 when the school closed in 1995.[9] The Middle States Association
of Colleges and Schools announced that as a result of the decline in academic
standards and the school's ongoing financial problems, it would not be renewing
Upsala College's accreditation. On May 1, 1995, the college's board of trustees
voted to close the school when its accreditation expired on May 31, 1995.[9]”…
****
1959 LYRICS TO "UPSALA BORN..." SONG
"I’m Upsala born and Upsala bred
And when I die, I’ll be… Upsala dead
So, Upsee, Upsala, ‘Sala,
Upsee, Upsala. ‘Sala
Upsee, Upsala, We’re for you.
Lutfisk, lutfisk,
Tack ska du har
All for Vikings"
From https://docslib.org/doc/12013938/k-m-williams-upsala-college Augustana’s Eastern Division:
Upsala College by Kim-Eric Williams
-snip-
Here's an excerpt of that article which has the copyright date of 17 September 2006:
"This is about what I remember from a trip to a football
game at Upsala by the Augustana New England Luther League abut 1959. Even
then, Tiny Carlson, who in reality was well over 6’, explained that everyone could sing
the first song but ve ry few stood up for the Lutfisk cheer. It seemed funny at the time
but of course it was prophetic of the shrinking number of Augustana youth who made their
way to the urban campus of Upsala in East Orange, NJ. And I was one of them, accepted
at Augustana, Upsala, and Muhlenberg, I choose Muhlenberg. Augustana was just too far
from Massachusetts and the physical conditions, incomplete resources, and lack of
facilities in East Orange were major reasons for me to go to Pennsylvania. However when I
was at Muhlenberg, one of my professors fondly recalled beginning his teaching career
at Upsala by saying, “I always liked the Augustana kids, they really stood out from
the others” It is these “others” rather than some “others” that was one of causes of
the school’s closing in 1995. "...
-snip-
Google translate from Swedish to English gives these results for the non-English words that are part of the ending of this 1959 version of that song:
"Lutefish, Lutefish,
Thank you"
-snip-
Here's some information about lutefish from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutefisk:
""Lutefisk (Norwegian, pronounced [ˈlʉ̂ːtfɛsk] in Northern and parts of Central Norway, [ˈlʉ̂ːtəˌfɪsk] in Southern Norway; Swedish: lutfisk [ˈlʉ̂ːtfɪsk]; Finnish: lipeäkala [ˈlipeæˌkɑlɑ]; literally "lye fish") is dried whitefish (normally cod, but ling and burbot are also used). It is made from aged stockfish (air-dried whitefish), or dried and salted cod, cured in lye. It is gelatinous in texture after being rehydrated for days prior to eating.[1]
****
1965-1969 LYRICS TO "UPSALA BORN"... SONG
I’m Upsala born and Upsala bred
And when I die, I’ll be Upsala dead
So* it's Upsee, Upsala, ‘Sala,
Upsee, Upsala. ‘Sala
Upsee, Upsala, We love you.
So Upsie is great
And Upsie is grand
But don't go there
If you want to get a man
So it's Upsee, Upsala, ‘Sala,
Upsee, Upsala. ‘Sala
Upsee, Upsala, We love you.
-snip-
*"So it's" might have been "For it's..."
Notice that the words beginning with "lutfish" aren't included in this 1960s version of that "Upsala Born..." Deleting those Swedish words from that song might reflect the fact that there were fewer people of Swedish descent at that college who would understand what those words meant. (And/or maybe people thought those words detracted from the up-tempo spirit of the song.)
The 1960s version that I remember also doesn't include the words "All for the Vikings".
I guess "Vikings" were still the name of the football team, but I don't remember the team's name.
****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
I attended Upsala College from 1965-1969 and graduated from that college with a BA in Sociology. In my freshmen year I was one of only six Black students (3 females and 3 males) who lived on campus.
In my freshmen year there were a total of about 1,000 students who attended that college (although this may have been the number of students who lived on campus). That number stuck with me because I remember thinking that the student body of Upsala was quite small compared to the number of students who attended my high school in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In 1965 there were around 900 students who were in my senior class at Atlantic City High School and-if I remember correctly- that high school had a total of 3000 students. (Atlantic City High School was the only public high school in that New Jersey city.)
In addition to the Black students who lived on Upsala College's campus, some other Black students commuted to that college from Newark, New Jersey and other near by New Jersey cities. By my senior year, Upsala had increased the number of Black students living on campus and commuting to that college. I believe that this was largely because of the demands for social equity that were made after the 1967 Newark, New Jersey "riot".
It would be an understatement to say that I wasn't involved in campus activities. I only recall "Upsala Born..." being sung one time. I believe that this was during orientation for incoming students. I've given the dates 1965-1969 because this song may have been sung this way throughout my entire matriculation at that college.
"Upsala Born" is the only Upsala "school spirit" song that I have even the vaguest memory of. I remember females and males bouncing up and down while enthusiastically singing that up-tempo song while they encouraged other people to sing along. I'm not sure whether those song leaders were actual cheerleaders or not.
This event was held outdoors in the "quad", an open area in the middle of the college. There were other songs sung that day, but I don't remember them.
The second satirical verse of the "Upsala Born..." song probably wasn't an "official" part of that song. It may have only been sung by some female students who weren't a part of the group who led that song and other school spirit songs and cheers. I recall that some people in the quad laughed when they heard it.
It's possible that "Upsala Born" was sung or chanted at that college's football games, but I only recall attending two Upsala College football games and I don't believe that it was sung or chanted during those games.
The first verse of the "Upsala Born.." song (without the "So [it's] Upsie Upsala" portion appears to be an adaptation of the University of Georgia (UGA) song/saying "I'm Bulldog born and Bulldog bred and when I die I'll be Bulldog dead" [from several online sites, including .
https://twitter.com/quotinggrizzard/status/14536353130?lang=en
Lewis Grizzard
@QuotingGrizzard
"I was Bulldog born and Bulldog bred, and when I die
I'll be by God Bulldog dead." http://bit.ly/9HtxJE
12:26 AM · May 23, 2010
-snip-
"Bulldogs" is the name of University of Georgia's football team.
I'm curious about the origin of this song and/or saying. What's the earliest documentation of "I'm [insert college name. or state etc.] born and ___ bred and when I die I'll be ___ dead"?
I thought about this Upsala College song today because of the quote I read from Georgia Republican Senatorial candidate Hershel Walker who claimed that he didn't live in Texas (although he received a tax rebate for his Texas home in which he claimed that that home was his primary residence.) In response to reporter's question about this,Walker said "Anyone
in Georgia know that I’m Georgia born, Georgia bred, and when I die, I’ll be
Georgia dead." Herschel Walker addresses horrible new controversy"
by Kevin Harrish, Nov. 30, 2022 https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/herschel-walker-addresses-horrible-new-controversy/ar-AA14LcOg?rc=1&ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=dafb9a07e6374f44bd8aaf40c63fec0f
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
I began using the first name "Azizi" in 1968 and prefer that KiSwahili name to the first name that I was given at birth. (I haven't given my birth name and my maiden name online, but I've dropped enough clues that someone who is really interested in that information can find it.
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to a 2011 pancocojams post entitled "How I Got My African Name": http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-i-got-my-african-name.html .
I remember writing an article (for a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania newspaper?) about my experiences being a Black student at Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey in the 1960s. I believe I wrote that article in the early 1990s and basically shared that it was difficult being a Black student at that majority White campus.
ReplyDeleteOne of my first recollections was being approached by some Black students in the cafeteria while I sat with my blond haired/blue eyed White roommate (who was Jewish but then I didn't know that there was any difference between White people and Jewish people. However, the prejudice that she and other Jewish people experienced from other students swiftly schooled me about that.)
The Black students who approached me encouraged me to sit with them at the "Black" table. I declined that invitation. But I remember writing in that my lost article how by my senior year I was one of those Black students who self-segregated at the "Black table" in the cafeteria. I remember writing that our self-segregation gave us a space and time where we could be ourselves without having to guard ourselves against or respond to lack of knowledge about our culture or "micro-aggressions" (although I didn't use that term).
I believe that I shared an incident that happened in some class in which the professor said that there was no racism in Great Britain. The professor was definitely not happy with me when I brought up the fact that I had just read an article in Ebony magazine about racism in Great Britain and would bring that article to class the next time we met. I don't know whether that affected my grade or not, but I remember that I felt that Black content was largely non-existent in my classes, unless it was negatively brought in a Sociology class.
Somehow the President of Upsala College read my 1990s newspaper article and sent me a response that shared that Upsala was now quite multicultural. I don't remember whether I wrote back or not. It may have been shortly afterwards that Upsala closed.
If anyone has a copy of that article I wrote, I would be interested in reading it.
I remember East Orange, New Jersey being considered as a nice, safe, middle class city, particularly compared to its very close neighbor Newark, New Jersey.
DeleteI was sad to hear that Upsala had closed and even more sad to read about the difficulties that East Orange, New Jersey has faced since the 1960s.