Hail to the Redskins is the fight song for the Washington Redskins. It is the second oldest fight song for a professional American football team (after Go! You Packers! Go!, composed in 1931). Written in 1938, the year after the Boston Redskins transferred to Washington, it was composed by band leader Barnee Breeskin. The lyrics were written by Corinne Griffith, the wife of the owner, George Preston Marshall. The lyrics used today are more politically correct than they were originally, to reduce racist undertones, but much of the song remains the same.

The original song was:

Hail to the Redskins

Hail Vic-tor-y

Braves on the Warpath

Fight for old Dixie

Scalp 'em, swamp 'em -- We will take 'em big score

Read 'em, weep 'em, touchdown - we want heap more

Fight on, Fight on -- 'Till 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

Note: This version of the song also closed to the open of the well known southern folk song, "Dixie".

The new lyrics are as follows:

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.

The second stanza of the orginial version exhorted the team to "scalp" their opponents, and invoked more stereotypes with lines like "we want heap more!" Those phrases have since been replaced with standard football play references.

Reasons for the changes

Reference to Dixie

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. "Dixie" 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, through the duration of the Civil War, did have slaves. Furthermore, in the late 1930s when Hail to the Redskins came into use, there were no other Southern teams in the league.

When the NFL began considering Texas as the state to host a proposed expansion team, the move was strongly opposed by the Redskins owner, who had enjoyed a monopoly in the South for three decades. However, when the future owners of the Dallas Cowboys bought the rights to "Hail to the Redskins" and then told George Marshall that he would no longer be allowed to play the song at NFL games, the Redskins owner changed his tune. The Dallas Cowboys became a franchise in 1960.

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 as a member of the AFL, though southern Florida is not traditionally in "The South")
• New Orleans Saints (founded 1967)
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (founded 1976, though central Florida is not traditionally in "The South")
• Carolina Panthers (founded 1995)
• Jacksonville Jaguars (founded 1995)
• Baltimore Ravens (moved from Cleveland in 1996, though officially classified as an AFC North franchise)
• Tennessee Titans (moved from Houston in 1997)
• Houston Texans (founded 2002)

Native American stereotypes

The original lyrics also perpetuated stereotypes of Native Americans. Some Native American groups still take offense 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. Both phrases also refer back to the team's origin in Boston, as the team was named after the Boston Braves.

The updated version is seen as less offensive. It remains one of the most popular and well-known fight songs in the NFL.

External links

• WAV File
• On ESPN
• another WAV File (with the entire song)