With the start of the new NFL season less than a week away, I’ve been teaching my 2 year old daughter the lyrics to the Eagles Fight Song. Not only is it cute, but it will make for a great video to send to all my friends who are Dallas Cowboys fans. For years, I’ve been chanting Fly Eagles Fly religiously every time The Birds scored a touchdown. Little did I know, I’ve been singing the Eagles Fight Song all wrong!
The Eagles Fight Song
Fly, Eagles Fly! On the road to victory! (Fight! Fight! Fight!) Fight, Eagles fight! Score a touchdown 1, 2, 3! (1! 2! 3!) Hit 'em low! Hit 'em high! And watch our Eagles fly! Fly, Eagles Fly! On the road to victory! E-A-G-L-E-S! Eagles!
Sounds familiar, right? These are the lyrics that I hold dear to my heart. These are the lyrics that I shout as I hi-five a group of strangers in the row behind me. These are the lyrics that I’ll sing when Jalen Hurts scores his first (likely running) touchdown of the season. However, these are NOT the original words to the song.
The Eagles Victory Song
Fight, Eagles Fight! On your way to victory! Fight, Eagles fight! Score a touchdown 1, 2, 3! Hit 'em low! Hit 'em high! Let us see our Eagles fly! Come on and Fight Eagles Fight On your way to victory!
Here are the original lyrics to the song created by Charles Borrelli and Roger Courtland in the 1960’s. There’s a ton of fight in the song (pun intended). In fact, the song contains the word “fight” a whopping 6 times. Seems appropriate for a blue-collar town that’s literally always fighting. So when did the Eagles Fight Song replace the Eagles Victory Song?
From Kelly Green to Midnight Green, From Victory to Fight!
A lot changed within the Eagles organization in the mid-to-late 90’s. Most notably Jeffrey Lurie bought The Birds for $190 million and then quickly rebranded the franchise. The Eagles introduced a new logo and color scheme–Farewell Kelly Green, hello Midnight Green. In addition, the team introduced a revised fight song.
Long forgotten was the original song from the 60’s. So, Lurie decided to reintroduce the revised version in 1999 along with his new quarterback, Donovan McNabb. You may have heard of him. The rest is history!
For the past 20 years, we’ve been singing the Eagles Fight Song all wrong. Instead of Fight Eagles Fight, we say Fly Eagles Fly, and while the newer version rolls off of the tongue, a part of me wishes we kept the original lyrics. We fight, that’s just what we do!
What do you think? Which version of the fight song do you prefer? Let me know below.
