"I'm a Tar Heel Born" is the official fight song of the University of North Carolina. It originated in the late 1800s or early 1900s as an add-on (or "tag") to the school's alma mater, "Hark The Sound". It was sung at a 1903 baseball game against Brown University, and was soon after adapted for the Brown University fight song “I’m a Brown Man Born”.^[1][2] The song was also adapted for the University of Rhode Island's fight song "We're Rhode Island Born", as well as the tag in the University of Oklahoma's fight song Boomer Sooner in 1906.^[3] Today, the song is almost always played immediately after the singing of "Hark The Sound", even during more formal occasions such as convocation and commencement. Just before home football and basketball games, the song is played by the Bell Tower near the center of campus, and is often played after major victories.^[4][5] Bleacher Report raked it as the 24th best college football fight song.^[6]

Lyrics

I'm a Tar Heel born, I'm a Tar Heel bred.
And when I die, I'm a Tar Heel dead.
So it's rah-rah, Car'lina-'lina!
Rah-rah, Car'lina-'lina!
Rah-rah, Car'lina-'lina!
Rah, rah, rah!

Rah, rah, rah! is rarely sung, except by older fans. From the 1970s through the early 1990s, it was usually replaced by "Go to hell Duke; Duke University is UNC's major athletic rival.

See also

• "Here Comes Carolina"

References