The Ohio State Men’s Glee Club gathers around a piano to sing during their 2023-24 season. Credit: Robert Barr
Disclaimer: The Lantern’s “Best of OSU” polling was conducted via social media and should not be considered statistically representative of Ohio State’s extended student body.
Despite being one of Ohio State’s newest on-campus facilities, the Timashev Family Music Building — located at 1900 College Road N. — possesses an old soul.
Students stroll down bright hallways, humming or snapping as their footfalls produce a vaguely melodic sound. But it’s the lobby, replete with ample study space and gentle chatter, that suggests a concrete reverence for years gone by.
Nestled among other items on a gallery wall, from archival photos to sleekly printed sheet music, one silver-frame contains a golden nugget of knowledge many Buckeyes may be unaware of.
“In 1902, Ohio State played Michigan in Ann Arbor and lost the game 86-0. Fred Cornell, who attended the game, was a member of Ohio State’s Glee Club and a four-letter athlete,” the sign states. “On the train ride home, he began to compose a song for Ohio State by writing phrases on the back of an envelope. Inspired by the loss and hearing the Wolverine crowd sing ‘The Yellow and Blue,’ Cornell proceeded to pen the hymn.”
Thus, “Carmen Ohio” was born. Or was it?
Ohio State football players stand shoulder to shoulder to sing the alma mater, “Carmen Ohio,” together. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor
According to a September 2019 article from the Ohio State Alumni Magazine, Cornell’s fateful train ride leans more toward legend than truth. In fact, author Victoria Ellwood said Cornell likely penned “Carmen Ohio” upon request from the glee club around 1903.
Regardless of the anthem’s origin, two conclusions prove evident: The Men’s Glee Club has a deep-rooted connection to “Carmen Ohio,” and the alma mater is a critical thread in Ohio State’s well-established yet ever-changing tapestry of time.
More than a century later, The Lantern’s readers chose singing “Carmen Ohio” as their favorite game day tradition in 2024’s “Best of OSU” polling. On top of that, Wesley Giles, a first-year in music education and Men’s Glee Club member, said the tune’s mystique remains fully intact for him and his fellow vocalists.
“It takes on a whole new meaning as a part of the group and as a member of the school because the themes of brotherhood, and the themes of time and change and standing fast through all of that really mean a lot more when you’re here and understanding why it’s so special — why it withstands that time and change,” Giles said. “No matter how many times we’ll sing it, it’ll still be special to me. To be candid, the first couple times I sang it with this group, I did start to tear up a little bit.”
Seasoned glee club member Shaan Desai, a fourth-year in economics and international studies, agreed.
“There’s something cool and uniting about it because even though we’ve worked on the harmonies and everything, the words are still for everyone,” Desai said. “I feel like a lot of songs that we sing kind of do get a little bit old, but that one I don’t think will ever get old just because everyone has a different experience with it.”
Desai said the ensemble typically learns “Carmen Ohio” during the second week of fall semester each year. Besides being a concert and tailgate staple, the number likewise serves as a multi-way bridge between current, past and future club members.
“If someone like [Giles] was visiting our choir last year from high school, thinking about coming here, we always include them, teach it to them really quickly and sing it with them at the end of rehearsal,” Desai said. “If we have alumni come, we sing it with them at the end of our rehearsals.”
In this respect, “Carmen Ohio” has matured to symbolize the organization’s fraternal love, glee club member Rhys Davis said.
“Shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm, we sing it every single time,” said Davis, also a first-year in English education. “So, I’m immediately struck by how, sort of, connected it makes us all feel.”
Giles said singing “Carmen Ohio” on game days is just one way of embracing Ohio State’s distinct musical world, even for those who have zero involvement with the Men’s Glee Club.
“It’s just about togetherness,” Giles said. “It’s about excellence, but it’s about togetherness through struggle and through all the trials of life.”
When reflecting back on Cornell — who participated in collegiate track, basketball, baseball and football, according to Songs of The Ohio State University’s website — Davis said appreciating the arts and athletics “side by side” is one goal that comes to mind.
“If more people did know the story of how the music program here and the football program here are so intricately linked, that’s a really, really interesting side of our story,” Davis said.
Ultimately, Desai said Cornell’s meaningful relationships with music and the Men’s Glee Club should not be overlooked by Ohio State’s wider fandom.
“I do wish people knew more about it. I feel like some people at football games, after we lose, just don’t even want to sing it,” Desai said. “But I’m like, ‘I feel like that’s the best time to sing it because, you know, it’s who we are.’ We’re proud of who we are, and it’s just really cool that I get to be a part of the same organization that this guy, over 100 years ago, you know, was a part of who wrote this awesome song that we all sing every day and everyone on campus knows the words to.”
