Dummm ... da da dum daaaa dum .... dummm ... da da da dummm

May 16, 2009 7:57 PM

Originally a coronation ode for Edward VIII, both sides of the Atlantic can't seem to get enough Pomp and Circumstance each May.

Shakespeare's Othello, at the first sign of his wife's infidelity, forsakes his life's meaning and work with the words "Farewell the neighing steed, and the shrill trump / The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife The royal banner, and all quality / Pride, pomp and circumstance of glorious war!" The line's namesake orchestral piece is by British composer Edward Elgar; its first march (known by its more jingoistic title "Land of Hope and Glory") has become the default processional at American graduations, known for their complex emotional payload. From the Elgar Society's Why Americans Graduate to Elgar:

The reason for the popularity of the march has to do with Elgar's ability to invent melodies that convey a complex of emotions. The tune manages to sound triumphant, but with an underlying quality of nostalgia, making it perfectly suited to a commencement that marks the beginning of one stage of life, but the end of another.

posted by l33tpolicywonk (29 comments total)

Except that on the eastern side of the pond, you'll really have to wait for September to hear it. Unless, of course, you mean the rendition of "We all follow [United | The Chelsea] / over land and sea..." at the FA Cup final...
posted by holgate at 8:00 PM on May 16

The idea of a graduation without it is almost inconceivable. I think most graduates would feel cheated if it did not play at their graduation ceremonies. Are there any universities or colleges that don't use it at this point?
posted by Rock Steady at 8:25 PM on May 16

I was just at a middle school graduation that used an original song written by some of the school's teaching artists and performed by the kids. College graduations without it, though? Hard to imagine.
posted by HeroZero at 8:28 PM on May 16

Edward VII, wasn't it?
posted by steambadger at 8:51 PM on May 16

Rock Steady, the music at Brigham Young University is provided by an organ professor, who is also a Bach scholar. He usually plays the Prelude and Fugue in D Minor as a recessional. It seems a little more ominous than Elgar, but it made me smile.
posted by rossmik at 8:56 PM on May 16

steambadger's right: I had a trigger happy "I".
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 9:04 PM on May 16

Am I a bad person for always hearing "dumb, dumb dumb dumb dummmmb dumb" superimposed over this, along with a goofy MPFC-type laugh track?
posted by Burhanistan at 9:35 PM on May 16

Edward VII, wasn't it?

You are correct.

It was indeed the Coronation Ode for King Edward VII (1841 - 1910) and not for King Edward VIII (1894 - 1972)
posted by ericb at 10:46 PM on May 16

Ahem, ericb, he was only King Edward VIII for just shy of a year. Then he abdicated and became the Duke of Windsor.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:54 PM on May 16

Damn that American divorcée Wallis Simpson!
posted by ericb at 11:07 PM on May 16

No coronation for him, either. (Also, Elgar died in 1934.)

To my English ears it feels weirdly inappropriate, having heard it at a college graduation, but Americans get the words to the national anthem wrong too. But pretty much everything else memorable composed by Elgar has that combination of nostalgic wistfulness / hopefulfulness in greater proportion.

Does anyone graduate to "The Liberty Bell" by Sousa? Now that would be fun.
posted by holgate at 11:36 PM on May 16

It was the strangest thing, for my American ears, upon going to a Prom (u.k. not u.s. prom) and hearing people suddenly singing along to it. I have always known there were words but I had a bit of a WTF moment.
posted by sundri at 1:41 AM on May 17

Don't they play Gaudeamus Igitur at graduations in the US?
posted by PenDevil at 2:30 AM on May 17

Last night of the Middle Class Chavs
posted by PeterMcDermott at 2:41 AM on May 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'm American but worked for a time in the U.K. My office building there used to have this tune looped on the music they would play in the hallways - and in the restrooms. Let me tell me, it imparted a certain sense of accomplishment when this came on toward the end of a session in the stall. Thank you, Sir Edward.
posted by chinston at 3:01 AM on May 17 [3 favorites has favorites]

Americans get the words to the national anthem wrong too

They don't use the original words to their own National Anthem, either, which is a shame. It would be nice to hear them all belting out their patriotic determination to entwine the myrtle of Venus with Bacchus' vine.
posted by Phanx at 3:10 AM on May 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

Actually, I wouldn't mind a graduation without this song. It almost feels like an overused cliche, especially when blasted through PA systems for silly things like elementary school graduation and middle school graduation. Too much graduation!
posted by Atreides at 6:27 AM on May 17

If you don't hear 'Pomp and Circumstances', did you really graduate?

P&C has become as synonymous with graduation as 'Here comes the bride' and Mendelsohn's 'Wedding March' have weddings. You may not like any of these songs but would you turn down the royalty rights?
posted by birdwatcher at 6:56 AM on May 17

I love this song. But not because of graduations. Because it makes me think of this film.
Appropriately to the movie, it plays in the opening minutes, as credits roll.
posted by Muttoneer at 7:33 AM on May 17

At prep school we had six houses, which for the purposes of (pretty much exclusively) sport were grouped into two umbrella houses of Nelson and Churchill - mainly because each house didn't have enough of the relevant year to fill a sports team of eleven, let alone fifteen for rugby.

Churchill's highly unofficial song, which was belted out with glee from the sidelines of any sporting occasion, was to the tune of Pomp and Circumstance.

Lyrics were as follows:

Land of soap and water
Nelson's having a bath
Churchill's looking through the keyhole
Trying not to laugh.

Ah, childhood.

Nelson had sod all in reply.
posted by djgh at 9:23 AM on May 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

It's funny, but I was looking at the title of this post and thinking, this is wrong. And then I realized that Americans don't know that there are words to this. Because I know it as going:

Dum, dum da-da-dah dumm dummm... dum, dum da-da-dah dummm...
posted by ob at 9:29 AM on May 17

Bach's Fugue in Dm? I love that song, but for graduation? It might be suited to a ceremony to recognize people who've been forced into a Dean's vacation.

Sousa marches: that's a fantastic idea! Liberty Bell would be perfect if it weren't for the Python associations. If we all used Sousa marches, graduations would go much faster. No pompous ambling to get your degree -- strut.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:18 AM on May 17

I love Pomp & Circumstance as graduation music, it really does fit the occasion perfectly. But as a conductor who has to conduct at graduations, once a year I also hate that piece, because we have to play through the bulk of the march 15-20 times in a row to accommodate the length of the procession of graduates.

Thank goodness it's good music to begin with, because if it were a stupid march I think I'd be annually suicidal in May.
posted by LooseFilter at 11:48 AM on May 17

Liberty Bell would be perfect if it weren't for the Python associations.

I think it's perfect because of those associations. There's something faintly absurd about graduation ceremonies, and that ought to be reflected too. Though there's always the ideal national anthem and marching tune, as Billy Connolly makes clear.
posted by holgate at 12:47 PM on May 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

There's something faintly absurd about graduation ceremonies, and that ought to be reflected too.

Like with a march that has the tongue-in-cheek title "Pomp & Circumstance"? ; )
posted by LooseFilter at 1:09 PM on May 17 [1 favorite has favorites]

It would be nice to hear them all belting out their patriotic determination to entwine the myrtle of Venus with Bacchus' vine.

The US national anthem is all about getting drunk and getting laid? Who knew?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 1:15 PM on May 17

BTW, do you know who else had a great national anthem and marching tune?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 1:18 PM on May 17

because we have to play through the bulk of the march 15-20 times in a row

In high school, the entire band would bet on how many times we'd have to play it. It was usually in the 40s.
posted by saul wright at 7:37 PM on May 17

They used this tune on The Electric Company with lyrics featuring various food items. I can not hear this tune without singing "Aaaaand blueberry pieeeee!" during the final phrase.

That included my high school graduation.
posted by Spatch at 6:28 AM on May 18 [1 favorite has favorites]