Banned in Tuscaloosa: The history of 'Dixieland Delight' and 'Rammer Jammer'

Despite being among the most popular fightin' ditties on fall Saturdays in Bryant-Denny Stadium, both "Rammer Jammer" and "Dixieland Delight" have in the past been banned.

Unlike nearly century-old fight song "Yea Alabama," the "Rammer Jammer" cheer/song and "Dixieland Delight" both are only middle-aged, though as with 1996-vintage Rama Jama's restaurant, many think they've been around for eons.

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Common roots grow from the old University of Alabama humor and literary magazine Rammer Jammer. Published 1924 to 1956, its pages held work from some of UA's most distinguished students, including Harper Lee, journalist Gay Talese, and former U.S. Rep. Carl Elliott.

In 1925, UA's gridiron team rolled to its first perfect season, 10-0, then beat Washington in the Rose Bowl. Several pollsters chose UA as national champs. Riding rising crimson tides of sentiment, Rammer Jammer offered a $50 prize — about $877.52 today —for the best fight song. CW Editor Ethelred “Epp” Sykes won that prize, writing lyrics and music, and donated his winnings to create a full marching-band arrangement.

The version of "Yea Alabama" we're familiar with came about in 1958, via then-new music faculty member Steve Sample, who arranged bold, exultant brass on a slow-tempo melody, with rising layers of horns ramping up to fight tempo.

"Rammer Jammer"

To create "Rammer Jammer," cheerleaders and the Million Dollar Band, directed by James Ferguson, adapted Ole Miss' "Hotty Toddy," itself adapted from the "Highty Tighty" cheer at Virginia Tech.

UA cheerleading sponsor Kathleeen Cramer recounted that the Bama version was crafted on an early '80s bus ride, returning from a Mississippi game. Like "Roll Tide," the phrase "Hotty Toddy" carries numerous meanings, and like "Rammer Jammer," struck ears as a linking of syllables that sounded fun when belted in unison.

Though considered cheers, both "Rammer Jammer" and "Hotty Toddy" are actually shouted songs, backed by virtually the same music, swaggering horns and drums.

The title derived from that old campus magazine, and its rhyming "Yellowhammer" from the state bird. The northern flicker of the woodpecker family, with yellow colorings under its tail and underwings, is colloquially called Yellowhammer, after an American Civil War term describing the uniform trim for Alabama confederates.

"Rammer Jammer" starts with the brandish of fanfare, then shouted words "Hey (opponent)! Hey (opponent)!," echoed by triumphal horns. Drums pound in hard behind "We're gonna beat the hell out of you," pre-game, and, assuming a positive outcome, "We just beat the hell out of you" following the last whistle.

It concludes: "Rammer Jammer/Yellowhammer/Give 'em hell/Alabama."

Some heard that as taunting. Others objected to use of the word "hell." During his 1987-89 run as athletic director, former UA quarterback Steve Sloan banned "Rammer Jammer" as offensive. After he left, it briefly returned. But a 1994 NCAA report calling for a crackdown on fighting led then-AD Cecil "Hootie" Ingram to boot it again.

In 2005, the UA Student Government Association brought it to a vote, and not surprisingly, "Rammer Jammer" won with 98% yeses. Administration rode the wave.

Also not shockingly, the taunt has come back to haunt, as when Auburn or other opponents, successful for a Saturday, play the same horns and drums, but chanting "Hey, Alabama! We just beat the hell out of you! Rammer Jammer Yellowhammer, go to hell Alabama!"

Dixieland Delight

It's doubtful if "Dixieland Delight" even belongs with the other songs and cheers, being as there's no direct connection to the Capstone. It's played not by the Million Dollar Band, but with other pre-game recorded music, including, historically, a litany of odd choices such as "Deacon Blues," a snarky razz on UA's status from Steely Dan, "Sweet Home Alabama," the decidedly mixed-message anthem from Lynyrd Skynyrd's Floridians, and "The Tide Is High," in which Blondie's Debbie Harry bemoans, rather improbably, being friend-zoned.

"Dixieland Delight" was a No. 1 1983 hit for the band Alabama — Jacksonville State University students — written by Nashville's Ronnie Rogers, about traveling U.S. Route 11 West through Grainger County, Tennessee.

It begins:

"Rollin' down a backwoods Tennessee bywayOne arm on the wheelHoldin' my lover with the otherA sweet, soft, Southern thrill.Worked hard all week, got a little jingleOn a Tennessee Saturday nightCouldn't feel better, I'm togetherWith my Dixieland delight."

That got adapted by UA students with often-profane call-and-response, including "F(ornicate) Auburn." The chanted responses (in parentheses) go something like:

"Spend my dollar (ON BEER),Parked in a holler 'neath the mountain moonlight (ROLL TIDE),Hold her uptight (AGAINST THE WALL),Make a little lovin' (ALL NIGHT),A little turtle dovin' on a Mason Dixon night (F*** AUBURN),Fits my life (AND LSU), oh so right (AND TENNESSEE, TOO),My Dixieland Delight."

Other fans, officials and those who've never heard students at a football game before complained. After the end of the nationally-televised 2014 Auburn game, when students had chanted the F-word bits at the end of each line, clearly breaking the meter, UA's Ryan Majercik, assistant athletic director, under direction from AD Bill Battle, ordered it dropped from playlists.

In 2018, "Dixieland Delight" was restored, with caveats. Somewhat like Ed Sullivan insisting the Rolling Stones sing "Let's Spend Some Time Together" rather than "Let's Spend the Night Together," UA asked its students to substitute "Beat Auburn." Unlike Sullivan, UA is unlikely to exercise the power to ban students from its program.

Athletic Director Greg Byrne, in discussions with UA President Stuart Bell, UA Systems Chancellor Finis St. John IV, and students, crafted the compromise.

The return of "Dixieland Delight" was heralded by a fall 2018 video featuring Byrne; Terry Saban, wife of head coach Nick Saban; senior running back Damien Harris; and Price McGiffert Jr., SGA President. That "Dixieland Delight Done Right" video drew half a million views in its first day online.

Now when the song is played, in-house video boards display alternative chants, with "Roll Tide" suggested for the assaultive "against the wall," and "Beat Auburn" for the F-word.

Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: 'Dixieland Delight,' 'Rammer Jammer' were once banned at Alabama games