Sarkisian left no room for interpretation at his introductory press conference in January. Hartzell said he would meet with the football team Tuesday morning as they were the first major group to initiate the conversation. Many of them just stood out there, hands on hips, while some did the "Hook 'em Horns" hand gesture. 12 by reading a prepared statement about the song's importance while balancing his players' requests.Īfter Texas played Baylor on Oct, 24, the players voted to stay on the field, as requested by UT athletic director Chris Del Conte. Former coach Tom Herman started his Monday press conference on Oct. The locker room was divided, as some Black players demanded the song go instantly. Photos of Ehlinger appearing to stand alone in the Cotton Bowl ricocheted around the UT universe, sparking a massive backlash and emails directed at Hartzell. Then against Oklahoma, UT quarterback Sam Ehlinger was one of the few players that stayed on the field with his "Horns Up" while the song played and fans sang. It was thought in September this would be the new normal. The Longhorns jogged off the field the first two home games and ignored the song playing over the loudspeakers. Some have come to believe those lyrics are a reference for slave owners to watch Black people. Johnson’s family records state that those words were “a direct statement to the student body (overwhelmingly white at that time) that the elders of the state and the previous generations are watching them and expecting them to do great things with their education.” The report says it was “a popular melody that many UT students already knew.”Īccording to Johnson’s extensive family records, the lyrics “Do not think you can escape them/At night or early in the morn” had specific purpose, the report states. Sinclair drew his inspiration from Prather, who said often “the Eyes of Texas are upon you.” The tune borrows a melody from “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad,” a noted slave work song. Johnson believed that UT needed a school song that “students could sing as proudly as the students of Harvard or Princeton sang their school songs,” the report states. The lyrics were penned by UT student John Lang Sinclair, a yearbook editor and UT band member, at the urging of Lewis Johnson, a director of the University Chorus. “But if the phrase was as common with Lee as Taylor asserted, one would expect some supporting evidence.” “Absence of evidence, of course, is not proof of absence,” UT’s report states.
#Eyes of texas lyrics verification#
Taylor tied Lee’s words to Prather, but there is no supporting verification in transcripts from Prather’s speech. Retired UT engineering Dean Thomas Taylor wrote about how UT President William Prather had given a speech to incoming medical students on Nov. The anecdote was traced back to a memoir published in 1938. Researchers at Washington and Lee University could find no evidence that Lee said that as the school’s president in the 1860s, the report states. Lee regarding the phrase “the Eyes of the South are upon you,” which has long been thought as the song’s lyrical inspiration.
The committee found no direct link to Confederate Gen. “Courageously confronting your history, you don't get to say, ‘What starts here changes the world,’ and just mean it for things that are comfortable,” Reddick said in an interview.
The hope is that athletes go back and talk as individual teams about how they want to proceed. The report was presented to all UT athletes on Tuesday, two sources said, and they were allowed to ask questions. That message undercuts what’s been coming from UT athletics, as athletic director Chris Del Conte asked each team to stand together on the field during “The Eyes.” Football coach Steve Sarkisian also said in January that "we’re going to sing that song, proudly.” But nobody’s going to be required or mandated to stay on the field, or sing the song.” In an interview with Longhorn Network, Hartzell said, “My hope is that we’ll get to a point where people feel good about staying on the field and honoring each other. An early version of the report given to some media outlets was 95 pages the final report issued publicly was 59. UT officials are hopeful that anyone with a passing interest in the topic will read the report and make their own determinations.
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