Bright College Days
Read Bright College Days lyrics by Tom Lehrer on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.
The page facts to cite before the commentary
Use this page for the lyric text, linked artist context, and any LyroVerse editor's note attached to the song. Listener comments remain user-generated and should not be treated as the primary source.
Bright College Days
The lyric stays readable and compact here; the note and related paths sit nearby so you do not lose the song while looking for context.
<applause>
Thank you, for my first encore I'd like to turn to a type of song that people like myself find ourselves subjected to with increasing frequency as time goes on, and that is the college alma mater. You'll find yourself at a reunion of grads, and old undergrads, and eh... somebody will start proking out one of these things and everyone will gradually join in. Each in his own key, of course. Until the place is just soggy with nostalgia. Well, a typical such song might be called Bright College Days, and might go like this.
Bright college days, oh, carefree days that fly,
To thee we sing with our glasses raised on high.
Let's drink a toast as each of us recalls
Ivy-covered professors in ivy-covered halls.
Turn on the spigot,
Pour the beer and swig it,
And gaudeamus igit-ur.
Here's to parties we tossed,
To the games that we lost,
We shall claim that we won them some day.
To the girls young and sweet,
To the spacious back seat
Of our roommate's beat up Chevrolet.
To the beer and benzedrine,
To the way that the dean
Tried so hard to be pals with us all.
To excuses we fibbed,
To the papers we cribbed
From the genius who lived down the hall.
To the tables down at Morey's (wherever that may be)
Let us drink a toast to all we love the best.
We will sleep through all the lectures,
And cheat on the exams,
And we'll pass, and be forgotten with the rest.
Oh, soon we'll be out amid the cold world's strife.
Soon we'll be sliding down the razor blade of life.
<laughter>
Ready?
<laughter>
But as we go our sordid sep'rate ways,
We shall ne'er forget thee, thou golden college days.
Hearts full of youth,
Hearts full of truth,
Six parts gin to one part vermouth.
What this page can answer fast
Who performs "Bright College Days"?
Tom Lehrer performs "Bright College Days", and this lyric page sits inside the Tom Lehrer catalog on LyroVerse.
Are there related songs to explore after "Bright College Days"?
Yes. The related section below points to Pollution and The Masochism Tango with a short reason for opening each page next.
Where can I find more songs by Tom Lehrer?
Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through Tom Lehrer's lyric pages.
Interpretations, questions, and corrections for this song
Interpretations, questions, memories, and correction notes live together here. The room stays noindex while the best insights are reviewed.
What people are saying
No listener comments on Bright College Days yet.
A strong comment here is specific: the phrase you keep hearing, the mood you come back for, or the reason this song stays in rotation.
Sign in to post the first listener note. Reporting stays open to everyone.