"Blue Eagle, The King"

I can still remember my first ever Big Blue Eagle Cheer Rally back in 1999. I was a high school freshman, a product of a small, tight-knit learning institution in Don Antonio Heights. Unlike most of my classmates who came from the Ateneo Grade School, I stood out like a sore thumb. I had a hard time taking in all the foreign notions of Ateneo Spirit. The cheers, in particular, were unintelligible jibberish I found difficult to appreciate.

Soon enough, the school spirit rubbed off on me, probably because of all the hurdling and sprinting I did donning the old Blue and White. Or maybe I was just brainwashed. Save for the Alma Mater song, I still found the cheers and most of the school songs pretty much alien. 

In light of my ignorance of the other school songs, I wondered where those "Ateneo Will Fight Today" tarps came from. A quick Google search answered my query. In the midst of last year's UAAP cage wars, I also found the lines "Fly high, Blue Eagle Fly and carry our cry across the sky" perfect for Facebook status messages and tweets. I developed a certain fondness for "Blue Eagle The King."

The song traces its origins from the pre-World War II Ateneo and the late Raul Manglapus. Back in those days, local schools usually borrowed the cheers and songs from its colonial counterparts in America, according to the University Archives website. "Blue Eagle The King" was unique since it was completely home grown. 

I scoured the web for copies of the song. I found a Youtube clip of Eddie Mercado and the Executives Band performing the song:

Blue Eagle The King

by Raul Manglapus (1939)

Fly high!
Blue Eagle fly
And carry our cry
Across the sky!
Cast your shadow below
Swoop down on the foe,
Then sweep up the field away!

Fly high!
Over the trees
Make known to the breeze
Our victories!
Spread wide each wing
For you are the King
Blue Eagle the King!

Oh the Eagle's the King of them all
And his blue feathers never will fall
For the Blue and the White
And the Eagle in Flight
Ateneo will fight today!

Fly high!
Over the trees
Make known to the breeze
Our victories!
Spread wide each wing
For you are the King
Blue Eagle the King!

Source:
Ateneo de Manila University Archives