Fly, Eagles Fly lyrics: A short history of the Eagles fight song
Conceived as fight song, evolved into an anthem, and now gone to the dogs: "Fly, Eagles, fly …"
You know the words by now (or at least most of them):
Fly, Eagles Fly!
On The Road To Victory! (Fight! Fight! Fight!)
Fight, Eagles fight!
Score a touchdown 1, 2, 3! (1! 2! 3!)
Hit 'em low!
Hit 'em high!
And watch our Eagles fly!
Fly, Eagles Fly!
On The Road To Victory!
E-A-G-L-E-S!
Eagles!
Conceived as a fight song, evolved into an anthem, now gone to the dogs (read to the end).
In less than two weeks, the Eagles will take their third shot at a Super Bowl win. Already, the song is ubiquitous.
Churches. Texas Walmarts. Cribs.
The creation of the classic battle cry is credited to Philadelphia ad men Charles J. Borrelli and Roger Courtland in the 1950s. Originally called the "Eagles Victory Song," it lasted five minutes and didn't go "Fly, Eagles, Fly."
It went "Fight, Eagles Fight," which is still a part of the song, but is often left out of the street versions.
In the `60s, it was performed inside the stadium by a 200-member marching band, calling itself the Eagles Sound of Brass.
But by the late `80s, the song had fallen out of favor with the Eagles faithful.
It was rechristened in the late '90s, adding the notorious first stanza, as well as a slower tempo and new key. It was also shortened to 33 seconds, punctuated at the end with the spelling of the team's name.
And it was given to a new ensemble, the four-member Eagles Pep Band. The song was taught to tailgaters, and played in the stadium after touchdowns, its lyrics splashed across the scoreboards for those who might not be able to remember.
In 2014, it was named one of the 10 top NFL fight songs by Billboard. "Super-short and instantly memorable, 'Fly, Eagles, Fly' works more like a great jingle than a great fight song. There's not much musical pizzazz, but everybody at an Eagles game knows all the words," wrote Billboard's Jason Lipshutz.
It has been covered from everyone from the Roots …
… to the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Not to mention this singular classic, put together by Inquirer and Daily News artist Cynthia Greer, with help from SoundBible and inspiration from defensive end Chris Long and those great underdog masks we've been seeing.