Roll Tide

Roll Tide (or Roll Tide Roll) is the rallying cry for the Alabama Crimson Tide athletic teams.[1][2] The trademark to the phrase is claimed by the University of Alabama, with licensing and marketing by The Collegiate Licensing Company.[3][4]

History

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The origins of 'Roll Tide' are unclear. From 1892 to 1906, commentators popularized the 'Thin Red Line' nickname for the university team, later replaced by 'Crimson Tide'.[5] The university fight song originally contained the line "Roll to vic-try", later replaced with the phrase roll tide.[5]

Dr. Dorothy Worden-Chambers attributes 'roll tide' as a "cultural keyword... emblematic of the culture of the [University of Alabama]."[5]

The CSS Alabama was a very successful Commerce Raider during the Civil War. Many songs were written about it, but one of the more popular songs was Roll, Alabama, Roll - which was a popular English sea chanty. It seems that this might have been the inspiration for the Crimson Tide's rallying cry.[citation needed][original research?]

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Music

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References

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  1. ^ Davis, Terry (1999). Roll Tide: The Alabama Crimson Tide Story. Creative Education. p. 3. ISBN 0-88682-975-5.
  2. ^ Moran, Malcolm (January 2, 1993). "Roll Tide! Alabama Dethrones No. 1 Miami". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  3. ^ Faulk, Kent (November 17, 2013). "'Rammer Jammer,' 'Roll Tide' and 41 other things that University of Alabama can sue you over". AL.com. Advance Publications. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  4. ^ "Licensing". The Official Home of The University of Alabama Athletics: Crimson Tide (www.rolltide.com). The University of Alabama. Archived from the original on May 4, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Testino, Laura (September 15, 2016). "Can I get a roll tide: The history of the popular phrase". The Crimson White. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  6. ^ "Roll Tide Lyrics". Archived from the original on 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  7. ^ Flanagan, Ben (2016-09-23). "Listen to Los Angeles folk rock band Dawes' sweet new Alabama-inspired song 'Roll Tide'". Archived from the original on 2017-08-22. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
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