Life, 1929-05-10 · page 12 of 44
Life — May 10, 1929 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine celebrates college culture, specifically an "Alma Mater Song" from Bullion U. (likely a fictional or generic reference). The content mixes nostalgia with gentle satire of collegiate traditions. The illustrations depict college life: students playing games, drinking, and socializing. The "Pass, Friend!" dialogue is a humorous drunk exchange questioning someone's musical taste and memory of old songs, culminating in "Let's get drunk!"—satirizing student revelry. The bottom cartoon shows two men with a fishing rod, one asking the other to "pick out the Old Gold, Fred!"—likely referencing Old Gold cigarettes, a popular brand of the era, inserted as a casual product mention. The overall tone is affectionate mockery of undergraduate excess and tradition, with vintage advertising integration typical of *Life*'s satirical style.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Alma Mater Song As recalled by an old grad who had a little trouble with English, French, mathematics, history—but what a foot. ball player! Come all ye sons of Bullion U., We'll sing a song for dear old Bates! O lift each voice, let praises ring To dear old Crampton’s gates. Long will we cherish thee, Forever be true, Children of Lingley, steadfast and firm, We are from Tasker U.! Rah! Rah! Rah! Keester! Keester! Our hearts instill With old Kaskagee on the hill. So raise each heart and every hand To Twining’s fame throughout the land. So staunch, so true, The Green, the White, the Gold, the Purple, the Azure, the Red, the Black, the Blue. —Tup. “Let's play ‘Cornet Bridge’.” “Whaddya mean—Cornet, Bridge’?” “Play yer ace and I'll trumpet. “I'm throwing a ong party tonight’, confided the wrestling champ to the sports writers. “Oh pshaw! We've muffed him, and him a ball player. Won't he give us the ha ha?” Pass, Friend! Bye: Do you like music? Low: No! Bye: Have you a weakness for quartettes? Low: Heaven forbid! Bye: Can you remember “Sweet Adeline” or any other old favorites? Low: My mind’s a blank. Basy: Fine! Let's get drunk! Sometimes we sit and wonder if the accordion was invented by a fisherman who couldn’t make up his mind about the size of the one that got away. “Watch me pick out the Old Gold, Fred!” comicbooks.com