New Rock Version Of D-Rah

(above) DU's school song "D-Rah" has been updated and posted on YouTube

The idea for a new version of "D-Rah" was the brainchild of University of Denver alum Darcy Kimmich, who is a big DU hockey fan. She convinced her musically oriented boss to do a rock track of DU's Fight Song. LetsGoDU readers are the first members of the public to see the video.

The lyrics were recorded by four current DU students over December break. Kimmich and her boss had the music track and lyrics mixed and the type set into a video.

So far the video and song have languished in the DU Athletic Department since January. It seems like they don't like it, but since very few staffers over there are DU grads, we wanted to get input from the DU Community.

Do you like the video or hate it. Could you see it being played at DU Athletic events? Would you like to see it played at DU Athletic events?

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

just as long as long as they don't use those annoying voice echo/reverb things that are on almost every song lately....

Anonymous said...

I love it! It's fun and modern!

achsdu17 said...

Defiantly not a fan of it.

Anonymous said...

Nice job; I give an An A for effort; but how do you expect to be allowed to have that played at a DU-run event; short of Boone bringing in a boom box to a hockey or BB game; or driving by in his car with a killer stereo turned up all the way?
I personally would like to see it with a little more crunch & metal overtones..... but it's ok. be forewarned though - "Messing" with official school fight songs is a touchy area from what I've seen.

Shram said...

Not a fan. and, I don't see them expecting the crowd to sing along with that instead of the regular song, seems a little fast and hard to follow.

Amy said...

Little too much pop and not enough rock in my opinion. And the melody was completely taken out of the whole song. It just doesn't have the feeling of a school song.

Anonymous said...

My teenaged son said it's "cool." He liked it.

puck swami said...

I would never want to see this replace our school fight song (which was written in 1916) and is known by generations of older alumni, and which we've worked hard to revive with students and young alumni and hockey fans in recognizing the tune and words.

That said, having a modern rock version is interesting as an additional song but not a replacement song.... At Michigan they have a ragtime version of the "Victors" which is pretty cool.

DenverGoldJersey said...

Not a big fan of the new version.
Plus it would make the band even more unnecessary which would be bad. We need to keep the song the band can play.
Basically I would rather have the band than this.

puck swami said...

By the way, the old D-Rah is pretty similar (in parts) to "Hail Purdue" which was written around the same time (1913).

Listen to 'Hail Purdue' at around the 54 second mark:
http://fightmusic.com/mp3/big10/Purdue__Hail_Purdue.mp3

My hope is to see the fight song played was the team comes on the ice, after goals, and when the team needs a lift. It would be great to hear it played by a 50-100 piece band at top volume...

Aluuum said...

Hey guys, we have succeded in killing the chicken. This improves our chances of getting Boone as D.U.'s official maskot .We have created a vacuam and it's much easier to move into a vacuam. my best guess is about two years out.

Let's not dilute our Boone effort by introducing another battle with the faculty.Don't divide your army. Ask Gearge Washington.

Anonymous said...

Love it as an addition, but not replacement of the traditional fight song.

Anonymous said...

Yeah while we teeny bop our way to the playoffs, Wisco, Minnesota, and others will be freaking the hell out of everyone with their Viking chants.

I vote no.

old pio said...

Uh, no. DU's fight song is the D-Rah. That's not what this is. This sounds like a radio promo for the US-40 Drag Strip. Puck Swami's right, DU needs a bigger, more powerful pep band that plays the D-Rah at all the appropriate times. That bigger pep band could also play the Alma Mater on Saturday nights as the players take a curtain call before the student section.

Anonymous said...

Wow, somebody really really wasted their time with this. I think it's absolutely awful and so does every other student I've talked to.

Anonymous said...

I like it! It's catchy, with a cool 80's guitar sound, at least to my ear. They also did not overdo it by doing the entire song.

It would be a definite improvement over the music DU uses for its Pioneer Vision highlights.

Anonymous said...

Have you ever heard the Dallas Stars "fight song" that Pantera did? That's what we need - something with that much balls. And I agree - anything other than D-rah would NEVER fly with the Alums and the current Administrators.... but there certainly can be student versions; Hell - you already got a Student version of a Mascot, and that seems to be working out. Song needs to be heavy metal. And if you're goiong to do a flash video for it, you need to have girls/cheerleaders on it..... lets be real.

Anonymous said...

I like it. But, I'm not a DU alum so the traditional fight song doesn't do much for me. It seems like playing both would work. The traditional played by the band during TV timeouts, and the new one before a crucial power play.

dggoddard said...

Thanks for the input so far. We're going to pass these suggestions on to the people who produced the video, the Athletic Department and the students who are interested in this project on Friday.

If you have additional suggestions, comments or ideas keep them coming.

Personally I like the video and its incredible that people are doing projects like this. "D-Rah" was mothballed for well over 25 years at DU. I never heard the song as a student in the '80s and its comeback is great to see.

vizoroo said...

Not impressed.
Like D Rah played through twice. First regular speed and second time fast. Both times start with D-rah