From These Roots

The first known alma mater for North Greenville was “The Old Mountain School,” which first appeared in The Moonshiner yearbook of 1925. The Old Mountain School lyrics were written by H.C. Hester, the 9th principal of the school, and they were sung to the tune of “The Old Rugged Cross.” From what we can tell, “The Old Mountain School” was only used for a few years while Mr. Hester was principal.

In the 1944 yearbook, The Aurora, the line “at the foothills of the mountains ‘neath the azure skies stands our noble alma mater as the years go by” was printed, but there is no reference to this line being a part of an alma mater. The next year, in the 1945 Aurora yearbook, the entire song is included and labeled as the school’s alma mater. We are unsure who wrote the lyrics, but the family tradition shared with us by NGU Chemistry professor, Dr. Ronald Marks, says that it was written by his grandmother, Ruth Neves Pollard. Ruth Neves Pollard was an alumna of North Greenville Baptist Academy, a niece of North Greenville founder Benjamin Neves, and she later returned to North Greenville Junior College as a music instructor.

The North Greenville alma mater is set to the tune of “Annie Lisle”, an 1857 ballad by Boston, Massachusetts songwriter H. S. Thompson. The tune became a popular choice for school alma maters even though the original song lyrics were about the death of a young maiden. Other universities that use the tune for their alma maters include Vanderbilt University, Cornell University, the University of Georgia, the University of Alabama, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The original lyrics of “Annie Lisle”:

Down where the waving willows
‘Neath the sunbeams smile,
Shadow’d o’er the murm’ring waters
Dwelt sweet Annie Lisle;
Pure as the forest lily,
Never tho’t of guile
Had its home within the bosom
Of sweet Annie Lisle.

Chorus:

Wave willows, murmur waters,
Golden sunbeams, smile!
Earthly music cannot waken
Lovely Annie Lisle.
Sweet came the hallow’d chiming
Of the Sabbath bell,
Borne on the morning breezes
Down the woody dell.
On a bed of pain and anguish
Lay dear Annie Lisle,
Chang’d were the lovely features,
Gone the happy smile.

Chorus

“Raise me in your arms, O Mother;
Let me once more look
On the green and waving willows
And the flowing brook.
Hark! the sound of angel music
From the choirs above!
Dearest mother, I am going;
Truly God is love.”

Chorus

The alma mater that first appeared in the written record in 1944 has remained the North Greenville alma mater ever since. The lyrics of our alma mater are below:

At the foothills of the mountains
‘Neath the azure sky,
Stands our noble Alma Mater
As the years go by.

Excelsior is our motto,
Greatness without fail.
Hail to thee, our Alma Mater
Hail, North Greenville, Hail!

For our ideals and traditions
Praises still are rung,
Cherished as in yesterday
When our school was young.

When in pleasures and in trials
We depart from thee,
Worthy sons and worthy daughters
May we prove to be.