DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about John Lang Sinclair — and friend, this one's got a tune you already know. November 26, 1879. A boy is born who will one day write a song so catchy, so relentlessly Texas, that people across the nation would mistake it for the official state song.
That boy is John Lang Sinclair, and he's got no idea yet what's comin'. By 1899, Sinclair is a student at the University of Texas in Austin. He's got an aptitude for music — the marker says so plain — and when the first UT band is formed in 1900, he's right there in it.
He joins the Glee Club too. Now, here's where fate starts clearing its throat. It's 1903, and the student head of the Glee Club, a man named Lewis Johnson, turns to Sinclair and says something along the lines of: write us a school song, would you?
Sinclair obliges. His first attempt is called 'The Jolly Students of Varsity.' We'll just let that one rest in peace. His second attempt, though — set to the tune of 'I've Been Working on The Railroad' — is something else entirely.
That one is 'The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You.' Now, where does a line like that come from? The marker tells us. UT President William L.
Prather had been a student at Washington College — later known as Washington and Lee University — and he had often heard Robert E. Lee himself admonish students with the words: 'The Eyes of The South Are Upon You.' Prather altered that saying for use at UT. Sinclair borrowed it for his song.
Three steps. Three men. One unforgettable line.
The song has its debut at a minstrel show — held at Austin's Hancock Opera House, of all places, staged to benefit the UT track team. It is an instant success. Sinclair graduates in 1904 and heads back to his family's dairy farm in eastern Bexar County, maybe thinking the song is behind him.
It isn't. Not even close. President Prather dies in 1905.
And his family — his family — requests a performance of 'The Eyes of Texas' at his funeral. The song had come full circle to the very man who'd helped inspire it. Sinclair eventually moves to New York City, where he and his wife Stella Anderson of San Antonio — herself a UT graduate — are active in the New York Texas Exes' Association.
The song keeps spreading. It gets so popular nationwide that people genuinely confuse it with the official state song of Texas. Then come the copyright battles.
Years of them. The University of Texas finally acquires the rights in the 1980s. John Lang Sinclair dies January 4, 1947.
And according to the university magazine The Alcalde, the chimes atop the UT tower play 'The Eyes of Texas' during his funeral in San Antonio. A song he'd revised over the years — the words changed from the original version — but the spirit, the marker says, remained the same. And at the dawn of the 21st century, when this marker was placed in the year 2000, its popularity was still going strong.
A dairy farm boy from eastern Bexar County. A borrowed phrase. A railroad tune.
Sometimes that's all it takes to write something Texas never lets go of.
What the marker says
(November 26, 1879 - January 4, 1947) In 1899, John Lang Sinclair became a student at the University of Texas (UT) in Austin. The first UT band was formed in 1900 and Sinclair, possessing an aptitude for music, joined it as well as the Glee Club. The student head of the Glee Club, Lewis Johnson, urged Sinclair to write a school song in 1903. His first attempt was "The Jolly Students of Varsity." His second, to the tune of "I've Been Working on The Railroad," was "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You." UT President William L. Prather, formerly a student at Washington College (later Washington and Lee University), had often heard Robert E. Lee admonish his students, "The Eyes of The South Are Upon You." Prather altered the saying for use at UT, and Sinclair borrowed it for his song. "The Eyes of Texas," first performed at a minstrel show at Austin's Hancock Opera House to benefit the UT track team, was an instant success. Sinclair graduated in 1904 and returned to his family's dairy farm in eastern Bexar County. When Prather died in 1905, his family requested a performance of "The Eyes of Texas" at his funeral. Sinclair moved to New York City, where he and his wife, Stella Anderson of San Antonio (also a UT graduate) were active in the New York Texas Exes' Association. The song was so popular throughout the nation that many confused it with the official state song of Texas. After years of copyright battles, the UT acquired the rights to it in the 1980s. According to the university magazine "The Alcalde," the chimes atop the UT tower played "The Eyes of Texas" during Sinclair's San Antonio funeral. Though he revised the words from the original version, the spirit of the song remained the same. Its popularity continues at the dawn of the 21st century. (2000)