Electromagnetic Hymn of the Republic
Lyrics from the MIT Songbook
As performed at the All Tech Sing, Burton-Conner House, Early 1960's (Ed. by WFS)
Many thanks to Martin Romeo for providing the lyrics!
Tune: Battle Hymn of the Republic, by William Steffe (1856)
Midi file by anonymous, ed. by WFS
(Click here to stop music playback)

Note: A dash after a syllable indicate that it is extended over two notes. Underlines indicate emphasis.
IMPORTANT: These words are as recalled from memory. If you have a copy of the MIT Songbook, or remember the words differently, please contact me: wsmith@haverford.edu

1. God noticed that the universe was starting to run down,
So He turned to James Clark Maxwell with a highly puzzled frown
He- said Jim, Help! For if you don’t, then terrible 'twill be
As the universe fades to max'mum entropy!

Refrain:
Glory, Glory, dear old Maxwell
Glory, Glory, dear old Maxwell
Glory, Glory, dear old Maxwell,
His light goes shining on!

 2. So Maxwell said to God, “I thought that You were really bright!”
When I set the system up I fixed the velocity of light
For- c equals the inverse root of epsilon mu naught
And light will still shine though theology will not!
[Refrain]
3. Jim said to God, “Now don’t you see displacement can’t diverge,
Un-less there is some charge of course and that must be the word
For H is solenoidal for its curves must all be closed
And light goes shining on!”
[Refrain]		 4. If you take the time derivative of mag induction B,
If you're lucky you will get the negative of curl of E.
Del cross H gives current density plus partial D dt
And light goes shining on!
[Refrain]
5. If you integrate the E and H around the proper loops
Take a couple of derivatives and give a coupl' o' whoops
You get the wave equation and then soon you have some light
And that light goes shining on
[Refrain]		 6. So he solved reflection problems at a dielectric boundary
And refraction that had theory in a big corpuscle quandary
He said the normal parts of B and D must smoothly change
And tangential parts of E and H must surely be the same.
[Refrain]
7. There was a man at MIT who really saw the light
When he found the Jim’s equations made his pictures turn out right
Now- our- Harold’s strobes are bravely placed against the night
And those strobes keep flashing, On and off and On and off ....
[Refrain]		 8. So today all sophomore students take course 8.03 here
They all know that 8.03 surely takes it in the ear!
So those blasted MEQs, they still command a bit of fear
As Frisch goes talking on and on and on and on ..
[Refrain]

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James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879), his wife Katherine, and their dog. Maxwell was well-known for explaining his theories out loud to his dog. Maxwell was the most important theoretical physicist of the 1800s. He also is the first known person to write a physics song!

As detailed in this song, he created the theory of classical electromagnetism, and showed that light is an electromagnetic wave. The four "Maxwell's Equations" which describe the relationships between electricity and magnetism, are listed here. Verse 3 refers to two of them: Gauss's Law (equivalent to Coulomb's Law for the force between two charges) and the magnetic version of Gauss's Law, which states that there are no magnetic monopoles (i.e. that north and south poles are always found together). Verse 4 refers to the other two Maxwell's equations: the first two lines are Faraday's Law (which says that a changing magnetic field creates an electric field, and so is the basis for generating electricity), while the second two lines are Ampere's Law (which says that a changing electric field creates a magnetic field). The combination of these two laws lead to the realization that light is a self-sustaining wave, in which a changing magnetic field creates a changing electric field, which in turn creates a changing magnetic field, etc. Verse 6 refers to boundary conditions at an interface, as described mathematically here. Maxwell also made hugely important contributions in thermodynamics.
Harold "Doc" Edgerton (1903-1990), star of verse 7, and inventor of the strobe light, high-speed photography, and side-scan sonar.
One of Doc's most famous images.

 

 

The last verse refers to Prof. David Frisch, a fellow of the American Physical Society. He worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II, but later became a strong proponent of nuclear disarmament and arms control.

The verse also refers to "course 8.03". At MIT, as is fitting, all the buildings are referred to by numbers, as are all the departments. Physics is course 8, and course 8.03 used to be a sophomore-level course in electricity and magnetism. Since these lyrics were written, the MIT curriculum has changed. The closest equivalent is 8.02, which is a spring semester freshman course, and therefore probably not quite as advanced as the old 8.03. You can watch the entire set of lectures on video, as delivered by the fantastic Professor Walter Lewin, a most dynamic lecturer.

 

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