'Wake up the echoes:' Why Notre Dame slogan has become part of football team's identity

In Notre Dame's long, storied history of college football excellence, four words stand out to Fighting Irish faithful:

"Cheer, cheer, for old Notre Dame / Wake up the echoes cheering her name."

Notre Dame fans have belted these lyrics for over 100 years as a staple of the "Notre Dame Victory March," the Fighting Irish fight song. The second stanza, in particular, is an indelible part of the university's identity.

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"Wake up the echoes" is such a common rallying cry among the Fighting Irish and their fans, it is the title of numerous histories of one of the most storied teams in college football. There is a "Wake Up The Echoes" book, a "Wake Up the Echoes" podcast sanctioned by the school, and a "Wake Up The Echoes" documentary focused on the highs of the team's history.

It's an expression Notre Dame fans will frequently hear outside of the stadium after a game, as Fighting Irish fans celebrate wins. And with how well-traveled Irish fans are, it's likely to be heard at home or on the road.

Notre Dame fight song lyrics

The "Notre Dame Victory March" — first performed by the Notre Dame marching band in 1909, per the Notre Dame website — contains the lyrics "wake up the echoes," which is now an expression that permeates almost all kinds of Notre Dame media and history.

The lyrics in full are:

Rally sons and daughters of Notre Dame:Sing her glory and sound her fame,Raise her Gold and BlueAnd cheer with voices true:Rah, rah, for Notre DameWe will fight in ev-ry game,Strong of heart and true to her nameWe will ne’er forget herAnd will cheer her everLoyal to Notre Dame

Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame,Wake up the echoes cheering her name,Send a volley cheer on high,Shake down the thunder from the sky.What though the odds be great or smallOld Notre Dame will win over all,While her loyal sons and daughtersMarch on to victory.

Many schools claim to have the most celebrated fight songs in the country. Notre Dame is one of the few schools that can back that claim up. The Irish website quoted ESPN college football historian Beano Cook, who wrote:

"Did you know the ‘Victory March’ is the fourth-most famous song in America? The National Anthem is No. 1, although nobody knows the words to the second verse. Then there’s ‘God Bless America,’ ‘White Christmas,’ and the ‘Victory March.’

"You have to have Kate Smith sing ‘God Bless America,’ Bing Crosby singing ‘White Christmas,’ and you have to be at Notre Dame to appreciate the ‘Victory March.'”

What does 'wake up the echoes' mean?

Ultimately, wake up the echoes sounds as lyrical as it does because it is, literally, a lyric.

It is incorporated into all types of Notre Dame media. With Notre Dame being a Catholic school, it is religious in nature, and thus evokes a lot of imagery of the spirit. On the school's education site, it writes: "Wake up the mind. Wake up the spirit. Wake up the echoes."

In a more football-related sense, the expression is used to harken back to Notre Dame teams of old: Knute Rockne, Dan Leahy, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz, all coaches of legend who have helmed the Golden Domers.

Notre Dame tradition runs deep, and Marcus Freeman and his squad are looking to wake up the echoes once more. As the Fighting Irish seek their first national championship since 1988, the voices are getting louder.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Notre Dame's 'Wake up the echoes' slogan, explained: What to know