Hagbarth Bue, a member of the Class of 1911, was interviewed in 1987 about how St. Olaf’s fight song originated. According to Bue, the 1911 class octet was practicing a Norwegian folk song, Jeg Har Ute Pulten, which was to be sung at half time during a basketball game. Due to logistics of teaching two audiences separated by a basketball court and the shortage of time, they simply substituted “Um! Yah! Yah!” for the words of the chorus.
The first published account of Um! Yah! Yah! appears in the combined 1913–14–15 Viking yearbook (p. 213, under the title Jeg Har Ute Pulten). St. Olaf is the only American college or university whose fight song is sung in 3/4, or waltz, time.
We come from St. Olaf, we sure are the real stuff.
Our team is the cream of the colleges great.
We fight fast and furious, our team is injurious.
Tonight Carleton College will sure meet its fate.
Um! Yah! Yah!, Um! Yah! Yah!
Um! Yah! Yah!, Um! Yah! Yah!
Um! Yah! Yah!, Um! Yah! Yah!
Um! Yah! Yah! Yah!
Um! Yah! Yah!, Um! Yah! Yah!
Um! Yah! Yah!, Um! Yah! Yah!
Um! Yah! Yah!, Um! Yah! Yah!
Um! Yah! Yah! Yah!
Sing Along
Listen to the song as performed by the St. Olaf Band and Viking Chorus.