"Hoggy Warty Hogwarts"[1] was the school song of Hogwarts.[2] It was typically performed by students at the Welcoming Feast at the start of a new school year.[2]
The song apparently had no set tune, tempo, or duration.[2] In 1991, Albus Dumbledore instructed students to simply "pick their favorite tune," conjuring an animated ribbon from the tip of his wand to the write the lyrics in the air.[2] This lead to everyone finishing at different times.[2] Fred and George Weasley, who chose to sing the song as a "a slow funeral march," were the very last to finish.[2]
Dumbledore called for the school song when he was "feeling particularly buoyant."[3] It was not performed after Harry Potter's first year due to times becoming darker.[3]
Lyrics
Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald,
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling,
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.[2]
Behind the scenes
The Hogwarts staff singing the Hymn.
- The song first appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. However, it was not included in the book's film adaptation.
- In film adaption of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, after Rubeus Hagrid says Harry Potter is soon to be "the youngest Triwizard champion there's ever been!", he, Ron Weasley, and Hermione sing the Hogwarts school song, just before Harry finds Barty Crouch Sr.'s dead body. The song is also featured in an earlier deleted scene where the students of Hogwarts sing it in order to welcome their guest from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute. As depicted in the deleted scene, Harry, Hermione and, bizarrely, Vincent Crabbe appear to enjoy singing it, while the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students appear uncomfortable.
- Despite the song not having a specific tune in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, in the deleted scene from the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the students seem to sing it as a canon in two, all in the same tune.
- The tune that the song is sung to in the the Goblet of Fire film was written by director Mike Newell.
- The last shot of the song in the Goblet of Fire film shows the lyrics "So we bid..." being sung, which were not in the original novel.
- One of the achievements for Wonderbook: Book of Spells is "Teach us something please," obtained after beating the Chapter 1 test.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone(First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (Cut from final edit)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film) (Sung in the final edit, and a cut scene)
Notes and references
- ↑ Pottermore - Features: "The wizarding songbook: a guide to Hogwarts greatest hits"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 7
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 F.A.Q. question] on J. K. Rowling Official Site (archived here via the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine])