“I've Been Working on the Railroad”

So goes the lyrics to “The Eyes of Texas,” the Longhorns’ fight song, which marries the melody from “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” with a decidedly different message.

The report also found that the composer of “The Eyes of Texas” borrowed the melody from “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad,” which was inspired by “The Levee Song,” a minstrel tune about using Black laborers to build levees across the South.

Written in 1903 and sung to the tune of "I’ve Been Working on the Railroad," "The Eyes of Texas" is an old standard in Longhorns country.

Written in 1903 and sung to the tune of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad,” “The Eyes of Texas” is an old standard in Longhorns country.

"The Eyes of Texas" was written in 1903 and was meant to be sung to the tune of "I’ve Been Working on the Railroad."