By Michael Kerbleski     
Sandia Prep Times Staff Writer

We’ll stand with you,
The Maroon and the Blue.
And we’ll see you through,
The Maroon and the Blue
In victory or in defeat we’ll always be true
To the Maroon and the Blue.

--Chorus to the new school song, “The Maroon and the  Blue”

 
With his rocking school song aimed at boosting school spirit, English teacher Kent Wall envisions athletes storming the court while students cheer and the chorus to “The Maroon and the Blue” blasts over the speaker system.

During the 2008 state tournament, soccer coaches Tommy Smith and Jon Toman noticed that students needed something more than routine cheering to support their team. They approached Wall looking for a song that could be played and sung at school events.

After that, Wall went home and wrote the first verse.

“I recorded it with a friend that is a guitar player named Chris Nolan, and he helped me record it in his home studio,” Wall said. “At the end we put some bagpipes in. We call it the ‘Braveheart’ ending.”

The song is now finished and begging for an excuse to be played for the student body.

“It’s great,” Toman said. “I think Mr. Wall did an excellent job. He came in and played it and I could envision the whole school singing it.”

Inspired by a hybrid of Irish music and rock, Wall considers the “The Maroon and the Blue” recording to be a demo.

“What I want to see ultimately is a recording with kids singing it,” he said. “I see hundreds of people singing ‘The Maroon and the Blue,’ but not like a chorus, but a crowd.” 

Headmaster Dick Heath also wants to see students chiming in. There is no immediate plan for using the song, but Heath said the next step likely will be having the music and athletic departments listen to it and see if they want to do something with it.

“Who knows where this will go,” Wall said.