Your Alma Mater

In the mist of our fair city,

reared against the sky,

proudly stands our Alma Mater  as the years go by.

Forward ever be our watchward, conquer and prevail

Hail to thee our Alma Mater Newton High all hail.

 "Annie Lisle" is the name of an 1857 ballad by H. S. Thompson and published by Oliver Ditson & Co. It is about the death of a young maiden.  The song might have slipped into obscurity had the tune not been adopted by countless colleges, universities, and high schools worldwide as their respective alma mater songs.

The first college to have used the tune in a spirit song seems to have been Cornell University   In 1870, students Archibald Weeks and Wilmot Smith wrote "Far Above Cayuga's Waters" and used an adaptation of Thompson's melody.  Many other colleges, almost certainly influenced by Cornell's version, have since created their own renditions, including Newton County High School .