<p>What does “Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer” mean?</p>
<p>Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer is a line from a cheer, typically played when the Crimson Tide has put a game away. Specifically the Rammer Jammer was an old campus magazine at Alabama, and the yellowhammer is the state bird of Alabama. They are juxtaposed in the cheer primarily because they are among a very few words that rhyme (approximately) with Alabama. If Alabama has beaten, say, the Tigers, then fans will stand and sing:</p>
<p>Hey Tigers
Hey Tigers
We just beat the hell outta you!
Rammer Jammer Yellowhammer
Give 'em hell Alabama</p>
<p>I don’t know what the words mean, but if you look on youtube, you’ll see many clips of students singing this after various games.</p>
<p>Rammer Jammer is from a student newspaper a long time ago
and Yellow Hammer is the state bird.</p>
<p>Rammer Jammer actually comes from Ole Miss. It was adapted from “Hotty Toddy” when Alabama took their band director.</p>
<p>You mean when Bama HIRED their Ole Miss’ band director. LOL</p>
<p>My FIL actually has his original Rammer Jammer magazines from the 1940’s. You should see how those young girls are dressed. LOL!</p>
<p>Was copied from Ole Miss but it wasn’t because the band director came from Ole Miss. Alabama started using it in 1980 after playing Ole Miss in Jackson that year. The band director at that time was Dr. James Ferguson and he had been at Alabama since 1971.</p>
<p>I know Dr. James Ferguson Director of Bands at University of Alabama from 1971 to 1984. He was called “Doc” by the band members first but it spread all over campus before long. He was Director of Bands at Ole Miss from 1965 - 1970. I also know Dr. Ferguson’s last drum major at Ole Miss, Phil Nanney. They both have told me that the cheer Rammer Jammer came from Hotty Toddy, a cheer done at Ole Miss. The signal for the cheer is a great big “O” because it came from the Ole Miss cheer. It is more than an coincidence that the two cheers closely resemble each other, including the band music. They may have started using it after an Ole Miss game but Dr. Ferguson, also an alum of Ole Miss, was there before coming to Bama.</p>
<p>How does it rhyme? Do you say “Rammah Jammah Yellah Hammah”, or do you say “Alabammer”?</p>
<p>Ramma Jamma, Yella Hamma would be the pronunciation. </p>
<p>But wow someone had to dig long and hard to bring this thread back from the grave.</p>
<p>If you want to read one of the funniest, most insightful books ever on Tide nation, check out “Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Road Trip into the Heart of Fan Mania” by Warren St. John. While written about 7 years ago, it’s still a great read and has hilarious stories/anecdotes about some of the Tide’s most interesting fans. Highly recommended.</p>
<p>RTR</p>