The Eyes of Texas

Students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the university sing the song at Texas Longhorns sports games, before the fireworks and other events.

[2] The song made its public debut as the last number at a Glee Club minstrel show, where it was met by the student audience with laughter and applause as a joke on President Prather's admonition.

[4][5] When singing the song, participants generally raise their right arm with their hand making the Hook 'em Horns symbol of The university.

[5] A recording of "The Eyes of Texas" was played over the Rose Bowl public-address system when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Buffalo Bills to win Super Bowl XXVII, while Madison Square Garden organist Ray Castoldi played it when the Houston Rockets defeated the New York Knicks in the seventh game of the 1994 NBA Finals to clinch Texas' first NBA championship.

[9] It is common practice that the last line, "Til Gabriel blows his horn", is sung and played to a slightly slower tempo than the rest of the song.

Students, faculty, staff, athletes, and alumni punctuate each beat of the last line with a small chopping motion of their right raised arm and "Hook 'Em" hand sign.

The lyrics of the song have been interpreted as embracing the "Lost Cause" ideology, which advocates the belief that the practice of slavery in the Antebellum South was just and moral.

[14] However, a report by UT Austin history professor Alberto Martinez states that President William Prather's use of the phrase was inspired by a line spoken by confederate general Maxcy Gregg about Robert E Lee.

While no primary source "has been found connecting the phrase as something that Lee used", four independent secondary accounts, by both of William Prather's children, T.U.

Taylor (who recounted the story multiple times in the decades before his 1938 memoir), and Jim Cannon have all stated that Prather's inspiration for the phrase was General Robert E.

[18][19][20] In October 2020, the University of Texas band was unable to perform the song at football games, due to a lack of members willing to play it.

[21] A March 2021 investigative report by The Texas Tribune published snippets of alumni and donor emails to president Hartzell.

In these emails, the alumni and donors demanded that Hartzell take a stronger stance supporting "The Eyes of Texas" and threatened to cancel their financial contributions.