Mory's
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mory's, known also as Mory's Temple Bar, is a private club on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, founded in 1861 and housed in a historical, Federal-style building. The club's membership consists solely of those who have an affiliation with Yale, and the culture of both institutions is notoriously entangled. Several important traditions are maintained at Mory's that have deep resonance with certain Yale alumni and students.
One of these is the ritualistic consumption of a so-called "Cup," in which a party of members gather to share alcoholic libations of assorted colors and constituents from large silver trophy cups that look like handled urns and are passed amongst the gathered company. The cups are ordered by color, and some are based on sparkling wines, while others are based on beer. There is an elaborate ritual, including at the completion of a cup a drinking song, associated with the tradition. Cups come in the following colors: Red, Gold, Purple, Blue, Green, and Velvet. There is a rumored "Black Cup," which supposedly can only be served to a sitting President of the United States, although George W. Bush is not known to have visited Mory's when he received his honorary degree from Yale University in 2001.
When a member finds himself (or herself, as Mory's has welcomed women into its membership ranks since 1974, five years after Yale College, and only when faced with the loss of its liquor license) about to finish a Cup, he (or she) faces the decades-old challenge of "cleaning the cup" -- removing all moisture from the cup by using only one's own mouth and, to finish the job, hair. Friends to the left and right are at the ready with napkins to minimize drippage during this process. While the member is finishing, and to give that member extra time to "clean the cup," his or her friends are wont to chant the following Mory's Song, with the finishing member's name as the hero of the song:
It's [Name],
It's [Name],
It's [Name] that makes the world go 'round,
It's [Na-ame], It's [Na-me],
It's [Name] that makes the world go 'round,
It's [Name] that makes the world go 'ro-ou-ound,
Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!
Put a nickel on the drum,
Save another drunken bum
Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!
Put a nicked on the drum and you'll be saved.
I was h-a-p-p-y to be f-r-double-e
f-r-double-e to be s-a-v-e-d
s-a-v-e-d from the bonds of s-i-n
Glory glory Hallelujah hip hooray amen.
Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!
Put a nickel on the drum,
Save another drunken bum
Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!
Put a nicked on the drum and you'll be saved.
I was lying in the gutter,
I was covered up in beer,
Pretzels in my moustache,
I thought the end was near,
Then along came [Name]!
And saved me from my curse,
Glory glory Hallelujah sing another verse!
Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!
Put a nickel on the drum,
Save another drunken bum
Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!
Put a nicked on the drum and you'll be sa-aa-aved.
At the conclusion of the Mory's Song, the member slams the trophy cup, upside down, on top of a cloth (or, more challenging, paper) napkin, whereupon three friends slam their respective hands atop the base of the cup. The cup is then whisked away, and the napkin is inspected for any signs of moisture. In decades past, if the napkin were wet, then the finishing member would be forced to pay for the cup; if the napkin were dry, the member to the finishing member's right -- who himself chose to forego finishing the cup -- would have to pay. In these more egalitarian times, most toasting parties split the bill evening amongst members, regardless of who finishes or doesn't finish a cup.
Mory's is not only a highly regarded drinking establishment, it also serves a full menu six days a week (Monday through Saturday). The Mory's menu is studded with dishes of some age and popularity. The most interesting is the so-called "Baker's Soup," a lard-based tomato-curry concoction, which is said to have been invented by an eponymous professor ("Baker") to cure the hang-over. The "rarebits" are also of abiding popularity, as are more "modern" items, such as the french dip and Vichyssoise, and the mud pie for dessert. In general, however, the food is widely acknowledged to be mediocre at best.
The Whiffenpoofs, the college's male a capella group, sings weekly in the dining areas of the club. They often perform the famous Whiffenpoof Song which mentions Mory's as the "place where Louis dwells." It was through this song, which was sung and recorded by the likes of Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley, that the Club became part of the national consciousness in the early part of the twentieth century.
Over the course of the last two decades, Yale's political clubs have adopted Mory's as their home. Numerous debates have been hosted there, and following meetings of the Yale Political Union, visiting guests from William F. Buckley, Jr. to Steve Forbes have been invited to continue discussion, "as is traditional." As tradition would have it, however, Mory's closes for the evening long before most Political Union sessions have concluded, rendering such invitations null and void. Current and past Club members include John Kerry, William Jefferson Clinton, George H. W. Bush, Gerald Ford, George Pataki, Joe Lieberman, the late John Heinz, and the late Paul Mellon.
[edit] References
- Norris G. Osborn, "The Moriartys of Yale," New Haven, Yale, 1912.
- George D. Vaill, "Mory’s: A Brief History," New Haven, 1977.
- Article about Mory's in Arts & Ideas
