"Bro Hymn" is a song by American punk rock band Pennywise. It is the last track on both their 1991 self-titled debut album, and 1997's Full Circle as "Bro Hymn (Tribute)". Its lyrics are about the death of bassist Jason Thirsk's friends Tim Colvin and Carlos Canton (who both died in separate motorcycle accidents), and Tom Nichols (who drowned at Hermosa Beach Pier in 1988).

"Bro Hymn"
Song by Pennywise
from the album Pennywise
Released1991 (Pennywise version)
1997 (Full Circle version)
Recorded1991 (Pennywise version)
1996 (Full Circle version)
Genre
Length3:00 (Pennywise version)
5:30 (Full Circle version)
LabelEpitaph
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Pennywise (both versions)
Jerry Finn (Full Circle version)

In 1996, following the death of Thirsk, "Bro Hymn" was recorded again for their fourth album Full Circle as "Bro Hymn Tribute", which is dedicated to him. On this version, one of the lines from the original, "Canton, Colvin, Nichols, this one's for you", is replaced with "Jason Matthew Thirsk, this one's for you". In addition, "To all my friends" was replaced with "To our best friend", "Especially those who weren't with us too long" was replaced with "Though you weren't with us too long," in reference to Thirsk being the band's first bassist, "Life is the most precious thing you can lose" having the words "is" and "you can" being replaced with "was" and "we could", and the final "Canton, Colvin, Nichols, this one's for you" being replaced with "Jason, my brother, this one's for you". This version of "Bro Hymn" was not a hit song on the charts, but today receives substantial radio play.

When Pennywise perform the song live, they mix the lyrics from the original and "Tribute".

Bassnectar's song "Pennywise Tribute" on his Vava Voom album is a remix of "Bro Hymn (Tribute)".

"Bro Hymn" is the anthem for many sports teams around the world, mostly in the United States:

The professional wrestler Biff Busick has used this song on numerous occasions as his entrance song. His theme song in WWE, which he used under his "Oney Lorcan" moniker, was inspired by Bro Hymn.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Ciardelli, Anthony (February 4, 2021). "How a Southern Californian punk rock song became an Orange County hockey anthem". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  2. ^ Krovatin, Chris (August 1, 2020). "14 of the best punk rock sing-along tracks". Kerrang!. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  3. ^ Teo, Mark (June 26, 2013). "22 classic cottage pop-punk songs". Aux.tv. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  4. ^ Smith, Troy L. (March 2, 2022). "The 100 greatest pop punk songs of all time". Cleveland.com. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  5. ^ Chesler, Josh (September 29, 2015). "10 Best Skate Punk Albums of All Time". OC Weekly. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016.
  6. ^ "Ducks Goal Song". Anaheim Ducks - Fan Zone. Archived from the original on June 18, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  7. ^ Bonaccorsi, Adam (September 26, 2016). "What Grinds My Gears: Time for "7 Nation Army" To Go!". Russell Street Report.
  8. ^ Teddy, Rhys (August 5, 2019). "WWE: Entrance Themes You Didn't Know Were Copied from Popular Songs". TWM. Retrieved August 8, 2022.