Before my time, but I remember “We’ve got Tommy Tommy Tommy Tommy Jenkins on the wing, on the wing”. I suppose the vast majority of football chants are based on pop songs: Seven Nation Army still has a huge resonance (remember “Oh Gabbiadini” at Wembley?) but the prize for longevity has to go to Sloop John B, which is still sung every week on just about every ground, 50 years after it was a hit.
Signed to replace an aging John Sydenham, PS: For the life of me, I cannot recall when Terry Paine called it a day and who they tried to replace him with.
Favourite chant I heard was when Eastleigh got through to the third round against Bolton. Eastleigh scored, the crowd went wild, and the Bolton fans - who were facing administration and were in a pretty bad way - sang "You're nothing special. We lose every week." As for Saints: "All we need is Sadio Mane" to the tune of "Radio Gaga" and singing half the Saints team off to "Brazil" was pretty good back in 2014.
Missed opportunities: I kinda wish we could have sang "De Ridder's on the ball. (Like a goal away from home, like Pompey going down, De Ridder's on the ball)" Likewise if Lemina had ever taken off then "Funky goal, Lemina" was another missed opportunity for a chant.
This is how it started apparently... https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/lifestyle/heritage/history-of-the-chimes-1-1299340
Indeed. One of the first victims of the post-relegation axe. Went to Hereford and was a class act there. Maybe the Cider was the attraction, mind. Lawrie Mac certainly saw Paine as a problem not a solution. Limking back to this thread, did Terry have a song? I don't remember many player specific songs. The old boys calling out "Roast 'em, Michael" in broad 'Ampshire was the closest I recall for Channon, for example.
I hate the Scousers "Poetry in Motion" to the tune of Boney M's, Brown Girl in the Ring...makes me cringe...
The chants from the old Milton Road End when I started going in the early 70s were pretty funny and usually about the Skates...."If I had the wings of a Sparrow" and "Fratton Park is falling down" for example. Who can forget get the classic, "we had joy, we had fun, we had Pompey on the run, but the fun didn't last, 'cos the bastards ran too fast!"...
I read further down that councillors were going to vote to name one of the bells after Harry Redknapp. Is it now called Bellend?
True, BUT the one(s) in the NFL and the USA in general are truly uninspired....."Let's go *insert team's name*, let's go!" and that's about it I think... Oh, and the classic moronic Homer Simpson "U. S. A...U. S. A." chant if their national team is playing.
It's important to have the simple songs as well as they're the ones that can actually sustain for a period which can change the atmosphere inside grounds imo. Will never forget 3000 Leeds fans singing 'we all love leeds' for about 20 minutes straight after half time in that 4-3 match.
I have perfected the ability to look like I'm singing, but without making any noise. I stopped singing songs at matches when I was about 11, sadly not joining in could get you accused of not being a Saints fan so I started miming. My last full vocal outing was more of a chant, "Saints will exterminate Hull City". But then I was in a Dalek suit, and we lost.
The single thing that pisses me off about football songs is having them nicked off Southampton FC ( with all due respect to teams like St Johnstone) so that the more famous versions of 'Oh When The Saints' become Spurs or Reds, etc... The second thing that will undoubtedly piss me off is when somebody writes that we've nicked the song off Spurs, Liverpool, etc... Or, gawd help us, Leeds Utd.
It's already happened. When I mention to people about it being Saints song they say it is everyones song, like the "come on you reds" or "best team the world has ever seen" songs.
How can they think it is everyone’s song when it is When the Saints go marching in? Are they applying Donald Trump logic?