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When I first think of sports songs, with one notable exception, the ones that come to mind are college football songs. They will have some representation in this list, to be sure, but I have tried to draw from as wide a field of athletics as possible. And, believe me, it is not possible to find that wide a field. How many songs do you know about golf? Or lacrosse? Or bowling? If you know any, you are way ahead of me. The songs I selected are a variegated lot, and very few of them are typically sung by cheering fans, though some are. Let me list my top ten, along with the sports they represent, in reverse order of preference, with the last being my favorite...and possibly yours too. 10. Captain Lou, by NRBQ (and Lou Albano), 1986 (wrestling) I like this song just because it is so outrageous, and adding the actual title character into the mix makes it even more so. "Captain" Lou Albano was a wrestler, manager and promoter who personified the cheap glitz and smack-talk that characterizes what we laughingly refer to as professional wrestling today. And, while that stuff has surely become old hat, Albano was somewhat a novelty in his time. NRBQ (which stands for New Rhythm and Blues Quartet) has been a talented and versatile band since 1967. While few of their songs got very high on the charts, "Captain Lou" certainly caught peoples' attention. 9. Notre Dame Victory March, by Michael and John Shea, 1908 (college football) These two brothers were recent graduates of the university and gave it a legacy far more valuable than whatever money they could have afforded. You may think it so typical of a college football fight song and, therefore a total cliché, but it was these brothers who first set the standard. What came after were the clichés. The music is rousing and the words are, in many instances, nothing short of poetic. If you have to pick only one serious college football song-and I did-The Notre Dame Victory March is it. There is a satire of this song extant (whose author I was unable to track down), that starts out: Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame. You take the Notre, I'll take the dame. Send a freshman out for gin; Don't let a sober soph'more in. 8. You Can't Get a Man With a Gun, from Annie Get Your Gun, 1945 (shooting) This is one of the most fun songs from Irving Berlin's greatest Broadway musical, in which the title character, Annie Oakley, laments the little good her skill as a target shooter has brought her in matters that really count. Of course, the song takes place early in the show, because she does get her man, with or without a gun. I had the pleasure of performing in this show in 1997, where I had the part of Pawnee Bill, a scheming low-life who spends most of the show making things difficult for Annie and her friends. Just the kind of role I love. 7. Run for the Roses, by Dan Fogelberg, 1981 (horse racing) I do not consider this the best song on the list, but it may well be the most beautiful one. It is also one of the best songs that Fogelberg ever wrote. The "roses," of course are the emblem of victory in the Kentucky Derby. Come, listen. 6. Song for Sonny Liston, by Mark Knopfler, 2004 (boxing) I do not like to overlap in these lists, but, as I do more of them, it becomes almost inevitable that I will. This song is an example. I listed it in my article on Mark Knopfler's greatest songs. The song came from his 2004 solo album, Shangri-la. Rather than paint the lily, let me recommend you check out the article. The Liston song is my #9 choice. Or, you could check out the song at the end of this article. In the alternate chorus, Knopfler sings "Beware, the Bear's in town. Somebody[s] money say the Bear goin' down." That was a reference to his rematch with Mohammed Ali, who had earlier given Liston the nickname of "the Bear," in which Liston went down like a shot early in the first round in a very suspicious knockout. Sonny Liston was a crude and ill-educated man, but in 1962, he said, "Some day, they're gonna write a blues for fighters. It'll just be for slow guitar, soft trumpet and a bell." 5. Centerfield, by John Fogerty, 1985 (baseball) This may qualify as the liveliest song on my list and one of the liveliest of the 1980s. Like the other baseball songs in this article, "Centerfield" is just plain fun, from the rousing guitar introduction, to the finish. This song alone made Fogerty's break from CCR worthwhile. 4. Fight Fiercely, Harvard, by Tom Lehrer, 1945 (college football...sort of) What I said about overlapping almost applied here as well. In the article about My Top Ten Tom Lehrer Songs, this song came within a hair's breadth (or "a hare's breath" as a former boss of mine would say) of making the list. Even as early as 1945, Harvard had long ceased to be a power in the world of college football. People believe that Lehrer, a professor of mathematics there, got fired for recording "Fight Fiercely, Harvard," but that really had nothing to do with his switch across town to M.I.T. Silly as it is, this song speaks for all those college athletes who are football players, rather than football workers. 3. Stewball, traditional (horse racing) What is it about horse racing that seems to inspire the most beautiful melodies? If the Fogelberg song I listed earlier has the most wonderful melody of the songs on my list, then "Stewball" surely ranks second. As a traditional folk song that dates back to the eighteenth century, there are a number of variations on the lyrics. The one I linked to, by Joan Baez, is probably the best one you will find around. It is from her Joan Baez/5 album. Come to think of it, I believe I mentioned another song from that album, "I Still Miss Someone" in an earlier article about my Top 20 Break-up Songs. Gosh, maybe you should think about getting the album. It is probably the best one Baez ever recorded. The Hollies, as well as Peter, Paul and Mary, put out a very different set of lyrics to the same traditional tune. Those lyrics were written by folksinger Bob Yellin and, in my opinion, are not all that good. Then too, Thomas Lane put out a highly excellent set of lyrics, but we'll get to that in a moment. The story is about an underdog racehorse-not necessarily named "Stewball"-who won a high-stakes race sometime in the late eighteenth century, in Ireland. The reason I call the name of the horse into question is that it is derived from "skewbald," which is a description, not a name. A horse that is piebald has white coloring with splotches of black (or the other way around). A white horse with splotches of any other color (typically brown) was and is called skewbald. In my upcoming book, Shaggy Dogs: A Collection of Not-So-Short Stories, I have occasion to use my lyrics to this song in one of those stories. Please, do me the favor of going to the song's link and listening to Joan Baez sing the song first. Then, taking copious and abundant notes all the while, compare and contrast it with these lyrics, reprinted with my expressed written permission: Stewball was a horse, now, For he was not a cow. And he never was meant to Be pulling a plow. Well, I raced him in Italy And in Afghanistan. Though I did not win diddly, I got a good tan. So go and bet against Stewball, All you gamblers so brash. You'll find it's a new ball- game when you've lost your cash. You can bet that bay filly Or the dapple-gray mare. If you want to get silly, Bet the big dancing bear. But if it's money you're hot on The trail of at all, Then put all you've got on The nose of Stewball. I have also sung my version of the song at various piano bars, to the puzzlement of one and all. 2. Heart, from the musical, Damn Yankees, 1955 (baseball) People tend to think the title of this song, written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, is the same as the first line: "You've Gotta Have Heart," but it is not. This song comes early on in the show, when the downtrodden Washington Senators' manager is trying to give his inept players a pep talk and then, not-so-inexplicably, considering they're actually on a Broadway stage, breaks into song. It is a wonderful sports song that works on two levels. First it hilariously points out how bad the team is, but, second and more importantly, sends the universal message of all athletic competition in whatever sport: You've Gotta Have Heart. 1. Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Norworth and Von Tilzer, 1908 (baseball) This is the one exception I alluded to at the beginning of the article, when I said that my first thought about sports songs brings to mind college football. Who does not know and love this song? Actually, most of you know the chorus. There are verses, too, you know. I have seen two different sets of lyrics for the verses, both of which involve Irish girls: Katie Casey or Nellie Kelly. At the time this song was written, baseball was played and enjoyed by Irish Americans more than any other ethnic group. The link I chose to present this song is a rather tinny recording by a gentleman who will never be confused for Placido Domingo, but it was the only one that provided both chorus and verse for "Take Me Out to The Ball Game" Besides being my favorite sports song, it is one of the ones I like to air out in the piano bar. In my version, I give both Katie and Nellie a turn "at bat." And there you have my top ten sports songs. Some are fun to sing, and all are a pleasure to hear. I hope you enjoy them as well. Sources YouTube Wikipedia numachi.com oldielyrics.com Shaggy Dogs: A Collection of Not-So-Short Stories |
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