As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
impossoble quest seems boring...even sped up....i know i might be a lone voice on that....
but i think bridge over troubled water is catchy and a moving song....
This song is basically about a person who is there for his friend self-sacrificially, he is always there to provide a shoulder to lean on no matter what the situation, with little or no regard for him/herself.
much like how the YNWA anthem is used even when they lose....i think this song has better potential for being a gooner anthem....
When youre weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
Im on your side. when times get rough
And friends just cant be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
When youre down and out,
When youre on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
Ill take your part.
When darkness comes
And pains is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Sail on silvergirl,
Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine.
All your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine.
If you need a friend
Im sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Sicc wrote:impossoble quest seems boring...even sped up....i know i might be a lone voice on that....
but i think bridge over troubled water is catchy and a moving song....
This song is basically about a person who is there for his friend self-sacrificially, he is always there to provide a shoulder to lean on no matter what the situation, with little or no regard for him/herself.
much like how the YNWA anthem is used even when they lose....i think this song has better potential for being a gooner anthem....
When youre weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
Im on your side. when times get rough
And friends just cant be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
When youre down and out,
When youre on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
Ill take your part.
When darkness comes
And pains is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Sail on silvergirl,
Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine.
All your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine.
If you need a friend
Im sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
this is my vote...and my 0.02
The impossible dream is a class song there's no doubting that the chorus sped up will be class i was singing it the other day with my mates sounds class especially indoors were the noise is trapped. Anyway what song are the lyrics for that for?
I just heard "bridge over troubled water" and i don't how you can call that a catchy song. And how you can say that that is better than "The Impossible Dream" is beyond me..
Hi all. New to the forum. Been a gooner (followed my father) since 1967. earliest memory as a 4 year old watching george's 'lay down' celebration after his winner in the cup final 71. Anyhow... I like the idea of an anthem. Good suggestion
How about 'Streets of London'.......with it's stirring chorus lyric
CHORUS
So how can you tell me you're lonely
And say for you that the sun dont shine
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I'll show you something that will make you change your mind.....
N22Gooner wrote:I just heard "bridge over troubled water" and i don't how you can call that a catchy song. And how you can say that that is better than "The Impossible Dream" is beyond me..
i think catchy was used loosely on my part.....
ive been listening to the impossible dream more...since i post....and im starting to like it as an anthem for arsenal....
Hello gents, this is a great initiative and a great discussion so far.
My vote, a definite recommendation goes for 'Bridge over troubled water'
The message/moral of the song, about loyalty and motivation is perfect. Its stirring and it is just the right length.
I think we need to consider the dynamics of a football anthem more seriously- im a great fan of 'the impossible dream' but unfortunately it just wont work- the song is too long to remember all the words, and it will take too long to sing (the point made about what happens in the game whilst signing is very valid).
More to the point the true effect and emotion of the song is only captured if it is sung in its entirity, singing a couple of lines from it will nulify the effect.- im sorry but realistically in a crowd I dont think it will work.
'You'll never walk alone' works wonderfully because it is rather short, the words and order are simple and builds promptly to a good climax- let me demonstrate:
"When you walk through a storm,
Hold your head up high,
and dont be afraid of the dark,
At the end of the storm- is a golden sky,
And the sweet silver song of the lark,
Walk on through the wind, Walk on through the rain,
Though your dreams be tossed and blown..
Walk on, Walk on, with hope in your heart,
And youll never walk alone, youll never walk alone."
Thats it. not long at all, and as has been mentioned most of the time they dont even bother with the first bit!
To sing the first verse of 'Bridge over troubled water' would have all the right attributes, short, powerful, easy to learn and most importantly quickly reaches that climax:
"When you're weary, feeling small, when tears are in your eyes, I’ll dry them all.
I'm on your side, oh, when times get rough and friends just can't be found,
like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down."
If the mood is good and people are feeling adventurous you could even follow on with the second verse- the words are motivational (and somewhat apt for a european night?)
"When you're down and out, when you're on the street,
when evening falls so hard, I’ll comfort you.
I'll take your part, oh, when darkness comes and pain is all around,
like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down."
In conclusion, 'bridge' is an absolute front runner in my opinion- I like 'Impossible dream' but to be blunt I just cant see it working. YNWA is loved by liverpool because it is stirring, and more significantly because of the association with the Hillsborough disaster. Furthermore 'Bridge' is a much more commonly known song that will catch on more quickly, and its dynamics, and more importantly the message are perfect.
Apologies for the long post, but these things are important.
Last edited by arsenalsteward on Mon May 07, 2007 7:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
After watching most of the crowed on Sunday I can't help but think that this is a pointless exercise.
For a start there's no way that 60,000 people will be singing any song. Maybe 10,000 of the lower tier will sing it.
Unfortunately there's too many prawn sandwich eaters and not enogh working/middle class people going to games these days.
I'd love it if this weren't the case but I'm sure it is.
Very few people actually wear colours and ever fewer have scarfs. Then there's restrictions on the size of flag poles and what's on these flags. What kind of an atmosphere can we possibly expect with these restrictions. Then we can't even stand up for more that 3 minutes without some idiot in orange telling us to sit down.
Besides isn't the "Impossible Dream" tempting fate. I'd prefer "Bridge Over Troubled Water" to be fair. It's about helping a friend as opposed to singing about the impossible. We should be singing about helping our team.
What does wearing colours have to do with the atmosphere? As for the impossible dream it's just a song mate and the song is about trying to achieve something that's hard/ impossible even though it seems impossible that is a perfect theme.
No matter what song we may agree on, it aint never gonna happen in the same way as YNWA does for the scouse thieves. Sorry to be so negative but just take yesterdays game against Chavs, the amount of so called Gooners complaining about the noise that the whistle blowers made. These are not Arsenal fans that have Arsenal in their hearts, these are Day trippers that fancied a day out at the Grove cos it is the in place to be seen. They will never sing and we will never sound like the 'Thieves', sad but true. If we must have an anthem then lets use one that we already have, "Good Old Arsenal, we're proud to say their name". Those of you that are trying to think up new anthems makes me think that you have not supported the club long enough to know that we already have classic songs such as 'She wore' and so on, these songs are not sung because of the tourists that call for new anthems. Yes the Thieves sound good, but their team is shit, lets not liken ourselves to them. One of the most successful scousers ever got fucked over by a one legged bint, we already have Senderos, why the need to go the scouse way!!!!!!
Unfortunately I have to agree with the last few posts- the chances of something like this actually catching on are slim, mainly thanks to the modern increasingly corporate nature of the game. Personally Im an optimistic sort of person however, which is why Id fully endorse any initiative to try and improve the atmosphere at the Grove. A fans anthem would be wonderful, but in practice its a decidedly uphill struggle.
YNWA first came about in the 60's I believe- and football at anfield was a massively different game then to how it is at ashburton now. The terrace crowd environment, and most importantly a massively working class fanbase from the factories and docks allowed the anthem to develop- these are conditions that were vital to the tune first taking off, which dont exist today. The Hillsborough disaster gave the anthem a poignant emotional significance also. Lastly, the reason YNWA is what it is today is because of the history attached with it- its been passed on between generations over the last 40 odd years.
Crowds nowadays are shifting more towards the middle class supporter and are much more diverse than the old liverpool crowd. Displaying the words on our lovely big jumobtron screens probably isnt going to be enough to get something like this going. This is unfortunate, because Id really love something like 'Bridge of troubled water' to become a regular thing, and im sure the players would respond to an anthemic song. "Good old Arsenal" etc, are fantastic tunes that we should take pride in, but by length they will always be in the same boat as a 'chant'.
More plausible ideas to improve atmopshere in the short term would be the use of more flags and banners, and creative ones at that- anyone interested in such initiatives should look at Liverpools 'Reclaim the kop' and 'Keep flags scouse' campaigns- these are simple and effective means that are improving atmosphere at anfield (but personally I cant help but think alot of that might be due to the northern spirit, rather than us grumpy southerners!)
We should remember that atmosphere at the Grove will take time to build, when the vocal supporters gravitate (I presume) towards the north end over time hopefully things will improve- unfortunately the bowl shape of the ground nulifies the effect of 'end' identity.
If you had been at The Grove all season you wopuld have realised that the atmosphere against Chelsea was good. AND if you had been away this season you would realise that it is about as good as it gets (apart from maybe liverpool and sheff utd).
There are always gonna be peeps that do and dont sing (just like highbury) but it IS building and we need to be positive!
agreed - if people don't at least attempt to try, then we might as well not bother getting out of bed in the morning. better to have tried and failed than not even had a go.
if 10,000 pople did sing whichever tune would be picked, we'd have something - believe me. because if 10,000 are doing it, others would join in. sure, not 60,000, but if every other person in the crowd is singing it, it would make a hell of a racket and stir the soul.
the bottom line is that the club would have to agree to it and then actually do something positive with it to develop the idea. meaning simply this. play the anthem at the appropriate time over the PA and stick the words on the screen. the words on the screen can go if it does take off and then they can just play the record. that is what happens as anfield. the pa plays the record before the game and then the crowd takes over. but the PA is their cue.
It needs positive action on the part of both the club and enough of the fans to make this happen. Just suspend your disbelief for a while and give it a chance. i think this should be an 'unsaid' kind of thing if the club adopt it. don't explain, 'this is an attempt to start an anthem', just play the record and have the words up and let the redsection start the singing. it will be a shambles the first few times. it won't take off. but slowly, slowly, if the club give it a complete season before throwing the towel in, it will spread. the blocks next to redsection will start to join in. then a few upstairs once they hear the crowd from below them. even the long standing fans that are in club level (and there are many) are prepared to sing.
by may 2008 we could have something that really stirs the soul in the way that happens at anfield. but if you don't believe this is possible, then please, have your opinion but start another thread. don't dampen the attempts to be positive here. let's use this for discussion of the options and the views on them.
for what it is worth, i find bridge over troubled water a far more stirring tune than the current favourite 'impossible dream', but i will give my all to whatever we ultimately vote for. will post the referendum to vote for this in approx a fortnight and leave it going for a month, inviting other websites to link to it to have their own readers join the vote.
but for now, still taking suggestions which we'll whittle down to a shortlist. at the mo, i'd say both 'impossible dream' and 'bridge over' are certainties to be on it. will trawl through this thread another time to get the other candidates that fit the bill.
and as for del shannon's 'the answer to everything' which i was asked for an opinion on, i've downloaded it, but wasn't knocked over on first couple of plays. will give it a few more though before giving up on it.
keep the suggestions and opinions coming. by all means criticise the suggested songs, but not the suggestion of an anthem itself. giving up should not be the arsenal way.
Last edited by gooner.ed on Wed May 09, 2007 7:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
Sorry I didn't mean to be negative. I'm really up for this and want it to happen more than I want Ca$hley to end his career at the Spuds.
You're right 10,000 is better than nothing. I must admit I was one of the non-singers until Real Madrid last season when I decided that If we were to win the lads would need all the support we could give. You see I was brought to The Arsenal by my uncle 17 years ago and as he is a Tory toff who never sings I felt that I shouldn't sing either. He still goes but we don't sit together anymore because of this.
I sit half way up the NB lower tier and heard "B'Jaysus" coming from towards the RedSection but it didn't seem to catch on, which was a shame. Maybe there are too many people in the stadium that don't know the words to the old songs. Is there a songs page on the Gooner website anywhere?
