Arsenal Anthem – the vote is on (2/7)

[gooner.ed]

I have to admit i was initially in favour of this idea until i found out it was the club who approached the fans about it, rather than it being our own initiative.

If the club tries to force a song/anthem on the fans (even one that most fans agree on) before any tradition of singing it has been established then the whole initiative will become a laughing stock when nobody joins in to sing

just to clarify a couple of things. the anthem idea has been raised on this and other websites before xmas. then i started a fresh thread about it in april on the 'general chat' part of the forum. by chance, keith edelman (i reckon independently of reading the forum as i can't see him reading the thing) - possibly inspired by watching liverpool CL matches on tv - raised the topic at a meeting with ast members in mid-may.

the club's decision to try this would most likely have happened without any involvement from onlinegooner, but the fact is that they have been in contact and are likely to be influenced by our debate and the vote - to some extent. i started the thread in april because i wanted to approach the club - through redaction - with the idea. it is one of several attempts to improve matchday atmosphere that the gooner/onlinegooner will suggest over the next few months. that the club are serious about trying it is wonderful news as far as i am concerned. as for the song finally chosen, i don't doubt ECD's points will be taken into account for anything that the club seriously consider. and i am also positive that a lot of discussion about this will take place with redaction to ensure something workable is chosen. the vote may influence the decision, but the vote winner may not necessarily be the tune adopted.

as for the thing being 'foisted' upon the fans. it will - i trust - be the result of a consultation process with the appropriate people who best represent the fans most likely to sing the damned thing. and the tune will be played on the PA at the appropriate time. Whether people will sing along is down to the individual, but i believe in time a lot will join in. once the habit of the music is established and it spreads out from the redsection. fans will not be told - this is your anthem, sing along now. it will happen a bit more by choice than co-ersion.

let's face it. even redsection has been only a partial success last season, but do you ever notice that when players score at the north end, where they run to? straight over to the redsection corner. these people are giving it a go to back the boys and the players respond. as for stuff happening 'organically' - the only thing 'organic' happening from other areas of the ground is moss.

so that's why i am happy to do something involving the club. it should not be 'us and them' - we should all be in this together and work together to improve things. if it doesn't work, what the hell. i've asked out girls who i've fancied and some said yes and some said no. but i've never regretted asking the ones that turned me down. you have to take the chance of looking like a fool if you want something. if you never try you'll probably just end up a sad old virgin with a sore wrist. and the football equivalent is the morgue ashburton grove will become if we wait for things to happen organically.

remember parma home matches from football italia in the 1990s. the guy with the megaphone leading the chants? f**king brilliant. let's have every idea we can think of to improve the atmosphere. an anthem before the teams come out is just one.

[mattbanger]

Wonderwall is just too NORTHAN!! i totally agree with all the song choices being wrong!! and judging by the amount of votes for dream the impossible dream Ashburton Grove will be so drab and motionless as the team come out that if i was Cesc i would be joining Titi at the Nou Camp!!

Why dont people realise that there are young supporters who are attending games! As well as the influx of Johney Foreigners! can you sing dream an impossible dream in a chinese accent!

My suggestion would be a song that means something to the fans and players and has a true meaning and is relevent to supporting arsenal and captures all the emotion surrounding it! and more importantly, it isn't too difficult to keep time and sing!

Here's a few suggestions! im not sure about them myself but they are alot better than the tripe on that list!!

1. Run by Snowpatrol
" Light up Light up, as if you have a choice even if you cannot hear my voice i'll be right beside you dear!"

2. Fix you by Coldplay
" Lights will giude you hom and ignite your bones and i will try to fix you"

3.In my life by The Beatles

There are places I remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

In my life I love you more

[Desert_Gooner]

I can just see the knuckle draggers and prawn sandwich munchers joining in with some of these. Jesus wept.

[Eboue Can't Defend]

It's Up 4 Grabs Now,

Got to admit, not a fan of Danny Boy as a football anthem, but your new lyrics were superb!

Now that I've thought about it a bit more, I can only quote what Carly Simon once sung: 'I am not in love, but I'm open to persuasion'.

Good work!

[46 Years 46 More!]

It's up for grabs now

Your re-worded version of Danny Boy would be spine-tingling if sung by 60,000 people, abort the official vote, We've just found our anthem!

[gooner4life1985]

I THINK THAT US GETTING A SONG WILL BE THE BEST THING FOR THE FANS MY VOTE GOES TO LEAN ON ME JUST THINK 60,000+ FANS HUMMIMG THE START EVERYONE WILL CATCH ON THEN BREAKING IN TO THE SONG LEAN ON ME NOT JUST THE TEAM BUT EACH OTHER WHEN WE ARE ALL IN THE STANDS WICKED IF NO ONE THINKS THIS THEN MY SECOND CHOICE IS BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER... WHICH I THINK WILL WORK WELL LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

[N22Gooner]

I also like the other posters idea of 'Nobody does it better'

[rambo]

Eboue...

I agree with a lot of your points on this and you make your arguements well. I would also rather we as Gooners adopted a song on our own terms. I have to admit i was initially in favour of this idea until i found out it was the club who approached the fans about it, rather than it being our own initiative.

My worry is that whereas the likes of Liverpool and WHU's anthems (and yes i am sick of hearing/talking about Liverpool's so-called "amazing" fans as well) were in all likelihood adopted by the fans first for whatever reason and then the club began playing the songs as a pre-match ritual after a history/tradition of the fans singing the given song had been established, this initiative by Arsenal seems to be in the opposite (and in my opinion, wrong) order!

If the club tries to force a song/anthem on the fans (even one that most fans agree on) before any tradition of singing it has been established then the whole initiative will become a laughing stock when nobody joins in to sing, and once that stigma has been attached to the whole anthem idea the chances of it taking off are about as slim as a Peter Crouch/Amy Winehouse love child. And what a beautiful thought that is!

My only hope in that scenario would be that in response, us Gooners might make a concerted effort during matches to be more vocal with our own songs and chants - something which i personally feel quite passionate about.

I would prefer if this was an initiative between the likes of RedAction, the Away Boyz and any and all other active Arsenal supporters groups (without the club's involvement initially) so we can build up a traditional song/anthem more organically. I cringe everytime i see Chavski waving their shitey flags at european matches... it all looks as staged and propoganda-ish as one of those Nazi rallies in Germany before the war. Please let's not go down the same soulless road as those bastards in blue!

I am very much in favour of an anthemic song (one that's unique to Arsenal) for us all to sing, i just think if it's our song it should be on our terms!

I dont agree with you ECD though on the point that some of the songs listed wouldnt make good football songs due to issues over the lyrics, etc. Surely some of those songs with lyrics adapted to suit Arsenal would sound at least quite good. For example (and purely as an example), i'm not sure about Danny Boy melodically but lyrically if went something like this it would at least have some relevance (original version in italic, Arsenal version in bold...obviously):

Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountainside
The summer's gone, and all the leaves are falling
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.

Oh Gooner Boys, i hear your greatness calling
From Highbury, to Europe and beyond
You can stand tall, cos even when you’re falling
We’ll pick you up, and come back twice as strong

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
For I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow.
Oh Danny Boy, oh Danny Boy, I love you so.

In red and white, or on the road in yellow
We’ll follow you, wherever you may go
We will be here, in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Gooner boys, Gooner boys, we love you so.

No chance.

One thing we said from the beginning was that we were not going to change the lyrics because it looks unprofessional, imagine Liverpool changing 'walk on, walk on' to 'Gerrard, Gerrard', that would be ridiculous.

The list has been made, stop putting the thread down and get on with voting. If you have already voted, shut the feck up. End of. I'm sick and tired of the negativity.

[Eboue Can't Defend]

Rambo,

YOU shut the feck up!! We are all entitled to an opinion, and there are new visitors to the forum all the time who are only just coming across this thread.

Indeed, at the top of this very thread gooner.ed writes: "continue the debate on this thread or elsewhere", and that is exactly what is happening. Why deny the newbies, or anyone else for that matter, a chance to have their say in such an ungentlemanly way?

A comment explaining that a vote was now happening on the Main Index would have sufficed. There was no need for behaviour like that! I'm disappointed in you.

[rambo]

Rambo,

YOU shut the feck up!! We are all entitled to an opinion, and there are new visitors to the forum all the time who are only just coming across this thread.

Indeed, at the top of this very thread gooner.ed writes: "continue the debate on this thread or elsewhere", and that is exactly what is happening. Why deny the newbies, or anyone else for that matter, a chance to have their say in such an ungentlemanly way?

A comment explaining that a vote was now happening on the Main Index would have sufficed. There was no need for behaviour like that! I'm disappointed in you.

No. I've had enough of people putting gooner eds time and effort down. People complain about the lack of atmosphere, then you feckers take down EVERY thread with negativity.

Piss off if you don't like the songs. They have been chosen. End of.

[Eboue Can't Defend]

Okay then, be like that!

Why don't YOU piss off (to Arsenal.com?) if you don't like the idea of people having their say when they want! This is a discussion forum after all!! Why are you complaining on gooner.ed's behalf when he himself is encouraging debate?

What's the matter? Are you worried your choice (which I imagine is among the short-listed selection) is unpopular with the masses?? Or is it that your favourite is currently leading the vote and you don't want any more competition in case it gets beaten?

Anyway, I'm too tired to have yet another argument today after spending a couple of hours doing the same with rolypoly on another subject and thread (what is it with you guys who have a christian name starting with the letter R? bloody argumentative lot, I tell you! )

I'll leave you with another song suggestion especially dedicated to you, just to rub it in a little:

"Whinge about singing, you only whinge about singing,
Whinge about singing, you only whinge about singing'

[Sicc]

i wanted to make a video on our 49 unbeaten run....and the only song i could think of was nobody does it better....

it has great melodic qualities...hasnt got ties to any1...is catchy...and a classic.....

as i said on goonersweb, nobody does it better than the arsenal

Nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it half as good as you
Baby, you're the best

I wasn't looking but somehow you found me
It tried to hide from your love light
But like Heaven above me
The spy who loved me
Is keeping all my secrets safe tonight

And nobody does it better
Though sometimes I wish someone could
Nobody does it quite the way you do
Why'd you have to be so good?

The way that you hold me
Whenever you hold me
There's some kind of magic inside you
That keeps me from running
But just keep it coming
How'd you learn to do the things you do?

And nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it half as good as you
Baby, baby, darlin', you're the best

Baby, you're the best

[gooner.ed]

ok - everybody calm down (but not so much you'll start singing you'll never walk alone! ).

open church here. whether the debate is over the songs or the idea is a moot point. everyone is going to have their say and there are some entrenched opinions. rambo - thanks for your support. and i've had my say on those that don't think the anthem idea's going to work before, but i'm not going to get into abusive exchanges. let's save that for the opposition fans that stumble across this board and start getting cocky, eh lads?

now if i could just find an avatar of henry kissenger somewhere...

[Galasso]

ok - everybody calm down (but not so much you'll start singing you'll never walk alone! ).

open church here. whether the debate is over the songs or the idea is a moot point. everyone is going to have their say and there are some entrenched opinions. rambo - thanks for your support. and i've had my say on those that don't think the anthem idea's going to work before, but i'm not going to get into abusive exchanges. let's save that for the opposition fans that stumble across this board and start getting cocky, eh lads?

now if i could just find an avatar of henry kissenger somewhere...

Sorry, couldn't find a picture. Searched Google using the words 'wartime, killing and peace prize'. I am sure someone will find it..

[gooner.ed]

now if i could just find an avatar of henry kissenger somewhere...

Sorry, couldn't find a picture. Searched Google using the words 'wartime, killing and peace prize'. I am sure someone will find it..

oh well. i'll settle for a pamela anderson then. no-one will be able to tell the difference