{"id":802,"date":"2020-05-01T23:37:02","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T22:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=802"},"modified":"2020-05-09T14:41:01","modified_gmt":"2020-05-09T13:41:01","slug":"my-favourite-arsenal-terrace-chants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=802","title":{"rendered":"My favourite Arsenal terrace chants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I think most readers of this blog will know that I prefer my football live. Yes the view is far worse than on a 50\u201d TV, no matter where you sit, you usually don\u2019t get the benefit of replays and you have to drag up and down motorways, sometimes in foul weather. But the special atmosphere you get by being in the middle of a group of likeminded people is, well just that, special. The humour of football terraces is different to any other sport I\u2019ve attended live. That humour is best expressed in the songs. Yes the language is often ripe. When I took my son to Highbury for the first time, he turned to me on the way home and asked a simple question. \u201cDaddy what\u2019s a wanker?\u201d I explained that it was a special term for referees. I also explained that things he heard at football were not to be repeated in front of his Mother, Grandmother or teacher, on pain of banishment. There was a period when Patrice Evra of Manchester United used to taunt us regularly (men vs boys etc). So the Arsenal faithful consulted the intellectual giants amongst them and came up with this witty response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evra, Evra
You\u2019re a c**t,
You\u2019re a c**t
You\u2019re a c**t<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My son, no mug, latched onto the fact that he could express\nhis dissatisfaction in with somebody in front of his Mother by calling him a\n\u201cright Evra\u201d. Well it worked for a couple of weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Football humour is cruel, but often at its funniest when it\nis cruel. The Rangers goalkeeper Andy Goram was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Their\nnext game was against Celtic. With Goram at their mercy in the goals in front\nof them, they burst into<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two Andy Gorams!
There\u2019s only two Andy Gorams!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luis Suarez in his Liverpool years had two reputations. One of being a cheat and the other of being a racist. Hence this brilliant ditty:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He cheats
He dives
He hates the Jackson Five<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you best help your star centre forward when he is\ngoing through a rough patch Fulham FC? By singing this every game at Craven\nCottage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re sat in row Z
And the ball hits your head
That\u2019s Zamora<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this piece is about my favourite Arsenal chants. Easy I\nthought. Actually very much not easy because I have had to leave loads out!\nStill, that gives an interactive opportunity for you, gentle reader, to point\nout your favourites that I missed. So let\u2019s begin. My rule is that to include\nit in this list I have to have been present at a game and sang that song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The players<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I began going to Highbury in the 70s. I\u2019ll be honest that\nmany of the songs we sang then about the players are lost in the mists of my\nmemory and old age, but here are a couple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all agree
Rixy is better than Hoddle!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Spoiler: he wasn\u2019t)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I saw Liam Brady from when he broke through from the youth team to when he sadly left for Italy. By the end of that run, Chippy was the firm fan favourite, with that cultured left foot. But he was just a little arrogant. Once the Band of the Metropolitan Police had finished doing their thing, the players came out to warm up. The North Bank would serenade each player with their own song and the player would salute the crowd. Except for Brady. We would begin by singing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Liam Brady!
There\u2019s only one Liam Brady!
One Liam Brady!
There\u2019s only one Liam Brady!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing. Zip. Nada. Not even a glance. He was waiting for<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brady, Brady
Brady, Brady
Born is the King of Highbury!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only then would he turn around and salute the North Bank. Ah\nwell. He was worth it. My favourite player until DB10 rocked up (of whom more\nlater).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to pull out just two from the 80s. Both are still\nsung to this day, one far more than the other. The latter was the player of\nwhom David Dein said \u201c we\u2019ve a lad from Lewisham in our youth team who dribbles\nlike a Brazilian\u201d. David \u201cRocky\u201d Rocastle. One of the banners at the Emirates\nbears his picture and the words \u201cremember who you are, what you are and who you\nrepresent\u201d.  The club\u2019s values in just\neleven words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh Rocky Rocky!
Rocky, Rocky, Rocky Rocastle!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former, seldom heard now, is about our cheeky Essex journeyman,\nPerry Groves<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At number one, it\u2019s Perry Groves
Number 2, it\u2019s Perry Groves
Number 3, it\u2019s Perry Groves
We all live in a Perry Groves world, a Perry Groves world, a Perry Groves world!
(repeat through to number 11)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perry liked it so much he used it as the title of his\nautobiography!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so to the Wenger years. A golden period of football, trophies and player chants. Who can forget…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viera, woah woah woah
Viera, woah, woah ,woah woah
He comes from Senegal
He plays for Arsenal<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s blond
He\u2019s quick
His name\u2019s a porno flick
Emmanuel, Emmanuel, Emmanuel!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We love you Freddie
Because you\u2019ve got red hair
We love you Freddie
Because you\u2019re everywhere
We love you Freddie
Because you\u2019re Arsenal through and through<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But most of all, the immortal Iceman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Dennis Bergkamp
There\u2019s only one Dennis Bergkamp
Walking along
Singing a song
Walking in a Bergkamp wonderland!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To show how it\u2019s the away fans that develop the songs, on those long hours on trains and buses, here\u2019s my final two player songs. Both from this season, both first heard at away games I was at, first Leicester and then Everton. Both songs are now sung loudly at the Emirates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dani Ceballos
Dani Ceballos
Drinks Estrella
Eats Paella
The boy is fucking magic<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gaby de de de de de de
Oh Martinelli
He comes from Sao Paolo
And he plays for Arsenal
One two three four
(and repeat)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tottenham<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh where to start? I\u2019m only going to include three because\nthis is getting to be a long piece and most of the Spu*s songs are sung\nrepeatedly at every game. So first, the song that greets St Totteringhams day,\nonce a seasonal event, now in a temporary lull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s happened again
It\u2019s happened again
Tottenham Hotspur
It\u2019s happened again!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I said above that football humour is cruel. A song about\nHarry Redknapp being sung on a train by Gooners went viral and was soon being\nsung at games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harry Redknapp\u2019s
Got a twitch
Harry Redknapp\u2019s
Got a twitch
Where he got it we don\u2019t know
How he got it we don\u2019t care
All we know is he has got a twitch!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the last game of the season, and the last game at Highbury, in 2006, Spurs were one point ahead of Arsenal and only needing to match Arsenal\u2019s result against Wigan in their game against West Ham to finish above us for the first time in 20 years. From that game comes this song…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lasagne whoah whoah
Lasagne whoah whoah whoah whoah
We laughed ourselves to bits
When Tottenham got the shits<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for reading this far (if you still are). Two final\nsongs sung at Arsenal to this day which are sung at no other club and much\nbeloved by all, especially the former landlord of this bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did she wear?
She wore, She wore
She wore a yellow ribbon
She wore a yellow ribbon in the merry month of May
And when
I asked
Her why she wore that ribbon
She said it\u2019s for the Arsenal and we\u2019re going to Wembley
Wembley, Wembley
We\u2019re the famous Arsenal
And we\u2019re going to Wembley<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My last song \u2013 does anyone know the history of this? The\nfull lyrics (I\u2019ve never heard anything but the chorus being sung at a game) can\nbe found here https:\/\/www.fanchants.com\/football-songs\/arsenal-chants\/bjesus-said-paddy\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Paddy got up and he sang it again
Over and over and over again
Bejaysus said Paddy I sung it so well
I think I\u2019ll get up and I\u2019ll sing it again
So Paddy got up and he sang it again
Over and over and over again <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Repeat to fade. I\u2019ve left out so many. What are your favourites? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think most readers of this blog will know that I prefer my football live. Yes the view is far worse than on a 50\u201d TV, no matter where you sit, you usually don\u2019t get the benefit of replays and you have to drag up and down motorways, sometimes in foul weather. But the special […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=802"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":804,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802\/revisions\/804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}