I was reading through the "'new' traditional songs" thread, and I was very interested to see a sideline of debate over whether You'll Never Walk Alone (originally Rodgers and Hammerstein, via Gerry Marsden, now adopted by Liverpool FC fans) should be considered a folk song.

As MtheGM wrote in that thread, "Moreover, Jim, re Never Walk Alone: it has become part of a regular ritual, sung by people, many of whom are probably unaware of its origin, on specific occasions ~~ or, rather, a repeated specific occasion, a match in which Liverpool FC are playing. It could almost, it seems to me, be included in a reissue of the old Caedmon/Topic Folk Songs Of Britain set, volume 9, Songs Of Ceremony."


I have a personal interest in this topic, because I am a Liverpool FC fan, for whom the singing of this song is indeed a ritual.

But thinking over and beyond YNWA, I would say that the continuing existance of a proper tradition of community singing and oral tradition among football fans is really something worth celebrating. In actual fact there are very few songs I've got through the "oral tradition", and most of them are either football songs or lullabys. Singing at the match and in the pub before and afterwards is part of what it means to be a football fan, and learning the words to the songs is part of the initiation ("you got your education from the Kop" as we sing at Liverpool)

So I wanted to start this thread a) to pursue the discussion of whether the songs sung by football fans, rugby fans, and any other sports fans who sing as a community and pass the songs on as part of an oral culture, are really folk songs. Something I'm particularly curious about: would any of you get up and sing these sports fans songs at folk clubs, or at singarounds etc.? I have, not sure how welcome it was though. But then again, surely what's being sung as part of a thriving communal oral tradition is far more 'folk music' than the ossified stuff at folk clubs, right? [/devils advocate]

and b) to ask people if they have interesting examples of songs that are sung by sports fans. Football, rugby, baseball, whatever.