Laced Up Boots and Paulo Sergio

Money may be changing football in a way many of us find disconcerting but while the rich clubs get stronger and stronger as others struggle for survival there remains one constant that has almost become a tradition in the game - certainly from when I first began following Hearts as a six year old in 1968. Namely, the adaptation of popular songs into football chants. Last week, as Hearts celebrated yet another Edinburgh derby victory over Hibernian, Tynecastle Stadium announcer extraordinaire Scott Wilson played a song that has quickly become adapted by the Maroon Army following the recent appointment of Paulo Sergio as Hearts manager. Unlikely as it may seem but the chorus of KC and the Sunshine Band’s 1982 hit ‘Give it Up’ was belted out with some gusto by Hearts fans, their arrangement being Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na - Paulo Sergio, Sergio, Paulo Sergio! (forgive me if I’ve missed out a Na or two there!) As I departed the atmospheric Section G of the Wheatfield Stand, Hearts fans were gleefully chanting this little ditty in the direction of those Hibs fans still left in the Roseburn Stand by the time the game ended. Why it has taken nearly 30 years for this song to be adapted is not entirely clear but it’s the latest in a long line of songs to be adapted by Hearts fans for football purposes.

It wasn’t that long ago that another song from that era - Culture Club’s ‘Karma Chameleon’ - was sung by Hearts fans in homage to legendary striker John Robertson (Robbo, Robbo, Robbo - well, you get the picture) However, there are songs from even further back that have become Tynecastle anthems. The legendary Frank Sinatra passed away just a few weeks before Hearts Scottish Cup triumph in 1998. His most famous song - My Way - has been adopted almost exclusively by Hearts supporters as their proclamation they are heading to foreign shores as in ‘So Make a Noise, We’re the Gorgie Boys, We’re Going to Europe’

It’s incredible to think that another Hearts song - ‘By the Light of the Silvery Moon’ (we’re the boys in maroon) - dates back to 1909, the Edwardian era when football was played in black and white and it had been just seven years since Hibs had last lifted the Scottish Cup. More recently, although I’m still going back four decades, is a song by The Beatles. The chorus of ‘Hey Jude’ has long been belted out by Hearts fans - Na, Na, Na, Na Jam Tarts - and the song is still played today by the aforementioned Scott Wilson as the team runs out on to the Tynecastle field.

Another song from the 1960s by another legendary band has become a relatively recent addition to the football anthems. The chorus from The Beach Boys classic Sloop John B has been re-arranged by supporters of clubs other than Hearts - and some, it has to be said, rather distastefully - but the Maroon Army used it to good effect when Hearts went 2-0 up against Hibs in the derby. ‘Your season is over - why don’t you go home?’ When Tottenham Hotspur came to Gorgie last month their fans were greeted with 'Your city's on fire - why don't you go home?

There have been numerous other songs modified by supporters for the purpose of lending their support to their heroes. ‘When the Saints go Marching in’ began as an American gospel hymn but has been chanted at most football grounds in Britain, including Tynecastle.

One of my personal favourites from a few years ago was Hearts fans rendition of ‘Hersham Boys‘, a classic from punk legends Sham 69. Hearts fans used to chant on the Tynecastle terracing Gorgie Boys, Gorgie Boys, Laced Up Boots and Corduroys - although admittedly this had more sinister connotations in an age when violence on the terracings was commonplace. I seem to recall this being chanted frequently during Hearts sojourn in the First Division when the Gorgie Boys would announce their arrival at places such as Dumbarton, Dumfries and Dundee.

I’ve written before about how there are few stadia that can match the atmosphere of a full house at Tynecastle. Money may be influencing football like never before but thankfully, the fans and their songs of devotion to their team will ensure the game will never stray too far from its working class roots. And with any luck, Scott Wilson will be belting out Jeff Beck’s Hi Ho Silver Lining at Tynecastle at the end of the season!

Twitter @Mike1874