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#76 Mac

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Posted 18 August 2009 - 12:37 PM

I'll have hand-outs of the lyrics at E&C tomorrow.

#77 PreacherMom

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Posted 18 August 2009 - 03:15 PM

On a serious note here - and I don't mean to put a damper on this discussion or to piss anyone off - but I'm not sure this song is gonna catch on by those not in the section. When I watch an EPL game and the Liverpool fans are singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" it's because there's history there with that team/song and it means something to them. The same goes for the other EPL songs/teams.

Liverpool plays it on the PA and then cuts it off half way through the song to let the stadium finish it. There's a history with that too. People know the words to the song because it was widely popular and it spoke to the people of Liverpool when turmoil was happening around them. It was emotional for them. "Dirty Old Town" doesn't do that for me. Why should I sing it? Why should it become the team anthem? Just because it says "Fire" in the song and talks about an industrial city? Frankly, I find it a little depressing. What relevance does it have to our city, our team, and the people who come to the games?

I'm not suggesting "My Kind of Town" or "Sweet Home Chicago" but I am suggesting to keep looking. I hate the NSync crap as much as the rest of you! But, what would the players relate to? What kind of songs stir them up that also could relate to us, our city?

And I know the protest of not having words on the screen or PA, but how do you expect it to catch on? Osmosis? The stadium can't understand half of what you chant right now on the wordier songs. If I had never stood with S8 I wouldn't have caught onto Vamos or Urbs in Horto, and when you listen from elsewhere in the park some of the wordier songs sound like a lot of mumbling with no real pronunciation of words. If you want us "outside the section" to join in then make it accessible for us.

And to add further to my insults, I don't think of Chicago as a "dirty old town." It's my city and I'm rather proud of it. Now I know I'm gonna get flamed. So be kind! This is just my opinion. :cheers:



I met my love, by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream, by the old canal
I kissed my girl, by the factory wall
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

Clouds are driiiift-ing across the moon
Cats are prooowww-ling on their beat
Springs a girl, from the streets at night
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

I heard a siren from the docks
Saw a train, set the night on FIRE
I smell the spring, on the smoky wind
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

I'm going to make me a good sharp axe
Shining steel, tempered in the FIRE
I'll chop you down, like an old dead tree
Dirty old town
Dirty old town



I apologize for the thread derailment. I was fucking with Joey, but then the communerds had to pipe up. I should have ignored them.



#78 Es Brennt

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Posted 18 August 2009 - 04:24 PM

All this talk of "anthem" is off base.

It's just a good song. It's good group wail-a-long. It has lyrics that can be memorized easily. They even sound best when sang loud and off key. It already has a special spot in the minds (and livers) of many Fire suppporters. Dirty & old is meant in an affectionate and proud way.

It's in the same vein of Seattle singing "Take 'Em All", Portland singing "Portland Belongs To Me", Houston singing "La Vida Es un Carnival" etc. They are just good songs. They are not your typical jock rock stadium fare and speak volumes about the tastes and independent spirit of the groups that sing them. Would you know any of the words to those songs? probably not, but if they were sung in your stadium enough I'm sure you would pick them up.
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#79 Eiki

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Posted 18 August 2009 - 04:40 PM

On a serious note here - and I don't mean to put a damper on this discussion or to piss anyone off - but I'm not sure this song is gonna catch on by those not in the section. When I watch an EPL game and the Liverpool fans are singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" it's because there's history there with that team/song and it means something to them. The same goes for the other EPL songs/teams.

Liverpool plays it on the PA and then cuts it off half way through the song to let the stadium finish it. There's a history with that too. People know the words to the song because it was widely popular and it spoke to the people of Liverpool when turmoil was happening around them. It was emotional for them. "Dirty Old Town" doesn't do that for me. Why should I sing it? Why should it become the team anthem? Just because it says "Fire" in the song and talks about an industrial city? Frankly, I find it a little depressing. What relevance does it have to our city, our team, and the people who come to the games?

I'm not suggesting "My Kind of Town" or "Sweet Home Chicago" but I am suggesting to keep looking. I hate the NSync crap as much as the rest of you! But, what would the players relate to? What kind of songs stir them up that also could relate to us, our city?

And I know the protest of not having words on the screen or PA, but how do you expect it to catch on? Osmosis? The stadium can't understand half of what you chant right now on the wordier songs. If I had never stood with S8 I wouldn't have caught onto Vamos or Urbs in Horto, and when you listen from elsewhere in the park some of the wordier songs sound like a lot of mumbling with no real pronunciation of words. If you want us "outside the section" to join in then make it accessible for us.

And to add further to my insults, I don't think of Chicago as a "dirty old town." It's my city and I'm rather proud of it. Now I know I'm gonna get flamed. So be kind! This is just my opinion. :cheers:


I have to say that I agree with most of this here. Don't get me wrong, I love Dirty Old Town and will gladly sing it loud and proud (I have to admit that I'd never heard it before this thread started up, sucks for me) and I think it'll sound great when sung by a bunch of people but I really don't see it ever catching on outside of the section. I've caught a few halfs this season from up in the upper deck and I just don't see most of the people up there really flocking to and identifying with it.

So if the aim is to get everyone in the stadium singing it, I'm not sure this is the right song for that. If the aim is just to get enough people to sing it so that it becomes a staple of the section, then that seems a whole lot more realistic. I'll be lending my voice to it either way.

I could be really off here, but that's just my 2 cents.

#80 Ventrilo Fire

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Posted 18 August 2009 - 04:42 PM

On a serious note here - and I don't mean to put a damper on this discussion or to piss anyone off - but I'm not sure this song is gonna catch on by those not in the section. When I watch an EPL game and the Liverpool fans are singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" it's because there's history there with that team/song and it means something to them. The same goes for the other EPL songs/teams.

Liverpool plays it on the PA and then cuts it off half way through the song to let the stadium finish it. There's a history with that too. People know the words to the song because it was widely popular and it spoke to the people of Liverpool when turmoil was happening around them. It was emotional for them. "Dirty Old Town" doesn't do that for me. Why should I sing it? Why should it become the team anthem? Just because it says "Fire" in the song and talks about an industrial city? Frankly, I find it a little depressing. What relevance does it have to our city, our team, and the people who come to the games?

I'm not suggesting "My Kind of Town" or "Sweet Home Chicago" but I am suggesting to keep looking. I hate the NSync crap as much as the rest of you! But, what would the players relate to? What kind of songs stir them up that also could relate to us, our city?

And I know the protest of not having words on the screen or PA, but how do you expect it to catch on? Osmosis? The stadium can't understand half of what you chant right now on the wordier songs. If I had never stood with S8 I wouldn't have caught onto Vamos or Urbs in Horto, and when you listen from elsewhere in the park some of the wordier songs sound like a lot of mumbling with no real pronunciation of words. If you want us "outside the section" to join in then make it accessible for us.

And to add further to my insults, I don't think of Chicago as a "dirty old town." It's my city and I'm rather proud of it. Now I know I'm gonna get flamed. So be kind! This is just my opinion. :cheers:


well said. plus, how are you going to get the whole section to slow down for this song. i doubt it will sound good fast.

#81 Mac

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Posted 18 August 2009 - 05:02 PM

If you don't want to sing it then don't. There are a lot of people who love this song for multitude of reasons. If a group wants to start singing it, then I don't really see why people would want to stop them from doing something organically.
We can't have the histories for singing songs like West Ham or Celtic due to not being around as long. It would be silly for us to compare ourselves to those teams.

If you care to see why West Ham sings Forever Blowing Bubbles, here's a short history:



#82 goldstone97

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Posted 18 August 2009 - 05:35 PM

Two different issues are getting confused here, which might be my fault as I put out a feeler regarding whether we get some stadium assistance in general with a song (it just so happened I was talking with the FO about the possibility the same day this thread arose). I didn't mean to confuse the issue.

In my view, if a group wants to sing it and can get it going (which will take some effort and coordination with a Capo at the least), it's appropriate for the section as a song, but obviously it won't work without a core to push it. I'd be happy to sing it, anyway, and we'll just have to see if enough others want to learn it and join in.

As for a stadium-wide 'anthem', there have been some good points raised on that, so lets meet in person soon and hammer out what we want to do about anything like this, if we want to push anything at all stadium-wide pre-game or even beyond. We are planning to have a public meeting soon so come along and we'll talk about it then.

We also suggested to our liaison today that they do some professional recordings of the section and put them up on their website. I know we've tried that before but it hasn't worked very well, and getting it to a broader Fire fanbase would help.
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#83 PreacherMom

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Posted 18 August 2009 - 05:46 PM

All this talk of "anthem" is off base.

It's just a good song. It's good group wail-a-long. It has lyrics that can be memorized easily. They even sound best when sang loud and off key. It already has a special spot in the minds (and livers) of many Fire suppporters. Dirty & old is meant in an affectionate and proud way.


I guess I misunderstood then. I was under the impression that the FO wanted an anthem and this song was "it." My bad. Ignore the above if that's the discussion and I *missed* it. :)

#84 rednow.red4ever

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Posted 03 November 2009 - 12:57 PM

*sigh* Goddammit.

You're telling me we have two people in the section that think like that? When I heard some namby-pamby "we are the world/ support the workers" nonsense I just assumed it was Dustin. This is getting out of hand.

As to point b. I worked hard to...not work for 7 months.


I'm usually playing devil's advocate. I'm more of a liberal dem. (the ideology, not the party).

But thanks for your words!

P.S. Could the song be 'tested' again before half; if there's a chance? At lease those who know it may get a spark from it...
Our friends will never walk alone.


#85 jl_murtaugh

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Posted 03 November 2009 - 01:08 PM

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#86 Chow

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Posted 04 November 2009 - 09:23 AM

BIG BABY JESUS

#87 -cman-

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Posted 04 November 2009 - 09:30 AM

I'm bringing the boy to his first Fire game Saturday and we are fucking singing this song. We'll be somewhere up front with a big Iowa flag. The only question is, when?




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