These days fans of Tottenham Hotspur try to tell you otherwise, but lets be clear Oh When The Saints Go Marching In is our club anthem not theirs.

To be truthful most football clubs dont have songs that can be truly said to be theirs and theirs alone, even those that do often have their songs plagiarised by countless other teams with the words changed to suit the stealing club, Saints are one of those select band though that do have a song that is associated with them, from the very time the tune became popular there was only one club in English football that claimed it for their own and whom it referred to by name in the title, well nickname at least.

Surprisingly though Oh When The Saints is not as old a tune as you would might think, it was originally written in the 1920's as a dixieland jazz song and for a decade or so it was virtually unheard of outside of New Orleans, that all changed in the 1930's when Louis Armstrong recorded a version that brought it to a wider audience, but still it wasnt well known in England and indeed in Southampton.

In October 1950 the Saints supporters association adopted "The bells of St Mary's" as the clubs theme tune, the song was much better known than "Oh When The Saints" having been the title track of a popular film from 1945 of the same name starring Bing Crosby & Ingrid Bergman.

A local musician named Monty Warlock was commisioned to write some special lyrics.

The bells of St Mary's

a message are bringing

Its play up and win now

as cheers round you roll

So up for Saints and win boys

for victory we're singing

You've got em beat

We're on our feet

Its goal ! Goal ! Goal !

Ok you do need to know the tune I think .

The jazz explosion of the 1950's brought Oh When the Saints to the masses and it was quickly adopted by Saints supporters, remember in these days you didnt have singing sections in grounds and vocal support in this matter tended to be of the one song variety, but this was our one song and synonomous with Southampton Football Club.

The 1960's brought on the emergence of terrace choirs, the most famous one being the Kop at Liverpool and soon every ground had its own version, at the Dell it was situated in the Milton Road End under what older readers will remember as the Toomers Chocolate box.

Other teams would sing Oh When The Saints adapted to the colours of their own team, but other teams sang everyone elses songs as well, so although it would be sung across the country everyone knew who the true owners were.

In the past five years or so, Spurs have tried to take over this song as their own, of course the word Spurs slots in nicely in place of Saints, but the fact of the matter is that the author back in 1920's New Orleans almost certainly would never have heard of Spurs (He wouldnt have heard of the New Orleans Saints football team either, they werent formed till 1967) so Spurs are doing what they do best and thats steal their songs from others.

Now of course we are back in the Premiership so we have the chance to show the rest of the country and indeed the World that the true sporting home of this song is Southampton

Photo: Action Images

THE17 added 10:19 - May 29 Fair play, as a Spurs fan I acknowledge it's a Soton song. However you must have only started going to footy in the last five years if you think that's how long we've been singing it. In my memory at least to the late 70s. And its not our only song (you've only got one song, lol), Glory, Glory Tottenham Hotspur dating back to the 60s. Nicked in the last ten years by ManU, recorded so tastefully by the Quo. Though Parfitt is a Spurs fan, Rossi is ManU. And of course 'We are Tottenham' a generic standard. And finally, 'It's a grand old team'(I think originally Celtic, also sung by Everton) which includes the line, 'If you know your history?' An apt line for this article, no?

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SaintNick added 10:38 - May 29 At no time in the article did I say that Spurs have only just started to sing it, I acknowledged that many teams from the 60's onwards adapted it, my point was that in the past few years Spurs have tried to make it a key song in their repetoire. I had to have a little chuckle at your last paragraph where you claim its a grand old team as a spurs song in one breath and then admit its a Celtic song in the next :-)

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THE17 added 11:05 - May 29 And my point is, that it's been a key song in our repetoire for over 30 years.Just researched It's a grand old team, actually called McNamara's band. It appears it goes back further than I thought as a Spurs song, late 40s even before. So maybe ours, evidence based on wikipedia so taken with a pinch of salt.
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joey9210 added 11:20 - May 29 These blog is kinda pointless, for one they dont sing when the saints go marching in they sing when the SPURS go marching in, alot of clubs do this sort of thing like City doing the poznan, that is not there celebration, Arsenal saying they are the pride of north london, when they arent even from north london they moved there, QPR also sing a variation to 'when the saint go marching in' by sing when the r's go marching in, the only difference is that spurs do make it there own through lengthening it out and also saying spurs not saints. My point anyway is that every team does it, so whats the point in writing a blog about it, Yawn.

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ParkLaneYid added 11:25 - May 29 Very poor article. The song is known to have been used during the American civil war, could well be written prior to this. So not written in the 1920's. Dundee were the first British club to start singing it, not Southampton. Just because it has saints in it people seem to assume Soton used it first, not so. Considering Soton spent most if the 50's in Div. 3, at the same time Spurs took up the song, it's not likely they could have picked it up from them anyway.

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SaintNick added 11:46 - May 29 ParkLaneYid Very poor reply The origins of the song are vague but its generally accepted that the lyrics were written in the 1920's, at no time did i say that Southampton where the first club to adopt it, merely that we did and quickly became synonymous with it. I take it you are over 70 then to remember the time when Spurs were singing it in the 1950's !!!!!!! You spurs fans have got very short fuses

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Whatsforpud added 11:47 - May 29 Nick, I was interested in your research on The Bells of St Marys. I started going to the Dell in 1952, but can't actually recall it being sung. I understand It was written in the First World War by an American soldier after hearing the bells of Southampton's St Mary's Church whilst waiting for his ship.
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THE17 added 12:01 - May 29 Thanks for Gareth, btw. It's been a pleasure. No jibe intended.
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SaintNick added 12:02 - May 29 Im too young to remember :-) But i think your right on the origins, i found the following "The Bells of St. Mary's" is a 1917 popular song. The music was written by A. Emmett Adams, the lyrics[1] by Douglas Furber, following a visit to St. Mary's Church, Southampton, England.[2] The song was revived, in 1945 in the Hollywood musical of the same name, by Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. On June 14, 1962, it was recorded by Perry Como [3] for an album, By Request, but was omitted from the album as released. Due to the inclusion in the 1945 film of a scene featuring a Christmas pageant, both the film and the song have come to be associated with the Yuletide season although the latter has no direct lyrical connection with the holiday (and, indeed, refers to the "red leaves" of autumn in the chorus). Many singers have included a cover of "The Bells of St. Mary's" on their Christmas albums. The song appears in an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. In a skit called "Musical Mice", Ken Ewing (Terry Jones) claims to have trained mice to squeal at the specific pitches necessary to play the song (as he demonstrates with debatable success).[4]. The Drifters' version is featured in the movie Goodfellas, in the Christmas Eve scene with Henry Hill and family, and the following scene where Stacks (Samuel L. Jackson) is shot dead by Tommy Devito (Joe Pesci). This song is also associated with Saint Mary's College (Indiana). A version of this song is the anthem of State University of New York Maritime College, whose first training ship was the USS St. Mary's.

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linkre added 12:03 - May 29 Did you keep a straight face when you went from "In the past five years or so, Spurs have tried to take over this song as their own" to "At no time in the article did I say that Spurs have only just started to sing it"? How about when you said no team has a song that is "theirs alone" except for Southampton, who "are one of those select band though that do have a song that is associated with them, from the very time the tune became popular there was only one club in English football that claimed it for their own" and then moved on to "at no time did i say that Southampton where [sic] the first club to adopt it"? Football fans sing songs. Football fans sing songs with widely known tunes. Oh When the Saints Go Marching In was never written about Southampton and it's ridiculous to claim the club ever had a monopoly on it (or that the club even should have a monopoly on it). Your assertion that "Spurs are doing what they do best and thats steal their songs from others" is pathetic. You could at least have redeemed your article with some humour - maybe suggest that after stealing the best left back (now winger) your club will ever produce, at least they could give you the song? Instead you just look like a cretin.

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SaintNick added 12:11 - May 29 linkre, if i had a straight face when i wrote the article then i certainly havent now, Im creased up laughing, you quote me "no team has a song that is theirs alone apart from Saints" then follow that with "who are one of those selct band" you contradict yourself a little there and dont even quote me accurately. What i do find funny though is that some spurs fans have not only found this article on an obscure website of a team that hasnt been on their radar for seven years or so, but find it neccessary to take the trouble of joining said website to register their disgust lol

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patred added 12:37 - May 29 I watched the Saints v Spurs game in 1947.. Southampton fans were the only ones singing OWTSGMI.. not the Tottenham fans so wrong there Whatsforpud !!! Its a Saints song.. end of story and always have been, and always will so! THE CLUE IS IN THE TITLE
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mikethfc added 12:38 - May 29 To put you straight theN17, 'it's a grand ol' team' is originally a spurs song. They said it on question of sport lol. also, 'spurs doing what they do best and that's nicking other people's songs' was my particular favourite part of this article. We have loads of original spurs-only songs! 'Spurs are on their way to Wembley' being one of our popular ones on cup matches. We of course, are the only team lucky enough to have the duo of Chas & Dave as fans. Therefore, Spurs are the world best football club, musically....

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THE17 added 12:42 - May 29 Lol, linkre, well said. He is a tad confused in his opinions. SaintNick, a link to your article appears on the Media Watch page of the official Tottenham Hotspur site. that's why you have the pleasure of our comments.You have prompted me to check the history of our/your songs, so thanx.
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Whatsforpud added 12:46 - May 29 The main point Nick is making is simply that fact that the song, with the original words, is ready made for Southampton. Others, like Spurs have to adapt it. I wonder if other 'Saints' teams sing it eg. Northampton Rugby Union Club, St Helens Rugby League Club etc.
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SuperKelvin added 12:46 - May 29 We got 7 million for Bale AND a keeper in tommy forecast who is widely thought of among those in the know as one of the most promising english keepers, and tipped to break into the first team this year.
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Dont_Panic added 12:50 - May 29 I thought Chas and Dave wrote songs for Tottingham? Another one they nicked!
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SaintNick added 13:02 - May 29 We are indeed in awe of any club who have chas & dave amidst their ranks, Im a bit confused though isnt Spurs in North London and C & D a loveable Cockney duo which means they should be east end. Perhaps Chas & Dave have just proved that they were ahead of their time with Spurs trying so hard to move to east london recently
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THE17 added 13:22 - May 29 Nah mate, Chas from Edmonton, NE London.
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Wints76 added 13:30 - May 29 Nick, are you trying to smoke out Mil the Yid to get him to start posting here again now we are back in the prem?
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SaintNick added 13:51 - May 29 so let me get this right, Chas & Dave are nor Cockney's they are fraudsters who have made their living from singing songs about the east end of london, does this not sort of fit in with the argument that Spurs get all there songs from elsewhere lol Im tongue in cheek here honest !
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yateleysaint added 16:11 - May 29 Are we your rivals again now then?! I don't remember Spurs fans singing OWTS when we last visited so it seems to be a recent occurrence. Arry nearly sent Bale out on loan as he was a bad luck charm for Spurs to begin with. Prospects like Bale are ten a penny down here but you'll have to pay a lot more to get them now and we won't be flogging off our sell-on clause for a pittance this time either.

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Zambucco added 18:59 - May 29 I had noticed in the televised matches that the Tottenham fans were singing the song with great fervour and thought "Ha that's our song" But it got me thinking do we Saints fans sing songs from other teams, either changing names or just a straight copy? Yes we do and it's great to sing a song where everybody joins in. One of my favourites used to be "walk on" and this is always considered Liverpool's song, I'm sure there are many more. Plus if my memory serves me right, we members of the 'Milton mob' did not partake in OWTSGMI. we preferred to sing songs of violence and derogatory terms. Finally I do get your point, the song is ready made for us and will always be synonymous with Southampton Football Club 'The Saints'

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sawthemin53 added 19:48 - May 29 Old Spurs fan here - interesting to read about origins of club songs. Have always believed that OWTSGMI IS a Southampton song (although with American origins, of course), at least as far as football is concerned. To put the Spurs fan right, Glory, Glory was adopted by Spurs fans standing in front of the East Stand at WHL in the mid-50s (I was one of them). The words were gradually adapted following success under Billy Nick - hence "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the cups at White Hart Lane" etc. "It's a grand old team to play for" has long Tottenham connections but I do not think it was unique to the Spurs. MacNamara's Band is a different song altogether. I remember it used to be played by the Enfield Town Silver Band when the Spurs ran on to the pitch during the 50s and early 60s led by Danny Blanchflower and I always thought it was in honour of this great Irish player but maybe someone even older than me knows different. I have to say that it annoys me to hear Spurs fans singing OWTSGMI - we've pinched enough off our friends in Southampton!

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SaintNick added 21:02 - May 29 sawthemin53, good to hear a few anectdotes about where the spurs songs came from
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